Commission v Printeos (Appeal - Competition - Judgment) [2021] EUECJ C-301/19P (20 January 2021)

Commission v Printeos (Appeal - Competition - Judgment) [2021] EUECJ C-301/19P (20 January 2021)

The Commission is obliged under Article 266 TFEU to pay default interest on the amount of a fine provisionally paid and subsequently annulled, from the date of payment to the date of repayment, regardless of the yield of the investment fund. Article 90 of Delegated Regulation No 1268/2012 does not exempt the...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2021] EUECJ C-301/19P
Parties
Appellant/respondent: European Commission; Respondent/applicant/cross Appellant: Printeos SA
Jurisdiction
European Union
Judgment Date
20 January 2021
Procedural Posture
EU Appeal and Cross Appeal / Judgment on Appeal and Cross Appeal From the General Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union
Outcome
Appeal dismissed; cross-appeal upheld in part.
Legal Topics
Annulment of Commission Decision, Repayment of Fines, Default Interest, Non Contractual Liability of the EU, Interpretation of Article 266 TFEU, Financial Regulation Compliance
European Union Law Competition Law Administrative Law Annulment of Commission Decision Repayment of Fines Default Interest Non Contractual Liability of the EU Interpretation of Article 266 TFEU +1 more

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Parties

European Commission

Appellant/respondent

Printeos SA

Respondent/applicant/cross Appellant

Procedural Posture

EU Appeal and Cross Appeal / Judgment on Appeal and Cross Appeal From the General Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Commission is obliged to pay default interest on a provisionally paid fine annulled by the General Court under Article 266 TFEU
  2. 2 Whether Article 90 of Delegated Regulation No 1268/2012 exempts the Commission from paying default interest
  3. 3 Whether the General Court erred in law by recharacterising compensatory interest as default interest

Ratio Decidendi

The Commission is obliged under Article 266 TFEU to pay default interest on the amount of a fine provisionally paid and subsequently annulled, from the date of payment to the date of repayment, regardless of the yield of the investment fund. Article 90 of Delegated Regulation No 1268/2012 does not exempt the Commission from this obligation. The General Court did not err in recharacterising the claim as one for default interest. The Commission's failure to pay default interest constituted a sufficiently serious breach of EU law, giving rise to non-contractual liability. Compound interest is justified from the date of the action until payment to fully compensate Printeos for the loss of...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed; cross-appeal upheld in part.

Orders

  • The Commission's appeal is dismissed in its entirety.
  • The cross-appeal by Printeos is upheld to the extent that default interest at the ECB refinancing rate plus 3.5 percentage points is awarded on EUR 184,592.95 from 31 March 2017 until full payment.