Action brought on 18 December 2009 - Portugal v Commission

(Case T-509/09)

Language of the case: Portuguese

Parties

Applicant: Portuguese Republic (Lisbon, Portugal) (represented by: L. Inez Fernandes, A. Trindade Mimoso and A. Miranda Boavida, acting as Agents)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

Annulment of the European Commission's decision of 14 October 2009, notified to the Portuguese Government by letter No 11656, refusing to reimburse the amount of the contribution originally approved for the purchase of two Ocean Patrol Vessels (OPV) for surveillance of fishing activities, in the sum of EUR 11 025 000;

an order that the defendant should adopt a favourable decision with regard to the requests for reimbursement made by the Portuguese Government in connection with European Commission Decision 2002/978/EC of 10 December 2002;

an order that the European Commission should pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

(a)    Error as regards the legal requirements, given that the Portuguese State has complied in full with all the rules in the sphere of public procurement;

(b)    error as to the facts;

(c)    breach of the obligation to state reasons: the contested decision does not contain any grounds whatsoever, however slight, justifying the decision adopted. Inasmuch as it is contrary to and profoundly affects duly consolidated legal situations in a Member State, so causing the latter serious damage, such a decision ought, more than any other, to contain solid and persuasive reasoning, of which there is absolutely none in this case.

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