Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 13 March 2019 –

Espírito Santo Financial Group v ECB

(Case T‑730/16)

(Access to documents — Decision 2004/258/EC — Documents relating to the ECB’s decision of 1 August 2014 concerning Banco Espírito Santo SA — Partial refusal to grant access — Exception relating to the confidentiality of the proceedings of the ECB’s decision-making bodies — Exception relating to the financial, monetary or economic policy of the European Union or of a Member State — Exception relating to the stability of the financial system in the European Union or in a Member State — Exception relating to the protection of commercial interests — Exception relating to documents intended for internal use — Obligation to state reasons)

1. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Assessment of the duty to state reasons by reference to the circumstances of the case (Art. 296, 2nd para. TFEU) (see paras 31, 32)

2. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Decision 2004/258 of the European Central Bank — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Decision refusing access — Obligation to state reasons — Scope — Request for access to the decisions taken by the Governing Council and to the minutes recording them — Decision of refusal — Insufficient statement of reasons (Art. 296, 2nd para. TFEU; Decision 2004/258 of the European Central Bank, Art. 4) (see paras 38-40, 51-61, 111)

3. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Decision 2004/258 of the European Central Bank — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the public interest concerning the financial, monetary or economic policy of the EU or a Member State or the financial situation of the ECB or national central banks — Protection of the public interest concerning the stability of the financial system in the EU or in a Member State — Discretion of the ECB (Art. 296, 2nd para. TFEU; Decision 2004/258 of the European Central Bank, Art. 4(1)(a)) (see paras 73, 172)

4. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Decision 2004/258 of the European Central Bank — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Decision refusing access — Obligation to state reasons — Scope — Requirement that the risk be of a specific nature and foreseeable (Decision 2004/258 of the European Central Bank, Art. 4(1)) (see paras 74, 78-82, 126-130)

5. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision upholding an initial decision (Art. 296, 2nd para. TFEU) (see para. 165)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 263 TFEU for annulment of the ECB’s decision of 31 August 2016 refusing in part to disclose certain documents relating to its decision of 1 August 2014 concerning Banco Espírito Santo SA.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls the decision of the European Central Bank (ECB) of 31 August 2016 partially refusing to disclose certain documents relating to its decision of 1 August 2014 concerning Banco Espírito Santo SA, in so far as it refused to disclose the amount of credit indicated in the extracts of the minutes recording the decision of the Governing Council of the ECB of 28 July 2014 and the information redacted from the proposals of the Executive Board of the ECB of 28 July and 1 August 2014;

2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder;