Action brought on 18 June 2008 - Szomborg v Commission

(Case T-228/08)

Language of the case: Polish

Parties

Applicant: Grzegorz Szomborg (Jastarnia, Poland) (represented by R. Nowosielski, lawyer)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

declare that the Commission failed to act, in breach of its obligations under Article 27 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005, ¹ in that it did not publish a scientific assessment of the effects of using in particular gillnets, trammel nets and entangling nets on cetaceans and did not present its findings to the European Parliament and the Council;

order the Commission to bear its costs;

order the applicant's costs to be reimbursed.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In accordance with Article 27 of Council Regulation No 2187/2005 the Commission was obliged to ensure by 1 January 2008 that a scientific assessment was conducted of the effects of using in particular gillnets, trammel nets and entangling nets on cetaceans and its findings presented to the European Parliament and the Council. In connection with the failure to present such a report within the prescribed period, the applicant called on the Commission to act, by letter of 25 February 2008. In reply to the applicant's call to act, the Commission asserted that such a scientific assessment had not yet been presented as a result of the lack of cooperation by other parties.

Considering that in those circumstances the Commission's failure to comply with its obligation under Article 27 of Council Regulation No 2187/2005 is beyond dispute, the applicant brought the present action for failure to act under Article 232 EC.

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¹ - Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound, amending Regulation (EC) No 1434/98 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 88/98 (OJ 2005 L 349, p. 1).