CELEX: C2001/161/47
Language: en
Date: 2001-06-02 00:00:00
Title: Case T-73/01: Action brought on 22 March 2001 by Spyridon de Athanassios Pappas against the Committee of the Regions of the European Union

2.6.2001              EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 161/23
The applicant claims that the Court of First Instance should:           As regards the alleged infringement which, according to the
                                                                        Commission extended from 1987 to at least the end of 1990,
                                                                        the applicant contends that the Commission did not give
—    find that the action taken against it was time-barred;             reasons to show, and did not show, that the alleged agreement
                                                                        was capable of appreciably affecting trade between the Member
                                                                        States and that the infringement of Article 81 EC was not
—    in any event, annul the Commission Decision of                     established.
     13 December 2000 relating to a procedure under
     Article 81 of the Treaty (COMP/33.133-B: Soda-ash —
     Solvay, CFK);
                                                                        (1) Commission Decision 91/298/EEC of 19.12.1990 (IV/33.133-B:
                                                                            Soda-ash — Solvay, CFK), OJ L 152, 1991, p. 16.
                                                                        (2) Case T-31/91 Solvay v Commission [1995] II-1821.
—    find that the power to impose fines is time-barred;
                                                                        (3) Joined Cases C-287/95 P and C-288/95 P Commission v Solvay
                                                                            [2000] ECR I-2391.
                                                                        (4) Commission Decision of 13.12.2000 relating to a procedure
—    in any event, annul Article 2 of the contested decision, in            under Article 81 EC (COMP/33.133-B: Soda-ash — Solvay, CFK).
     so far as it imposes a fine of EUR 3 million on the
     applicant;
—    declare that no fine should be imposed on the applicant
     or, at the very least, that the fine should be substantially
     reduced;
—    order the Commission to pay the costs.
                                                                        Action brought on 22 March 2001 by Spyridon de
                                                                        Athanassios Pappas against the Committee of the Regions
                                                                                             of the European Union
Contentions and principal arguments adduced in support
                                                                                                  (Case T-73/01)
The applicant is a company incorporated under Belgian law,                                       (2001/C 161/47)
which operates in the soda-ash sector through marketing
outlets in nine countries in Europe.
                                                                                           (Language of the case: French)
On 19 December 1990, the Commission adopted Decision
91/298/EEC (1) finding that the applicant had participated in a         An action against the Committee of the Regions of the
market-sharing agreement under which it guaranteed CFK a                European Union was brought before the Court of First Instance
minimum annual tonnage of soda-ash sales in Germany and                 of the European Communities on 22 March 2001 by Spyridon
compensated CFK for any shortfall by purchasing from it the             de Athanassios Pappas, residing in Brussels, represented by
tonnages necessary to bring its sales up to the guaranteed              Marc-Albert Lucas, Lawyer.
minimum, and imposed on the applicant a fine of ECU 3 milli-
on. Proceedings for the annulment of that initial decision were
brought before the Court of First Instance. By judgment of
                                                                        The applicant claims that the Court of First Instance should:
29 June 1995, the Court of First Instance annulled the
decision (2). The Commission’s appeal against that judgment
was dismissed by the Court of Justice. (3)                              —     annul the decision of 13 June 2000 of the Bureau of the
                                                                              Committee of the Regions of the European Union to
                                                                              appoint a third party as Secretary-General of the Com-
                                                                              mittee of the Regions;
On the 13 December 2000, the Commission adopted a
decision (4), in which the infringements already referred to in
the initial decision were imputed to the applicant. In that             —     annul the relevant decision of 13 June 2000 of the Bureau
decision, the Commission imposed a fine on the applicant of                   of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union
EUR 3 million.                                                                to reject the applicant’s application for that post, which
                                                                              was notified to him by letter of 22 June 2000 from the
                                                                              President of the Bureau;
The applicant seeks annulment of that decision relying, for the
most part, on the arguments put forward in Case T-57/01.                —     order the Committee of the Regions to pay the costs.
 ---pagebreak--- C 161/24               EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                      2.6.2001
Contentions and principal arguments adduced in support                  —     infringement of the recruitment notice under
                                                                              Article 12(2)(e) of the Conditions of Employment of
                                                                              Other Servants, since the successful candidate did not
                                                                              meet the conditions concerning knowledge of languages
                                                                              laid down in that provision.
The applicant, who was a candidate for the post of Secretary-
General of the Committee of the Regions, opposes the decision
of the defendant institution to reject his application.
In support of his claims, the applicant alleges:
—    infringement of the first sentence of the first paragraph          Action brought on 29 March 2001 by Albano Ferrer
     of Article 11 of the Conditions of Employment of Other
                                                                        de Moncada against the Commission of the European
     Servants and Article 25 of the Staff Regulations, in that                                    Communities
     the contested decisions do not contain an adequate
     statement of the reasons on which they are based;
                                                                                                 (Case T-74/01)
—    breach of the principles of objectivity of recruitment
                                                                                                (2001/C 161/48)
     procedure and equal treatment of candidates, in that
     the acting Secretary-General was responsible for the
     recruitment procedure at issue;
                                                                                          (Language of the case: French)
—    breach of the principles of objectivity and equal treatment
                                                                        An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
     in the selection procedure and in the decision setting up
                                                                        ties was brought before the Court of First Instance on 29 March
     that procedure, since;
                                                                        2001 by Albano Ferrer de Moncada, residing in Luxembourg,
                                                                        represented by Luc Misson and Laurent Wysen, Lawyers, with
                                                                        an address for service in Luxembourg.
     —     the applicant’s application was not forwarded in full
           to the ad hoc committee responsible for examining
           the recruitment procedure or to the Bureau;                  The applicant claims that the Court of First Instance should:
                                                                        —     annul the implied decision rejecting the applicant’s com-
     —     the administration forwarded to the Bureau a docu-                 plaint, dated 19 September 2000, on the basis of
           ment indicating that the applicant did not satisfy the             Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations;
           conditions for preferential treatment laid down in
           the notice;
                                                                        —     order the defendant to pay LUF 5 million to the applicant
                                                                              as compensation for non-material damage;
     —     two of the four candidates had a meeting with
           certain members of the Bureau the day before its             —     order the defendant to pay the costs.
           meeting of 19 May;
                                                                        Contentions and principal arguments adduced in support
     —     the agenda of the meeting of the Bureau included
           submission to the Bureau by the acting Secretary-
           General, in agreement with the President, of the
           Annual Operational Programme for the Committee;              The applicant states that one or more persons, whose identity
                                                                        at this stage is unknown to him, have been making, in
                                                                        particular within the EURATOM departments of the Com-
                                                                        mission, calumnious, insulting and defamatory allegations
     —     the ad hoc committee did not draw up a reasoned              against him, calling in question his professional integrity and
           list of successful candidates, or did not give an            stating, among other things, that he disclosed confidential
           opinion to the Bureau after interviewing the candi-          information to third parties. A case-file has been opened on
           dates;                                                       the subject.