Judgment of the General Court Ninth Chamber, 21 December 2022, EWC Academy v Commission, T-330/21

• Date: 21 December 2022
• Year: 2022

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In the light of those considerations, the Court dismisses the action in its entirety.

9. BUDGET AND SUBSIDIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION: GRANT

AGREEMENTS

Judgment of the General Court (Ninth Chamber), 21 December 2022, EWC Academy v

Commission, T-330/21

Link to the full text of the judgment

Social policy – Grants for actions to promote corporate governance initiatives – Call for proposals

VP/2020/008 – Exclusion of European works councils not having legal personality – Article 197(2)(c) of

Regulation (EU) 2018/1046

On 2 June 2020, a call for proposals was published concerning the award of grants for actions to

promote corporate governance initiatives.

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As part of a decision of the European Commission,

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the call for proposals specified that single applicants, lead applicants and co-applicants eligible to

participate in the call had to be, inter alia, legal entities or workers’ representatives, such as works

councils. Similarly, the call stated that organisations of social partners without legal personality

pursuant to the applicable national law were also eligible to submit applications.

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Finally, it specified

that single applicants, lead applicants and joint applicants had to have strong financial capacity to

maintain their activities for the period of the action and to help finance it as necessary.

The applicant, a training and consultancy company specialising in issues relating to employee

representation in a cross-border context, and the European works councils of Mayr-Melnhof

Packaging and DS Smith plc, joined together in a consortium to respond to the call for proposals. On

30 July 2020, the applicant submitted an application for a grant and designated the abovementioned

European works councils as co-applicants (‘the co-applicant works councils’). The application was

accompanied by a declaration on their honour by the chairs of said works councils stating that they

possessed the required financial and operational capacity.

The Commission initially asked the applicant to provide evidence that the co-applicant works councils

were registered with the national public authorities. The applicant replied that they did not require

registration and that they were represented by their chairs. Subsequently, the Commission invited the

applicant to submit additional documents, including the ‘Legal Entity’ form. In response to that

request, the applicant declared that the co-applicant works councils were not legal entities and that,

consequently, no document could be produced to that effect.

On the basis of the Financial Regulation, the Commission then called on the applicant to provide

evidence of the financial capacity of one of the two European works councils concerned by requesting

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Call for proposals VP/2020/008 (information, consultation and participation of representatives of undertakings) (‘the call for proposals’).

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Commission Decision C(2019) 6522 final of 16 September 2019 on the adoption of the 2020 annual work programme for grants and

procurements concerning the prerogatives and specific competencies of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and

Inclusion, serving as financing decision.

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Pursuant to Article 197(2)(c) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the

financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU)

No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014 and Decision

No541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ 2018 L 193, p. 1, ‘the Financial Regulation’).