Case T-613/24: Action brought on 22 November 2024 – Alpha Panareti Public and Others v ECB
Date: 2024-11-22
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Cyprus, EU banking union, access to EU information, activity report, bank, banking supervision, disclosure of information








C_202503296EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/3296


24.6.2025






Action brought on 22 November 2024 – Alpha Panareti Public and Others v ECB


(Case T-613/24)

(C/2025/3296)
Language of the case: Greek

Parties


Applicants: Alpha Panareti Public LTD (Paphos, Cyprus) and 14 other applicants (represented by: P. Vorkas, lawyer)

Defendant: European Central Bank

Form of order sought

The applicants claim that the Court should:






—


declare that the European Central Bank has failed to fulfil its obligations under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 (1) in relation to the applicants’ requests, the request for information of 24 September 2024 in particular;










—


annul the decision and/or reply of the European Central Bank of 23 September 2024 not to provide information to the applicants;










—


order the European Central Bank immediately, following service of the Court’s decision, to proceed to granting the applicants’ request for information of 24 September 2024; and










—


order the European Central Bank to bear its own costs and to pay those of the applicants.





Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicants’ claim concerns the refusal and/or failure to grant the applicants’ request for access to documents and/or information in the possession of the European Central Bank. The applicants sent the letters in question criticising and/or referring to that which has been discussed in the case at hand. It is of note that, in the 2023 annual report of the ECB, nothing was published relating to a potential investigation having been carried out, and no information was was given to the applicants relating to the result of that potential investigation. The applicants complained formally by letter and email of 26 July 2024 to the European Central Bank as supervisor of ALPHA BANK, and invited it to recognise, within the scope of its own duties and powers, that the transfers and/or loan transfers and/or guarantees and/or collateral from Alpha Bank Cyprus Lta to the companies UMERA and ERMIS and the subsequent transfers to ALPHA CREDIT ACQUISITION COMPANY LIMITED and SKY CAC LIMITED are illegal and were carried out in breach of national and European legislation and, subsequently, to adopt the appropriate measures to ensure that the loans and/or guarantees and/or collateral are transferred and restored to Alpha Bank Cyprus Ltd. The reply received was that, due to the obligation of professional secrecy, the European Central Bank may provide only general information on the steps taken in relation to the complaints, but may not include the specific supervisory actions it may have taken in specific cases. The European Central Bank communicated that every year, in the context of the annual report on supervisory activity, an aggregate and anonymous summary of reported breaches and subsequent measures adopted is published.


(1)  Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/3296/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)