Judgments nº T-644/14 of Tribunal General de la Unión Europea, July 20, 2017
| Resolution Date | July 20, 2017 |
| Issuing Organization | Tribunal General de la Unión Europea |
| Decision Number | T-644/14 |
In Case T-644/14,
ADR Center SpA, established in Rome (Italy), represented initially by L. Tantalo, and subsequently by A. Guillerme, lawyers,
applicant,
v
European Commission, represented initially by J. Estrada de Solà and L. Cappelletti, and subsequently by J. Estrada de Solà and S. Delaude, acting as Agents,
defendant,
APPLICATION, first, based on Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of Decision C(2014) 4485 final of the Commission of 27 June 2014 concerning the recovery of part of the financial contribution paid to the applicant under three grant agreements concluded in the context of the ‘Civil Justice’ specific programme and, second, based on Article 272 TFEU seeking an order directing the Commission to pay it the balance due to it under the three grant agreements in an amount of EUR 49 172.52 together with damages,
THE GENERAL COURT (First Chamber, Extended Composition),
composed of H. Kanninen, President, I. Pelikánová, E. Buttigieg (Rapporteur), S. Gervasoni and L. Calvo-Sotelo Ibáñez-Martín, Judges,
Registrar: P. Cullen, Administrator,
having regard to the written part of the procedure and further to the hearing on 23 November 2016,
gives the following
Judgment
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Background to the dispute
1 The applicant, ADR Center SpA, is a company established in Italy which provides services in the field of alternative dispute resolution.
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The grant agreements at issue
2 In December 2008 the European Community, represented by the Commission of the European Communities, concluded with the consortia of which the applicant was the coordinator three grant agreements bearing the numbers JLS/CJ/2007-1/18, JLS/CJ/2007-1/19 and JLS/CJ/2007-1/21 (respectively, ‘Grant Agreement A’, ‘Grant Agreement B’ and ‘Grant Agreement C’) in the context of implementing the specific programme established by Decision No 1149/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 September 2007 establishing for the period 2007-2013 the Specific Programme ‘Civil Justice’ as part of the General Programme ‘Fundamental Rights and Justice’ (OJ 2007 L 257, p. 16).
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Grant Agreement A
3 Grant Agreement A concerned an action entitled ‘The costs of non ADR - Surveying and showing the actual costs of intra-community commercial litigation’. That action consisted in a survey analysing the costs of not using alternative dispute resolution in the commercial sector.
4 Grant Agreement A stipulated, in Article I.2.2 thereof, that the project in question was to run for 12 months. That period was extended to 16 months, ending on 10 April 2010, by means of an amendment signed on 17 December 2009.
5 It is apparent from Articles I.4.2 and I.4.3 of Grant Agreement A that the total eligible costs were estimated at EUR 216 880 and that the grant was fixed at a maximum of EUR 173 000, representing 79.8% of the estimated eligible costs.
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Grant Agreement B
6 Grant Agreement B concerned an action entitled ‘Making information sessions on the use of mediation easily available throughout the EU: A video guide to facilitate settlement’. That action consisted in the creation of specialised videos aimed at educating lawyers and litigants about the nature and usefulness of mediation in cross-border disputes.
7 It is apparent from Article I.2.2 of Grant Agreement B that the duration of the action was 18 months, to be concluded on 9 June 2010.
8 It is apparent from Articles I.4.2 and I.4.3 of Grant Agreement B that the total eligible costs were estimated at EUR 243 500 and that the grant was fixed at a maximum of EUR 194 000, representing 79.7% of the estimated eligible costs.
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Grant Agreement C
9 Grant Agreement C concerned an action entitled ‘Beyond winning: successful mediation advocacy in representing clients’. The principal aim of that action was to inform lawyers about the possible use of mediation and to give them a more thorough understanding of the benefits of mediation.
10 It is apparent from Article I.2.2 of Grant Agreement C that the duration of the action was 18 months, to be concluded on 9 June 2010.
11 It is apparent from Articles I.4.2 and I.4.3 of Grant Agreement C that the total eligible costs were estimated at EUR 241 856 and that the grant was fixed at a maximum of EUR 193 000, representing 79.8% of the estimated eligible costs.
