Action brought on 11 May 2020 — Westfälische Drahtindustrie and Others v European Commission

(Case T-275/20)

(2020/C 247/32)

Language of the case: German

Parties

Applicants: Westfälische Drahtindustrie GmbH (Hamm, Germany), Westfälische Drahtindustrie Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (Hamm) and Pampus Industriebeteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG (Iserlohn, Germany) (represented by: O. Duys and N. Tkatchenko, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission

Forms of order sought

The applicants claim that the General Court should:

— Declare invalid the European Commission’s letter of 2 March 2020, in which the agentof Commission Director-General for Budget required the first applicant to pay an amount of EUR 12 236 931,69 to the Commission;

— Consequently, hold that the payments made by the first applicant to the Commission between 29 June 2011 and 16 June 2015 in the amount of EUR 16 400 000 plus compensatory interest which has become due of EUR 1 420 610, making a combined total of EUR 17 820 610 are to be taken into account in respect of the standalone fine imposed by the General Court in Case Westfälische Drahtindustrie and Others v Commission (T-393/10, EU:T:2015:515) with effect to 15 July 2015 and that as a result of the payment of 17 October 2019 of EUR 18 149 636,24 that fine has already been paid in full; and

— Order the Commission to pay to the first applicant an amount of EUR 1 633 085,17 together with compensatory interest since 17 October 2019 and default interest calculated at the average rate applied by the ECB at the relevant time to its main refinancing operations, increased by 3,5 % from 17 October 2019 until reimbursement in full of the amount owed;

— In the alternative, order the European Union, represented by the European Commission to pay compensation to the first to third applicants in the amount of EUR 12 236 931,69 in settlement of the amount claimed from the first applicant by the Commission letter of 2 March 2020 and to pay to the first defendant the amount of the overpayment being EUR 1 633 085,17 together with compensatory interest since 17 October 2019 and default interest calculated at the average rate applied by the ECB at the relevant time to its main refinancing operations, increased by 3,5 % from 17 October 2019 until reimbursement in full of the amount owed;

— and in any event, order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The action is based on the following pleas in law:

1. First plea: Infringement of Art. 266(1) TFEU due to (continuing) insufficient action to ensure compliance due to the annulment of the invalid fine caused by failure to have regard to the scope of the judicial declaration of invalidity with respect to the fine which has (retrospectively) become invalid. The Court did not uphold the invalid fine, but rather ordered the applicants to pay a new and standalone fine imposed by it.

2. Second plea: Infringement of Art. 266(1) TFEU and Art. 99(4) and Art. 98(4)(1)(b) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) due to incorrectly accepting default interest since 4 January 2011 as the Commission improperly failed to take into account to the benefit of the applicant the payments wrongly (ex tunc) made by the first applicant until delivery of the judgment of 15 July 2015 and the compensatory interest which had become due on the fine newly imposed by the Court with effect to 15 July.

3. Third plea: Failure to have regard to the principle of ne bis in idem due to the (actual) increase of the court-imposed fine, since the Commission has incorrectly been demanding payment by the applicants of retrospective default interest since 4 January 2011.

4. Fourth plea: Infringement of Art. 266(1) TFEU and Art. 99(4)(b) of Regulation 2018/1046 due to incorrect calculation of the maximum permitted amount of the default interest owed since 15 October.

5. Fifth plea: Infringement of Art. 266(1) TFEU due to failure to have regard to the principles and rules of sound administration since the Commission is improperly demanding from the applicants payment of an (additional) sum (plus default interest) which exceeds the fine imposed by the Court (plus default interest).

(1) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18. July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ. 2018 L 193, p. 1).