Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Social policy — European Social Fund — Financial assistance for vocational training — Decision reducing assistance originally granted — Rights of defence of the beneficiaries — Scope

2. Social policy — European Social Fund — Financial assistance for vocational training programmes — Decision reducing assistance originally granted — Opportunity for the Member State concerned to comment prior to the adoption of the decision — Essential procedural requirement — Breach — Illegality

3. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Commission decision reducing assistance from the European Social Fund for vocational training — (Art. 253 EC)

Summary

1. Respect for the rights of the defence is, in all proceedings initiated against a person which are liable to culminate in a measure adversely affecting that person, a fundamental principle of Community law which must be guaranteed even in the absence of any rules governing the proceedings in question. That principle requires that the addressees of decisions which significantly affect their interests should be placed in a position in which they may effectively make known their views on the evidence against them which has been taken as the basis for such a decision.

In that respect, a Commission decision reducing or cancelling financial assistance granted by the European social fund is capable of directly and individually concerning the beneficiaries of such assistance and of adversely affecting them, even though the Member State concerned is the sole interlocutor of the European social fund in the relevant administrative procedure. It is the beneficiaries of the aid who are adversely affected by the economic consequences of the decision to reduce or cancel the assistance since they have primary liability for repayment of the sums unduly paid.

It follows that the Commission, which alone assumes legal liability towards the beneficiaries of European social fund assistance for the decision to reduce such assistance, is not entitled to adopt such a decision without first giving those beneficiaries the possibility, or ensuring that they have had the possibility, of effectively setting forth their views on the proposed reduction in assistance.

see paras 59-61

2. Having regard to the central role of the relevant Member State and to the importance of the responsibilities which that State assumes in the presentation and supervision of the financing by the European social fund of training measures, the opportunity for that State to comment before a definitive decision to reduce assistance is adopted constitutes an essential procedural requirement the disregard of which renders such a decision void.

see para. 62

3. The purpose of the obligation to state the reasons on which an individual decision is based is to provide the person concerned with sufficient information to make it possible to ascertain whether the decision is well founded or whether it is vitiated by a defect which may permit its legality to be contested, and to enable the Community judicature to review the lawfulness of the decision. The extent of that obligation depends on the nature of the measure in question and on the context in which it was adopted.

Since a decision reducing the amount of the European social fund assistance originally granted has, in particular, serious consequences for the beneficiary of the assistance, that decision must state clearly the grounds which justify the reduction in the assistance in relation to the amount originally approved. Moreover, the statement of reasons for such a decision must also inform the beneficiary of the assistance of the method by which the reduction effected was calculated.

see paras 100-101