Action brought on 2 February 2011 -Spain v Commission
(Case T-76/11)
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Applicant: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: N. Díaz Abad, acting as Agent)
Defendant: European Commission
Form of order sought
The applicant requests the Court to:
annul Commission Regulation (EU) No 1004/2010 of 8 November 2010 of operating deductions from certain fishing quotas for 2010 on account of overfishing in the previous year (OJ 2010 L 291, p. 31); and
order the defendant to pay the costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
The applicant raises four pleas in law in support of its action:
1. First plea in law, based on an error of legal basis, given that the legal basis for the impugned act is Article 105 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009
1, which entered into force on 1 January 2010, whilst the infringements to which the penalties at issue apply were committed in 2009.
2. Second plea in law, based on breach of the principles of legality and legal certainty, since penalty rules are being applied which were not in force at the time the infringements occurred.
3. Third plea in law, based on breach of the principle of non-retroactivity of less favourable penalty provisions, insofar as less favourable rules are being applied to infringements that occurred in 2009.
4. Fourth plea in law, based on the fact that it may not be left to the Commission to determine the law applicable by reference to the time it chooses to commence an inquiry into a practice.
____________1 - Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 (OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 1).