Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 12 October 2011 – Dimos Peramatos v Commission

(Case T-312/07)

Financial contribution granted for an environmental project – LIFE – Decision to recover in part the amount paid out – Determination of the obligations of the recipient undertaken in the financed project – Legitimate expectations – Duty to state reasons

1.                     European Union law – Principles – Protection of legitimate expectations – Conditions – Specific assurances given by the administration – Financial aid granted for an environmental project – Decision to effect partial recovery of the amount paid, determined after a technical check carried out after the accounting check by the Commission – Knowledge of the person concerned – No infringement of the principle (Council Regulation No 1973/92) (see paras 50-52, 57, 64-67)

2.                     Economic and social cohesion – European Regional Development Fund – Grant of Community financial assistance – Conditions – Compliance with the terms set out by the Commission and those in the application for assistance – Reduction of the amount of the financial assistance approved in the initial budget where that obligation infringed (Council Regulation No 1973/92) (see para. 73)

3.                     Economic and social cohesion – Structural assistance – Community financing granted for national projects – Obligation on applicants for and beneficiaries of financial assistance to provide information and to cooperate – Scope (Council Regulation No 1973/92) (see para. 75)

4.                     Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope (see paras 113-118)

5.                     Actions for annulment – Jurisdiction of the EU judicature – Action brought against a Commission decision partially to recover an amount paid for carrying out an environmental project – No unlimited jurisdiction (see para. 121)

Re:

ACTION for annulment or, in the alternative, amendment of Decision E (2005) 5361 of the Commission of 7 December 2005 relating to Debit Note No 3240504536 which was issued to the Dimos Peramatos (Municipality of Perama) to recover the financial contribution which had been paid by the Commission in the context of the subsidy granted to the Dimos Peramatos by Commission Decision C(97)/1997/29 final of 17 July 1997.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Dimos Peramatos to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, including the costs relating to interim proceedings.