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Structure and relevant common provisions of the grant agreements
(a) Structure
12 The grant agreements all comprised special conditions, whose article numbers started with the Latin numeral I, general conditions, whose article numbers started with the Latin numeral II, and four annexes. It was also stipulated that the terms contained in the special conditions were to take precedence over those in the other parts of the agreement, that the terms of the general conditions were to take precedence over those in the annexes and that the terms of the agreement were to take precedence over the call for proposals and the guide for submitting a grant application (‘guide for grant applicants’). Each agreement stated that the latter two documents were nevertheless to be used ‘for supplementary purposes’.
(b) Submission of reports and other documents
13 It is apparent from reading Articles I.6 and II.15.4 of the grant agreements together that the coordinator was to submit within two months following the closing date of the action, (i) a final report on the implementation of the action, (ii) a final financial statement of the eligible costs actually incurred, following the structure of the estimated budget and using the same description and (iii) a full summary statement for the receipts and expenditures of the action (those three documents together, ‘the final report’).
(c) Commission payments
14 Article I.5 of the grant agreements stipulated that the Commission was to make a pre-financing payment to the beneficiaries and that the balance was to be paid after completion of the action. The request for payment of the balance was to be accompanied by the final technical implementation report and the final financial statement and the Commission was allowed 90 days to approve the report and pay the balance or to reject the report and request additional supporting documents or information. The beneficiary was allowed 30 calendar days in which to submit additional information or a new report.
(d) Law applicable and competent court
15 Article I.9 of the grant agreements stipulated:
‘The grant is governed by the terms of the agreement, the Community rules applicable and, on a subsidiary basis, by the law of Belgium relating to grants.
The beneficiaries may bring legal proceedings regarding decisions by the Commission concerning the application of the provisions of the agreement and the arrangements for implementing it before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities and, in the event of appeal, the Court of Justice of the European Communities.’
(e) Eligible costs
16 As regards eligible costs, Article II.14.1 of the grant agreements stipulated the following:
‘To be considered as eligible costs of the action, costs must satisfy the following general criteria:
- they must be connected with the subject of the agreement and they must be provided for in the estimated budget annexed to it;
- they must be necessary for performance of the action covered by the agreement;
- they must be reasonable and justified ...;
- they must be generated during the lifetime of the action ...;
- they must be actually incurred by the beneficiaries, be recorded in their accounts in accordance with the applicable accounting principles, and be declared in accordance with the requirements of the applicable tax and social legislation;
- they must be identifiable and verifiable.
The beneficiaries’ internal accounting and auditing procedures must permit direct reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the action with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents.’
(f) Enforceable decisions
17 Article II.19.5 of the grant agreements stipulated:
‘The beneficiaries understand that, under Article 256 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Commission may adopt an enforceable decision formally establishing an amount as receivable from persons other than States. An action may be brought against such decision before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities.’
(g) Checks and audits
18 Article II.20 of the grant agreements set out the following relevant stipulations:
‘II.20.1. The coordinator undertakes to provide any detailed information requested by the Commission or by any other outside body authorised by the Commission to check that the action and the provisions of the agreement are being properly implemented. Where the Commission so wishes, it may request such information to be provided directly by a co-beneficiary.
II.20.2. The beneficiaries shall keep at the Commission’s disposal all original documents, especially accounting and tax records, or, in exceptional and duly justified cases, certified copies of original documents relating to the agreement, stored on any appropriate medium that ensures their integrity in accordance with the applicable national legislation, for a period of five years from the date of payment of the balance specified in Article I.5.
II.20.3. The beneficiaries agree that the Commission may have an audit of the use made of the grant carried out either directly by its own staff or by any other outside body authorised to do so on its behalf. Such audits may be carried out throughout the period of implementation of the agreement until the balance is paid and for a period of five years from the date of payment of the balance. Where appropriate, the audit findings may lead to recovery decisions by the Commission.
II.20.4. The beneficiaries undertake to allow Commission staff and outside personnel authorised by the Commission the appropriate right of access to sites and premises where the action is carried out and to all the information...
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