Judgments (Information) nº T-3/07 of The General Court, September 16, 2013

• Resolution Date: September 16, 2013
• Issuing Organization: The General Court
• Decision Number: T-3/07

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 16 September 2013 —Spain v Commission (Case T‑3/07)

Cohesion fund — Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 — Environmental infrastructure projects under way in the territory of Andalucia (Spain) — Partial withdrawal of financial assistance — Public works and services contracts — Award criteria — Publicity — Eligibility of expenditure — Determination of the financial corrections — Article H(2) of Annex II of Regulation No 1164/94 — Proportionality

1. EU law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Conditions (see para. 53)

2. EU law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Protection refused to any person committing a manifest infringement of the rules in force (see para. 54)

3. EU law — Principles — Legal certainty — Rules which may entail financial consequences (see para. 65)

4. Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — EU financing — Reduction of financial assistance on account of irregularities — Compliance with principles of proportionality and conformity — Calculation of the amount of the reduction — Application of flat-rate financial corrections — Limits (Art. 5 EC; Council Regulation No 1164/94, Arts 8(1), and 12(1), and Annex II, Art. H(2) and (3); Commission Regulation No 1386/2002, Art. 17(1) and (2)) (see paras 71, 73, 83, 86-88, 90)

5. Acts of the institutions — Rules of administrative conduct of general scope — Measure designed to produce external effects — Autolimitation of the discretion of the institution adopting the measure — Obligation to comply with the principles of equal treatment, protection of legitimate expectations and legal certainty, and with higher rules of EU law (see para. 84)

6. Approximation of laws — Procedures for the award of public service contracts — Directive 92/50 — Derogations from common rules — Restrictive interpretation — Existence of exceptional circumstances — Burden of proof (Council Directive 92/50, Art. 11(3)(b) and (e)) (see paras 97, 99)

7. Approximation of laws — Public procurement procedures — Award of contracts — Qualitative selection criteria of the candidates taken into account as award criteria — Not permissible (Council Directive 93/37, Arts 26, 27 and 30(1)) (see paras 107-110)

8. Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — EU financing — Reduction of financial assistance on account of irregularities —...