Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2014:1064
Date: 2014-12-11
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Transport
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for damages - unfounded;Action for failure to act - inadmissible
Origin: Germany

summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based. This requirement presupposes that those indications are sufficiently clear and precise to enable the defendant to prepare its defence and the Court to rule on the application, if necessary, without any further information. 106 The application must accordingly specify the nature of the ground or grounds on which the action is based, so that a mere abstract statement of the grounds does not satisfy the requirements of the Rules of Procedure (judgments of 14 May 1998 in Mo och Domsjö v Commission, T‑352/94, ECR, EU:T:1998:103, paragraph 333, and 14 January 2009 in Kronoply v Commission, T‑162/06, ECR, EU:T:2009:2, paragraph 54). 107 Dismissal of the sixth plea leads to dismissal of the action for annulment in its entirety. The action for failure to act 108 Under Article 50(1) of Regulation No 216/2008, as amended, an action may be brought against EASA for failure to act. However, this right may only be exercised on the conditions laid down by primary law, in this instance Article 265 TFEU, the second and third paragraphs of which specify that an action for failure to act may be brought by a natural or legal person on condition that the body concerned has first been called upon by that person to act (see, to that effect, judgment of 4 February 1959 in De Gezamenlijke Steenkolenmijnen in Limburg v High Authority, 17/57, ECR, EU:C:1959:3, p. 1, 8, and order of 6 February 1997 in de Jorio v Council, T‑64/96, ECR, EU:T:1997:15, paragraph 39). 109 It is only after a period of two months from the date of that invitation to act that an action for failure to act may be brought before the General Court, within a further period of two months. 110 When invited by the General Court at the hearing to elaborate on what it considered to be the alleged failure to act, the applicant submitted that this was firstly the fact that EASA had not effectively initiated the procedure underlying its application for approval of flight conditions for a Robinson R66 helicopter (serial number 0034) and secondly the fact that EASA did not carry out an actual inspection of the aircraft. 111 However, it must be noted that, in view of this alleged double failure to act, the applicant did not present EASA with an invitation to act, the application for approval of flight conditions merely constituting an application seeking an administrative act, even when renewed. According to the case-law, it must be sufficiently clear from the application that its purpose is to compel the institution, body or agency concerned to state its position (see, to that effect, judgment of 10 June 1986 in Usinor v Commission, 81/85 and 119/85, ECR, EU:C:1986:234, paragraph 15, and order of 30 April 1999 in Pescados Congelados Jogamar v Commission, T‑311/97, ECR, EU:T:1999:89, paragraph 35) and that it constitutes a preliminary to legal proceedings (see, to that effect, judgments of 13 July 1961 in Elz v High Authority, 22/60 and 23/60, ECR, EU:C:1961:17, p. 181, 188; of 6 May 1986 in Nuovo Campsider v Commission, 25/85, ECR, EU:C:1986:195, paragraph 8; and order in Pescados Congelados Jogamar v Commission, EU:T:1999:89, paragraph 37). 112 For the sake of completeness, even if the action were admissible, it would have to be dismissed on its merits due to the considerations set out in paragraphs 69 to 99 and 100 to 102 above. 113 Therefore, the plea of inadmissibility raised by EASA in relation to the action for failure to act must be upheld and that action must be dismissed as inadmissible. The action for compensation 114 EASA submits that the action for compensation is inadmissible owing to the inadmissibility of the other actions seeking, first, the annulment of the initial decision and, second, a declaration of a failure on its part to act. 115 Article 50(1) of Regulation No 216/2008, as amended, allows for the possibility of EASA being liable for damages caused by it in the course of its activities. The applicant maintains that the initial decision was unlawful and was neither reversed nor set aside, and therefore, together with EASA’s failure to act, caused loss, for which the applicant seeks compensation, as quantified in its application. 116 To the extent that the action for damages is based on the alleged unlawfulness of the Board of Appeal decision, it should be noted that one of the conditions for non-contractual liability of the Union to be engaged is absent. According to settled case-law, in order for the Union to incur non-contractual liability under the second paragraph of Article 340 TFEU and for the right to compensation to be enforceable, a number of conditions must be satisfied: the conduct alleged against the institutions must be unlawful, actual damage must have been suffered and there must be a causal link between that conduct and the damage alleged. That liability cannot be regarded as having been incurred without satisfaction of all the conditions to which the duty to make good any damage, as defined in the second paragraph of Article 340 TFEU, is thus subject (see, to that effect, judgment of 9 September 2008 in FIAMM and Others v Council and Commission, C‑120/06 P and C‑121/06P, ECR, EU:C:2008:476, paragraphs 164 and 165 and the case-law cited). 117 In the absence of any unlawfulness in relation to the contested decision, the European Union courts may dismiss the application in its entirety without it being necessary for them to examine the other preconditions for such liability, namely the fact of damage and the existence of a causal link between the conduct of the institutions and the damage complained of (see judgment in FIAMM and Others v Council and Commission, paragraph 116 above, EU:C:2008:476, paragraph 166 and the case-law cited). 118 That is the situation in the present case, since the action for annulment has been dismissed on its merits in paragraph 107 above. 119 To the extent that the action for damages is based on the alleged failure to act on the part of EASA, the inadmissibility in the present case of the action for failure to act, due to the absence of an invitation to act as provided for in Article 265 TFEU, prevents the applicant from effectively claiming that it suffered loss as a result of that failure. Moreover, had the action been admissible it would still have been dismissed, as in paragraph 112 above. 120 Therefore, the damage that the applicant considers that it has suffered cannot be held to have been caused by any failure on the part of EASA. 121 It is therefore necessary to dismiss the action for compensation and, consequently, all of the applicant’s claims. Costs 122 Since EASA has applied for the applicant to be ordered to pay the costs, and the applicant has been unsuccessful, the applicant must be ordered to pay the costs pursuant to Article 87(2) of the Rules of Procedure. On those grounds, THE GENERAL COURT (Eighth Chamber) hereby: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Heli-Flight GmbH & Co. KG to pay the costs. Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 11 December 2014. [Signatures] * Language of the case: German.