CELEX: C1995/333/28
Language: en
Date: 1995-12-09 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 31 July 1995 by Ittima Maremmana against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-154/95)

No C 333/ 14           EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                     9 . 12 . 95
1 . dismisses the application in its entirety;                         of the Rome Bar, with an address for service in Luxembourg
                                                                       at the Chambers of Nico Schaeffer, 12 Rue de la Porte
2 . orders the applicant to pay all the costs, including those         Neuve .
      of the proceedings for interim measures.
(') OJ No C 188 , 9 . 7. 1994 .                                        The applicant claims that the Court should :
                                                                       — annul the decision of the Commission of the European
                                                                             Communities of 12 May 1995 , notified on 25 May
                                                                             1995 , discontinuing the EAGGF aid granted to it,
    ORDER OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
                                                                       — in the alternative, declare unlawful the steps taken for
                      of 11 October 1995                                     recovery of the sum of Lit 314 741 984,
in Case T-302/94 : Dimitrios Coussios v. Commission of the
                   European Communities ( 1 )                          and seeks the reimbursement of the costs of the proceedings
                          (Inadmissibility)                            in accordance with the Rules of Procedure .
                            ( 95/C 333/27 )
                (Language of the case: French)                         Pleas in law and main arguments:
In Case T-302/94 : Dimitrios Coussios, a former official of            The applicant obtained from the Commission by a decision
the Commission of the European Communities, represented                of 28 November 1984 aid in the amount of Lit 494 946 104,
by Georges Sakellaropoulous, of the Athens Bar, with an                of which Lit 314 741 984 was paid on 24 July 1987. The aid
address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of                   was granted for the purpose of completing an aquaculture
Aloyse May, 31 Grand-Rue, v. Commission of the                         production unit in Orbetello (Tuscany, Italy ) on the basis of
European Communities ( Agent: Ana Maria Alves Vieira ) —               a project submitted by the applicant. Since there had arisen a
application for annulment of the decision of Commission                difficulty while the project was being carried out not in
appointing Mr Claude Probst to the post of Head of Unit                respect of the aquaculture production plant but rather for
VII . C. 93 with effect from 1 December 1993 — the Court of            the construction of a shed required for use in the business,
First Instance ( Fourth Chamber ), composed of                         the applicant company asked for the project to be
D. P. M. Barrington, President, and K. Lenaerts and                    considered concluded when it was 70 % completed, waiving
P. Lindh, Judges; H. Jung, Registrar, made an order on                 payment of the remainder of the aid in respect of the Lit
11 October 1995 , the operative part of which is as                    314 741 984 previously granted . The Italian Ministry for
follows :                                                              the Merchant Navy informed the applicant that such a
                                                                       request could not be accepted since the company had not
                                                                       obtained the certificate of fitness for use of the plant which
1 . The application is dismissed as inadmissible.                      was defined as a 'conditio sine qua non for payment of the
                                                                       aid'. By letter of 14 April 1994 the Commission informed
2 . The parties are ordered to bear their own costs.                   the applicant that, in the absence of such a certificate, the
                                                                       procedure for discontinuing the aid would be put into effect.
(') OJ No C 351 , 10 . 12 . 1994 .                                     The EAGGF aid granted to the applicant was dicontinued
                                                                       by way of the decision of the Commission of 12 May 1995 ,
                                                                       which is the subject-matter of these proceedings .
                                                                       The application is based on the following grounds :
Action brought on 31 July 1995 by Ittima Maremmana                     ( a ) Infringement of Community law
   against the Commission of the European Communities
                         ( Case T-154/95 )
                                                                              — In the notice granting aid there is no mention of the
                            ( 95/C 333/28 )                                      relevant national authority having been designated
                                                                                  ( Article 18 ( 2 ) of Council Regulation ( EEC )
                 (Language of the case: Italian)                                 No 2908/83 ). The Ministry for the Merchant Navy
                                                                                 ' appears' during the course of the procedure . That
                                                                                 central national authority, whenever, however or
An action against the Commission of the European                                  by whomever it has been appointed, is nonetheless
Communities was brought before the Court of First                                incompetent to carry out the duties laid down in the
Instance of the European Communities on 31 July 1995 by                          abovementioned regulation . Its 'insertion' into the
Ittima Maremmana, whose registered office is at Rome,                            procedure thus constitutes an infringement of that
represented by Sergio Barenghi and Alessandro Pallottino,                        regulation .
