Partex - Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços SA contra Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Court: General Court (European Union)
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:T:1999:171
• Date: 16 September 1999
• Docket Number: T-182/96
• Procedure Type: Recours en annulation - fondé

Avis juridique important

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61996A0182

Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Third Chamber) of 16 September 1999. - Partex - Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços SA v Commission of the European Communities. - Social policy - European Social Fund - Action for annulment - Reduction in financial aid - Facts and accounts certified as accurate - Competence ratione temporis of the State concerned - Statement of reasons - Rights of the defence - Abuse of rights - Legitimate expectations - Protection of vested rights - Misuse of power. - Case T-182/96.

European Court reports 1999 Page II-02673

Summary
Parties
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part

Keywords

1 Social policy - European Social Fund - Financial assistance for vocational training - Accuracy of facts and accounts in final payment claims to be certified by the Member States - Scope

(Council Regulation No 2950/83, Art. 5(4); Council Decision 83/516, Art. 2(2); Commission Decision 83/673, Art. 7)

2 Acts of the institutions - Statement of reasons - Obligation - Scope - Commission decision reducing, on a proposal from a Member State, assistance from the European Social Fund for vocational training

(EC Treaty, Art. 190 (now Art. 253 EC))

3 Social policy - European Social Fund - Financial assistance for vocational training - Decision reducing assistance initially granted - Obligations of the Commission - Action to be taken within a reasonable time

4 Actions for annulment - Pleas in law - Misuse of powers - Meaning

Summary

1 In so far as a Member State confirms the accuracy of the facts and accounts in final payment claims in respect of a grant of financial assistance from the European Social Fund (ESF), it is responsible to the Commission for the certifications which it submits.

Furthermore, given that Member States are under an obligation, pursuant to Article 2(2) of Decision 83/516 on the tasks of the ESF, to guarantee the successful completion of the operations financed, any certification under Article 5(4) of Regulation No 2950/83 on the implementation of Decision 83/516 must be regarded as being by nature an operation carried out by Member States subject to all reservations. A different interpretation would undermine the effectiveness of Article 7 of Decision 83/673 on the management of the ESF, which requires Member States to give notice of irregularities found in the management of operations to be financed through the ESF. In addition, the Commission may, under Article 7(1) of Regulation No 2950/83, check final payment claims, `without prejudice to any controls carried out by the Member States'. Those obligations and powers on the part of the Member States are not limited by any restriction in time. Consequently, where a Member State has already certified the accuracy of the facts and accounts in the final payment claim, it may still alter its assessment of the final payment claim if it considers that this contains irregularities which had not been previously detected.

2 The obligation, laid down in Article 190 of the Treaty (now Article 253 EC), to state the reasons for an individual decision is intended to provide the person concerned with sufficient information to enable him to determine whether the decision is well founded or whether it is vitiated by an error which may permit its validity to be contested, and to enable the Community judicature to review the lawfulness of the decision. A decision reducing the amount of ESF assistance initially granted must, in view of the serious consequences for the recipient, either show clearly the grounds justifying that reduction or refer with sufficient clarity to a measure of the competent national authorities in the Member State concerned, in which the reasons for such a reduction are clearly set out.

3 As regards the time which elapses between the lodging of a final payment claim by the national authority responsible for matters concerning ESF funding and the Commission's adoption of a decision in relation to that claim, the question whether that time-gap is reasonable must be determined in relation to the particular circumstances of each individual case. In particular, it is necessary to take account of its context, the various procedural stages followed, the complexity of the case and its importance for the various parties involved.

4 A measure is tainted by misuse of powers only if it appears, on the basis of objective, relevant and consistent factors, to have been taken with the exclusive purpose, or at least the primary purpose, of achieving an end other than that stated or of evading a procedure specifically prescribed by the Treaty for dealing with the circumstances of the case.

