CELEX: C1997/252/82
Language: en
Date: 1997-08-16 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 30 June 1997 by Eugénio Branco Lda against Commission of the European Communities (Case T-194/97)

16 . 8 . 97           EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 252/39
— order the Commission and the Council jointly and                       having contributed to two training programmes
     severally to pay the costs .                                        organized by the applicant and approved by the
                                                                         European Commission ( files 870302 P3 and
                                                                         870301 PI ), the Commission having been called on to
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                      adopt such a decision by written request from the
                                                                         applicant dated 27 February 1997, received by the
                                                                         Commission on 3 March 1997,
In 1993 the applicant, a milk producer and the holder of a
special reference quantity within the meaning of the
Community rules, applied, as a participant in the EC non­            — declare that the Commission is under a legal
marketing/conversion scheme, to the then Federal Office                  obligation to give a decision on the application for
for Food and Agriculture for compensation under Council                  payment of the balance pursuant to Article 6 ( 1 ) of
Regulation ( EEC ) No 2187/93 . The Federal Office, acting               Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 2950/83 of 17 October
on behalf of and on account of the Council and the                       1983 and the first paragraph of Article 124 of the EC
Commission, communicated to the applicant an offer of                    Treaty,
compensation. By his claim, the applicant seeks the
payment to him of that compensation sum. He maintains
that a binding agreement was concluded between him and               — declare that the Commission's failure to adopt that
the Commission for the payment of that sum. Even if it is                decision infringes Article 6 ( 1 ) of the said Regulation
denied that any agreement was concluded, the applicant                   and the first paragraph of Article 124 of the EC
claims that he is entitled to receive payment, if only on the            Treaty,
ground that, as a result of delay in the allocation of the
milk reference quantity, he has suffered actual loss                 — find that Article 6 ( 1 ) of the said regulation and the
equivalent to at least the sum claimed. The compensation                 first paragraph of Article 124 of the EC Treaty have
period relating to the applicant, as a SLOM-II producer,                 been infringed by the Commission as a result of the
did not expire until 15 June 1991 , since the applicant was              said failure to act,
not allocated his reference quantity until 1991 .
Consequently, as a participant in the EC non-marketing
scheme, he is entitled to claim compensation for the loss            — order the Commission to pay the costs .
of income suffered by him as a result of the fact that he
produced no milk during the period from 22 July 1987 to
15 June 1991 .                                                       Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
                                                                     In support of its claims, the applicant submits that the
                                                                     Commission has exclusive competence to decide on
                                                                     applications for the payment of balances under Article 6(1 )
                                                                     of Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 2950/83 of 17 October
                                                                     1983 .
Action brought on 30 June 1997 by Eugenio Branco Lda
      against Commission of the European Communities
                        ( Case T-194/97)                             It follows that it is the Commission which assumes legal
                                                                     responsibility for the decision vis-a-vis the beneficiary of
                          ( 97/C 252/82 )                            the contribution from the ESF.
              (Language of the case: Portuguese)                     The Commission is thus under a legal obligation to give a
                                                                     decision on the application for payment of the balance
                                                                     pursuant to Article 6 ( 1 ) of the said Regulation.
 An action against the Commission of the European
 Communities was brought before the Court of First
 Instance on 30 June 1997 by Eugenio Branco Lda,                     The omission or failure to adopt such a decision
 Sociedade Comercial por Quotas de Responsabilidade                  approving or rejecting the application for payment of the
 Limitada, whose registered office is at 9 Rua Rodrigo da            balance infringes Article 6 ( 1 ) of the said Regulation and
 Fonseca , Lisbon, represented by Dr Bolota Belchior,                the first paragraph of Article 124 of the EC Treaty.
 practising in Vila Nova de Gaia, a member of the Oporto
 Bar, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the               After the formal request made by the applicant to the
 Chambers of Dr Jacques Schroder, Faltz 8c Associes, 6               Commission, two months passed without the latter having
 Rue Heine .
                                                                     adopted the measure required of it under the
                                                                     abovementioned provisions .
 The applicant claims that the Court of First Instance
 should :
                                                                     The present proceedings have thus been instituted so that
                                                                     the Commission may be declared to be in breach of the
                                                                     Treaty for failure to act.
 — establish the Commission's failure to adopt a decision
      approving the application for payment of the balance
      of financing from the European Social Fund, the Fund