Action brought on 10 September 2019 – ENIL Brussels Office and Others v Commission

(Case T-613/19)

(2019/C 413/68)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicants: European Network on Independent Living Brussels Office (ENIL Brussels Office) (Brussels, Belgium), Validity Foundation (Budapest, Hungary), Center for Independent Living - Sofia (Sofia, Bulgaria) (represented by: B. Van Vooren and Ł. Gorywoda, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicants claim that the Court should:

—

annul an act of the European Commission refusing to interrupt payment deadlines or suspend payments associated with the Call for Proposals BG16RFOP001-5 002‘Support for the deinstitutionalisation of services for elderly people and people with disabilities’ under Priority Axis 5 ‘Regional social infrastructure’ of Operational Programme ‘Regions in Growth’;

—	order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicants rely on three pleas in law.

1.

First plea in law, alleging that the rules on standing to challenge an illegal act of EU institutions are discriminatory on the grounds of disability, in conjunction with the fundamental right to effective judicial protection. — The applicants submit that the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides for an action by third party and the applicants are sufficiently representative to file an action to defend persons who are unable to defend themselves against discrimination resulting from the decision of the Commission not to interrupt payment deadlines or suspend payments associated with the call for proposals in question.

2.

Second plea in law, alleging that the contested act affects the legal position of a clearly identified group of persons that are not capable of representing themselves before a court. This plea is divided into the following two limbs: — The contested act is of direct and individual concern to a closed group of 1020 persons with disabilities located in Bulgaria; — The said group of persons is unable to represent themselves before a court.

3.	Third plea in law, alleging that, by adopting the contested act, the defendant infringed its obligations under, first, Regulation (EU) 1303/2013 (1)and, second, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

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(1)  Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (OJ 2013 L 347, p. 320).