Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 1 March 2018 –
Poland v Commission
(Case T‑316/15)
(ERDF — Refusal to confirm a financial contribution to a major project — Article 40(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 — Justification for the public contribution — Article 41(2) of Regulation No 1083/2006 — Time-limit not respected)
1. Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — European Union funding — Major projects — Assessment — Discretion of the Commission — Judicial review — Limits
(Council Regulation No 1083/2006, Art. 41)
(see paras 40-44)
2. Actions for annulment — Contested act — Assessment of legality in the light of the information available at the time of adoption of the measure
(Art. 263 TFEU)
(see para. 46)
3. Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — European Union funding — Major projects — Assessment — Criteria for assessment
(Council Regulation No 1083/2006, Arts 40, first para., (g) and 41(1))
(see paras 61, 71, 73)
4. Actions for annulment — Subject-matter — Decision based on several pillars of reasoning, each sufficient to justify the operative part — Annulment of such a decision — Conditions
(Art. 263 TFEU)
(see para. 91)
5. Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — European Union funding — Major projects — Assessment — Time-limit — Exceeded — Consequences — Annulment — Conditions
(Council Regulation No 1083/2006, Art. 41(2))
(see paras 100, 104, 105, 110, 120-122, 124, 125, 131)
6. Member States — Obligations — Duty of sincere cooperation with the EU institutions — Reciprocity
(Art. 4(3) TEU)
(see para. 133)
Re:
| Application based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking annulment of Commission Decision C(2015) 2230 of 31 March 2015 refusing to confirm to the Republic of Poland a financial contribution from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to the major project ‘Creation of Innovative Services at the IBM Shared Services Centre in Wrocław’ under Priority Axis No 4 of the operational programme ‘Innovative Economy’. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders the Republic of Poland to pay the costs. |
2. | | Orders the Republic of Poland to pay the costs. |