Action brought on 29 March 2017 — EKETA v European Commission

(Case T-198/17)

Language of the case: Greek

Parties

Applicant: Ethniko Kentro Erevnas kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (EKETA) (Thessaloniki, Greece) (represented by: V. Christianos and S. Paliou, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the General Court should:

declare that the request made by the European Commission to ΕΚΕΤΑ to reimburse the amount of EUR 38 241.00 of the payment received by it for the ACTIBIO project, that request being made in the debit note3241615335/29.11.2016, is unfounded with respect to the sum of EUR 9 353.56;

declare that the sum of EUR 9 353.56 constitutes eligible costs and that ΕΚΕΤΑ is not obliged to repay that sum to the European Commission, and

order the European Commission to pay the applicant’s costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By this action, the Ethniko Kentro Erevnas kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (EKETA) challenges the requests made by the Commission by means of its debit note 3241615335/29.11.2016, in relation to participation in the ACTIBIO project. By means of that debit note, the Commission requested that ΕΚΕΤΑ reimburse part of the payment received by it for the ACTIBIO project, a sum of EUR 38 241.00. The request follows an on-the-spot audit which was carried out by the European Commission at the applicant’s premises.

In that context, the applicant claims that the General Court of the European Union, under Article 272 TFEU, should declare that, out of the above amount stated in the debit note, the sum of EUR 9 353.56 constitutes eligible costs and that ΕΚΕΤΑ is not obliged to repay that sum to the Commission.

ΕΚΕΤΑ maintains that the above amount of EUR 9 353.56 constitutes eligible staff costs and indirect costs, which the Commission wrongly rejected as being ineligible. The eligibility of the applicant’s costs is demonstrated by the evidence that it submitted to the European Commission at the on-the-spot audit and in subsequent correspondence and that it submits to the General Court.

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