Appeal brought on 24 March 2015 by the European Commission against the judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) delivered on 20 January 2015 in Case T-111/12 Spain v Commission

(Case C-140/15 P)

(2015/C 155/21)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Appellant: European Commission (represented by: D. Recchia and S. Pardo Quintillán, acting as Agents)

Other party to the proceedings: Kingdom of Spain

Form of order sought

The appellant claims that the Court should:

Pleas in law and main arguments

The appeal brought by the Commission concerns the judgment of the General Court of 20 January 2015 in Case T-111/12. In that judgment, the General Court annulled Commission Decision C(2011)9990 of 22 December 2011 reducing the assistance granted under the Cohesion Fund to certain projects.

The Commission relies, in support of its appeal, on two grounds of appeal. By its primary ground of appeal, the Commission claims that the General Court erred in law in finding that the Commission had to adopt the decision on financial corrections within a time-limit, which is determined by the basic act in force on the date of the hearing between the Commission and the Member State. In the alternative, the Commission claims that the General Court erred in law in finding that the time-limit imposed on the Commission for adopting the decision on financial corrections is a mandatory time-limit, non-observance of which constitutes an infringement of an essential procedural requirement that invalidates the decision adopted outside that time-limit.