CELEX: C2002/289/63
Language: en
Date: 2002-11-23 00:00:00
Title: Case T-293/02: Action brought on 23 September 2002 by Eric Vranckx against Commission of the European Communities

C 289/34               EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                   23.11.2002
The applicant claims that the Court should:                            The applicant also alleges a breach of the requirement to state
                                                                       reasons.
—     annul Articles 1, 2 and 5 of the Commission Decision of
      2 July 2002 concerning aid granted by Spain to the               (1 ) OJ L 329 of 30.12.1993, p. 12.
      undertaking González y Díez SA for the years 1998,               (2 ) OJ L 83 of 27.3.1999, p. 1.
      2000 and 2001; and
—     order the Commission to pay the costs.
                                                                       Action brought on 23 September 2002 by Eric Vranckx
                                                                            against Commission of the European Communities
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                                                (Case T-293/02)
Pursuant to Article 1 of the contested Decision, the defendant                                  (2002/C 289/63)
institution found incompatible with the common market part
of the State aid granted to the applicant by the Spanish                                   (Language of the case: French)
authorities in 1998, 2000 and 2001, totalling EUR
5 113 254,96, to cover exceptional costs arising from modern-
isation, rationalisation and restructuring, in accordance with
Article 5 of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC of 28 December
                                                                       An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
1993 establishing Community rules for State aid to the coal
                                                                       ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
industry ( 1).
                                                                       European Communities on 23 September 2002 by Eric
                                                                       Vranckx, residing in Brussels, represented by Albert Coolen,
                                                                       Jean-Noël Louis and Etienne Marchal, lawyers, with an address
                                                                       for service in Luxembourg.
In support of the form of order sought, the applicant claims:
                                                                       The applicant claims that the Court should:
—     fundamental procedural irregularities, contrary to Articles
      88 of the ESCS Treaty and 4(4) of Council Regulation             —     annul the decision of the Selection Board in Competition
      (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down                          COM/B/1/00 in so far as the oral test marks awarded to
      detailed rules for the application of Article 93 (now 88)              the applicant are concerned;
      of the EC Treaty (2), by failing to publish in the Official
      Journal the Commission’s decision to initiate the formal
                                                                       —     order the defendant to pay the costs.
      investigation procedure;
—     numerous manifest errors of assessment, in that the
      Commission based the contested decision on facts which           Pleas in law and main arguments
      are not relevant to the case in question, such as the
      conditions on which the applicant was acquired by Mina
      la Camocha, and ordered the recovery of an amount                The applicant participated in Competition COM/B/1/00. He
      higher than that granted to the applicant. The Com-              contests the failure to include him on the reserve list for
      mission also made an error of fact in considering that the       assistants in the field of information technology and telecom-
      amount of the aid granted for exceptional costs arising          munications.
      from restructuring for the year 2001 was
      ESP 393 971,600, and in failing to take account of certain
      exceptional costs arising from restructuring under the aid       In support of his arguments, the applicant alleges:
      granted in 1998, 2000 and 2001;
                                                                       —     breach of the duty to provide reasons;
—     breach of the principle of protection of legitimate expec-       —     manifest error of assessment;
      tations, in that the Commission asked Spain to recover
      aid previously authorised under Decisions 98/637/ECSC
                                                                       —     failure to take account of the competition notice.
      of 3 June 1998 and 2001/162/ECSC of 13 December
      2000 concerning the granting of aid by Spain to the coal
      industry in the years 1998 and 2000, respectively.