CELEX: 62010TJ0178
Language: en
Date: 2012-06-21 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 21 June 2012.#Kingdom of Spain v European Commission.#Operational programmes of the Cohesion Fund and of the ERDF managed by Spain — Request for interim payment — Evidence suggesting significant deficiency in functioning of management and control systems — Measures interrupting the period for payment — Action for annulment — Admissibility — Audit strategy — Legal certainty — Legitimate expectations — Proportionality.#Cases T‑178/10, T‑263/10 and T‑265/10.

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 21 June 2012 —Spain v Commission(Cases T-178/10, T-263/10 and T-265/10)
      Operational programmes of the Cohesion Fund and of the ERDF managed by Spain — Request for interim payment — Evidence suggesting significant deficiency in functioning of management and control systems — Measures interrupting the period for payment — Action for annulment — Admissibility — Audit strategy — Legal certainty — Legitimate expectations — Proportionality
      1.                     Actions for annulment — Actionable measures — Concept — Measures producing binding legal effects — Decision to interrupt the
            period for settlement of an interim payment application — Measure constituting the final conclusion of a distinct special
            procedure — Included (Art. 263 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1083/2006) (see paras 8-11, 18)
      2.                     Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — EU financing — Obligation on Member States to establish
            monitoring and control systems — Evidence suggesting significant deficiency in the functioning of management and control systems —
            Report of a national or Community audit body containing that evidence — Existence — Measures interrupting the period for payment
            (Art. 317 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1083/2006, Art. 91(1)(a); Commission Regulation No 1828/2006) (see paras 31-33)
      3.                     Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — EU financing — Obligation on Member States to establish
            monitoring and control systems — Audit of monitoring and control systems — Approval of audit strategies — Implementation of
            audit work made conditional on approval of audit strategies — Excluded (Council Regulation No 1083/2006, Art. 62(1)(a),(b),
            and (c)) (see paras 72-74)
      4.                     Acts of the institutions — Choice of legal basis — Legislation forming part of EU law — Requirements of clarity and foreseeability —
            Express indication of the legal basis — Included (see paras 86-88)
      5.                     EU law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Conditions — Specific assurances given by the authorities —
            Absence (Council Regulation No 1083/2006, Art. 62(1)(c), and (2)) (see paras 92, 94)
      6.                     Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — EU financing — Obligation on Member States to establish
            monitoring and control systems — Evidence suggesting significant deficiency in the functioning of management and control systems —
            Measures interrupting the period for payment — Interim measures — Breach of principle of proportionality — None (Council Regulation
            No 1083/2006, Arts 72(2), and 91(1)) (see paras 99-100, 103, 106)
      Re:
      
         
               ACTIONS against the Commission decisions of 12 February 2010 (Case T-178/10), 8 April 2010 (Case T-263/10) and 15 April 2010
                  (Case T-265/10) informing the Spanish authorities of the interruption of the period for the settlement of certain requests
                  for interim payment submitted by the Kingdom of Spain.
               
            Operative part 
      The Court:
      
         
                  1.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Orders that Cases T-178/10, T-263/10 and T-265/10 be joined for the purposes of judgment;
               
            
         
                  2.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Dismisses the actions;
               
            
         
                  3.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.