62023TO1119(02)_INF
Order of the Vice-President of the General Court of 13 June 2024 –Lagardère v Commission
(Case T‑1119/23 R-RENV)
(Interim relief – Competition – Concentrations – Request for information – Article 11(3) of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 – Application for interim measures – Prima facie case – Weighing up of interests)
1.
Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Admissibility criteria – Interest of the applicant in obtaining the suspension sought – Application seeking suspension of the operation of a request for information – Request satisfied in part – No need to adjudicate on the information already provided
(Art. 278 TFEU)
(see paragraphs 19, 22)
2.
Interim relief – Admissibility criteria – Application – Formal requirements – Detailed statement of the subject matter of the application – Claim for a change in subject matter in the course of the proceedings – Inadmissibility
(Arts 278 and 279 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 156(4))
(see paragraph 35)
3.
Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Prima facie case – Prima facie examination of the pleas in law put forward in support of the main action – Action brought against a request for information made in the context of merger control – Complaints alleging breach of the principle of legal certainty and impossibility for the applicant undertaking to satisfy the request for information without exposing itself to criminal liability – Complaints that are not prima facie unfounded
(Arts 278 and 279 TFEU; Council Regulation No 139/2004, Art. 11(3); Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 156(4))
(see paragraphs 42, 43, 48-60)
4.
Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Conditions for granting – Balancing of all the interests involved – Suspension of the operation of a request for information issued in the context of merger control – Request which may engage the criminal liability of the undertaking concerned and expose that undertaking to criminal penalties – Interest of the undertaking concerned in avoiding the occurrence of serious and irreparable damage taking priority over the public interest in preserving the effectiveness of EU competition rules – Obligation for the undertaking concerned to ensure that documents covered by the request for information are retained
(Art. 278 TFEU; Council Regulation No 139/2004, Art. 11(3))
(see paragraphs 61-72)
Operative part
1.
There is no longer any need to adjudicate on the application for interim measures in so far as it relates to documents provided to the Commission on 30 January 2024.
2.
The operation of Commission Decision C(2023) 6429 final of 19 September 2023 relating to a procedure pursuant to Article 11(3) of Council Regulation EC No 139/2004 (Case M.11184 – Vivendi/Lagardère), as amended by Commission Decision C(2023) 7463 final of 27 October 2023 is suspended, in so far as it concerns documents which were not provided to the Commission on 30 January 2024.
3.
Lagardère SA is ordered to request that the persons concerned by Decision C(2023) 6429 final, as amended by Commission Decision C(2023) 7463 final, take all necessary steps to ensure that the documents referred to in the annex to that decision, which have not yet been provided to the Commission, are retained in a format that guarantees the integrity and inalterability of those documents.
4.
The application is dismissed as to the remainder.
5.
The costs are reserved.