Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2016:285
Date: 2016-05-12
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: Competition;Agreements, decisions and concerted practices
Procedure: Action for damages - unfounded;Action for annulment - inadmissible
Origin: Sweden

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 12 May 2016 — Trioplast Industrier v Commission (Case T‑669/14) Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Market in industrial plastic bags — Action for annulment — Challengeable act — Admissibility — Action for damages — Default interest — Concept of a debt which is certain, of a fixed amount and due — Proportionality — Legal certainty — Principle that penalties must be specific to the individual and to the offence — Lack of legal basis — Article 266 TFEU — Causal link 1. Competition — Fines — Amount — Judicial review — Unlimited jurisdiction — Scope — Limit — No jurisdiction to impose a fine legally distinct from that imposed by the Commission (Art. 261 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 31) (see paras 57-59) 2. Actions for annulment — Actionable measures — Concept — Measures producing binding legal effects — Measures altering the applicant’s legal situation — Commission letter calling upon the addressee to pay default interest due on a fine amended by the General Court — Letter confirming conditions for suspension of payment of the fine during the inter partes procedure — Simple calculation of the precise amount of interest capable of being claimed from the applicant — Exclusion (Art. 263 TFEU) (see paras 63-76, 78) 3. EU law — Principles — Right to effective judicial protection — Action for annulment against measures not producing binding legal effects inadmissible — Possibility of parties challenging such measures by an action in non-contractual liability of the Union (Arts 263 TFEU, 299, fourth para., TFEU and 340, second para., TFEU) (see para. 77) 4. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Damage — Causal link — Cumulative conditions — One of the conditions not satisfied — Claim for compensation dismissed in its entirety (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see paras 92-98) 5. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Causal link — Concept — Default interest and bank guarantee costs arising from an undertaking’s choice not to pay the fine imposed by the Commission — No direct causal link (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see paras 99-103) Re: APPLICATION, first, for annulment of the decision allegedly contained in the letter of the Commission of 3 July 2014 in Case COMP/38.354 (Industrial bags — Trioplast Industrier AB) and, secondly, for damages under the second paragraph of Article 340 TFEU. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Trioplast Industrier AB to pay the costs.