Action brought on 24 November 2023 – UIC v Commission

(Case T-1120/23)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: International Union of Railways (UIC) (Paris, France) (represented by: M. Roquette-Pfister, lawyer)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

annul the decision of the European Commission of 12 September 2023 excluding the UIC from the call for proposals procedure DIGITAL-ECCC-2022-CYBER-03-SOC;

order the European Commission to pay costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on two pleas in law.

First plea in law, alleging a manifest error of assessment by the Commission in deciding to exclude the UIC from the call for proposals procedure on the ground that it is controlled by entities in countries outside the European Union, which is not correct. The applicant invokes, in particular in that regard, the fact that its General Assembly is the ultimate decision making body in respect of strategic issues. Its members established in Member States of the European Union hold 51.10% of the voting rights of that body so that the UIC is effectively controlled by members established in the European Union.

Second plea in law, alleging the manifestly disproportionate nature of the exclusion of the UIC from the call for proposals procedure and the absence of duly justified security reasons on which that exclusion was based. The applicant claims that neither the contested decision, nor the other letters from the Commission to the UIC, nor any other document mentions the security reasons that led to its exclusion from the call for proposals.

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