 ---pagebreak--- 9 . 12 . 95           EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 333/ 15
      — The decision discontinuing aid was taken on the                     Action brought on 28 August 1995 by Hedwig
          basis of the erroneous proposal of the Italian                  Kuchlenz-Winter against the European Parliament
          authority in infringement of the notice granting aid                                ( Case T- 164/95 )
          and contrary to Regulation ( EEC ) No 2908/83 . The
                                                                                                ( 95/C 333/29 )
          only condition expressly provided for in the notice
          granting aid for its discontinuation was that the
          project should not have been begun within two                              (Language of the case: German)
          years . The Commission should have ascertained
          whether the issue of the certificate of fitness            An action against the European Parliament was brought
          constituted one of the 'conditions imposed' for the        before the Court of First Instance of the European
          project, within the meaning of Article 18 of the           Communities on 28 August 1995 by Hedwig Kuchlenz­
          Regulation, instead of 'referring' to the opinion of       Winter, residing at Kehlen ( Luxembourg ), represented by
          the Ministry for the Merchant Navy on the ( alleged )      Dieter Rogalla , Rechtsanwalt, Sprockhovel ( Federal
          need to obtain that certificate .                          Republic of Germany ), with an address for service in
                                                                     Luxembourg at the Chambers of Armin Machmer, 1 Rue
                                                                     Roger Barthel, Bereldange .
      — Likewise, the notice granting aid and Regulation
          ( EEC ) No 2908/83 ( and Commission Regulation             The applicant claims that the Court should :
          ( EEC ) No 378/84 ) have been infringed and
          disregarded having regard to the fact that not only        — declare that the European Parliament has unlawfully
          was the certificate of fitness not a 'condition                failed to act in relation to the applicant, inasmuch as,
          imposed' by the notice granting aid, it was not even           following the pension rights adjustment effected in the
          a document which served a purpose or was linked                applicant's favour pursuant to paragraph 1587 etseq. of
          to establishing whether the plant had been                     the Biirgerliches Gesetzbuch ( German Civil Code ), the
          constructed .                                                  applicant should not have been excluded from the
                                                                         sickness insurance scheme; the defendant omitted to
                                                                         prevent that from happening, in that it unlawfully failed,
      — The notice granting aid and the regulation which                 within the framework of its powers in relation to the
          governs it have been infringed inasmuch as                     scheme, to propose to the competent EC institutions the
          information as to whether the applicant fulfilled the          corresponding amendments to the Staff Regulations of
          conditions for the grant of aid for guidance                   Officials,
          programmes has not been taken into account,
          considered or asked for. The carrying out of the           — order the defendant to pay the costs.
          project, albeit with aid from Community, has
          enabled the creation of jobs; wealth has been              Pleas in law and main arguments :
          generated, production has been started and
          developed, all in conformity with the objectives of        The applicant, a former official of the Court of Justice and of
          the Community.                                             the Commission of the European Communities, is the
                                                                     divorced former spouse of an official of the Parliament. She
                                                                     contests the fact that, under Article 72 ( lb ) of the Staff
                                                                     Regulations , she ceased, with effect from 1 April 1995 , to
( b ) Breach of the principle of proportionality                     qualify for cover under the sickness insurance scheme of the
                                                                     Communities, since that provision of the Staff Regulations
      The principle of proportionality is breached by the            entitles the divorced spouse of an official who provides
      penalty of discontinuing the aid on a ground which is          evidence that he or she cannot be covered by any other
      formalistic rather than formal and which, it may be            public scheme of sickness insurance to remain covered by
      said, placing a personal construction upon it, goes            the Community scheme for a period of only one year from
                                                                     the date of the decree absolute of divorce .
      beyond and is contrary to the legislation — it being
      legally impossible to obtain the formal document —             Following her marriage, the applicant ceased to work as a
      when in fact the practical and positive outcome is that        Community official, having completed seven and a half
      the plant has been built and work and wealth have been         years' service. Throughout her marriage she was entitled, as
      created .
                                                                     the spouse of an official, to benefits under the Community
                                                                     sickness insurance scheme. After her divorce, the applicant
                                                                     was unable to obtain sickness insurance cover in Germany,
( c ) Misuse of powers                                               her country of origin, in either a compulsory or a private
                                                                     sickness insurance scheme, and has therefore been
                                                                     compelled to continue to live in the Grand Duchy of
      The decision to discontinue the aid is ultra vires
                                                                     Luxembourg, in order not to lose her entitlement to sickness
      inasmuch as it departs from the objective referred to          insurance cover. That situation is particularly difficult for
      in the notice granting aid and thus departs from               her, because she suffers from a serious illness.
      Community law and the purpose and aims thereof.
                                                                     The applicant complains that the European Parliament has
                                                                     failed, within the context of its powers, to take any initiative
                                                                     to fill the gap in the rules revealed in the relevant provision of
                                                                     the Staff Regulations.