Action brought on 2 July 2009 - AECOPS v Commission

(Case T-257/09)

Language of the case: Portuguese

Parties

Applicant: Associação de Empresas de Construção, Obras Públicas e Serviços (Aecops) (Lisbon, Portugal) (represented by: J.L. da Cruz Vilaça and L. Pinto Monteiro, lawyers)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

Annul the decision of the Commission of the European Communities of 22 June 2005 in respect of File 89 0979 P3, reducing the aid granted by Decision C(89) 0570 of 22 March 1989 to PTE 426 070 and requiring the reimbursement of the amount of PTE 1 591 128;

Order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Infringement of the right to a prior hearing: the applicant was not given the opportunity to comment before a definitive decision to reduce the financial assistance was adopted, which constitutes the breach of an essential procedural requirement the disregard of which renders such a decision void.

Infringement of the principal of legal certainty through limitation and excessive delay in adopting a decision.

Breach of the duty to state reasons: the contested decision fails to set out, even summarily, the reasons for reducing the assistance.

____________