Parties

In Case T-182/96,

Partex - Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços, SA, a company incorporated under Portuguese law, established in Lisbon, represented by Rui Chancerelle de Machete, Pedro Machete and Miguel Pena Machete, of the Lisbon Bar, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Louis Schiltz, 2 Rue du Fort Rheinsheim,

applicant,

v

Commission of the European Communities, represented by Maria Teresa Figueira and Knut Simonsson, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg,

defendant,

APPLICATION for the annulment of Commission Decision C (96) 1184 of 14 August 1996, reducing the European Social Fund assistance granted in the framework of project No 880412/P3,

THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

(Third Chamber),

composed of: M. Jaeger, President, K. Lenaerts and J. Azizi, Judges,

Registrar: J. Palacio González, Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 15 December 1998,

gives the following

Judgment

Grounds

Legislative background

1 According to the first paragraph of Article 124 of the EC Treaty (now Article 147 EC) the Commission is responsible for the administration of the European Social Fund (hereinafter `the ESF').

2 Article 1(2)(a) of Council Decision 83/516/EEC of 17 October 1983 on the tasks of the ESF (OJ 1983 L 289, p. 38, hereinafter `Decision 83/516') provides that the ESF is to participate in the financing of operations concerning vocational training and guidance.

3 Acording to Article 2(2) of that decision, the Member States concerned are required to guarantee the successful completion of the operations.

4 Article 5(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2950/83 of 17 October 1983 on the implementation of Decision 83/516 (OJ 1983 L 289, p. 1) provides that approval by the ESF of an application for financial assistance is to be followed by payment of an advance of 50% of the assistance on the date on which the training operation is scheduled to begin.

5 Article 5(4) of Regulation No 2950/83 provides that final payment claims must contain a detailed report on the content, results and financial aspects of the relevant operation and requires the Member State concerned to certify the accuracy of the facts and accounts in those claims.

6 Article 6(1) of Regulation No 2950/83 provides that when ESF assistance is not used in conformity with the conditions set out in the decision granting approval the Commission may suspend, reduce or withdraw the aid after giving the relevant Member State an opportunity to comment.

7 Under Article 6(2), sums paid which are not used in accordance with the conditions laid down in the decision granting approval must be refunded.

8 Article 7(1) provides that the Commission may, without prejudice to any controls carried out by the Member States, make on-the-spot checks.

9 Article 6 of Commission Decision 83/673/EEC of 22 December 1983 on the management of the ESF (OJ 1983 L 377, p. 1) requires Member States' final payment claims to reach the Commission within 10 months of the date of completion of the operations concerned. It is stated that no payment may be made in respect of financial aid for which the application is submitted after the expiry of that period.

Facts of the case

A - Events preceding the contested decision

10 In 1987, the applicant, Partex - Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços, SA (hereinafter `Partex'), submitted applications for ESF financial assistance on behalf of Pirites Alentejanas SA (hereinafter `Pirites Alentejanas'), Tintas Robbialac SA (hereinafter `Tintas Robbialac') and Sapec - Chemical Products and Fertilisers of Portugal SA (hereinafter `Sapec') with a view to carrying out technical-vocational training programmes linked to the restructuring of those undertakings.

11 On 20 October 1987 the Departamento para os Assuntos do Fundo Social Europeu (Department of European Social Fund Affairs, part of the Portuguese Ministry of Employment and Social Security) (hereinafter `DAFSE'), acting for the Portuguese Republic and for the benefit of the applicant, submitted an application to the ESF for assistance for the 1988 financial year to finance a vocational training programme for Pirites Alentejanas, Tintas Robbialac and Sapec (file number 880412/PE).

12 By Decision C (88) 831 of 29 April 1988, the defendant granted the applicant assistance, for the aforementioned undertakings, amounting to PTE 146 321 461 and intended for training 416 people.

13 On an unspecified date, the applicant received an advance of PTE 73 160 730, pursuant to Article 5(1) of Regulation No 2950/83.

14 On 30 April 1989, after completing the training programme which took place over seven months between 1 January and 31 December 1988, the applicant submitted a claim for final payment to DAFSE.

15 By letter of 13 October 1989 DAFSE asked the applicant to amend its claim of 30 April. In its amended claim of 23 October 1989, the applicant stated that the total cost of the training programme had been PTE 130 350 556, including PTE 64 523 525 in the form of ESF assistance.

16 On 30 October 1989 the Portuguese...