Judgment of the General Court of 20 December 2023 – EIB v Syria
(Case T-457/22) 1
(Arbitration clause – Loan agreement concerning the design, construction, equipping and commissioning of certain hospitals in a third country – Non-performance of the agreement – Repayment of the sums advanced – Default interest – Procedure by default)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicant: European Investment Bank (represented by: T. Gilliams, R. Stuart and F. Oxangoiti Briones, acting as Agents, and by D. Arts and E. Paredis, lawyers)
Defendant: Syrian Arab Republic
Re:
By its action based on Article 272 TFEU, the European Investment Bank (EIB) requests that the Syrian Arab Republic be ordered to pay the European Union, which it represents, the sums of EUR 50 880 189.61 and 2 897 002.31 United States dollars (USD), together with interest, under Loan Agreement No 21595 concerning the design, construction, equipping and commissioning of certain hospitals located in Syria, and to pay it the sums of EUR 11 416.23 and USD 760.94, which have not been called, representing the default interest on the instalment due on 10 June 2022, accrued up to 29 June 2022, the date on which the European Union paid the related instalment of principal and contractual interest.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Orders the Syrian Arab Republic to repay the European Union, represented by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the sums of EUR 50 880 189.61 and 2 897 002.31 United States dollars (USD) representing the principal amounts and the contractual and default interest due on 30 June 2022 and the EIB the sums of EUR 11 416.23 and USD 760.94 representing the default interest on the instalment due on 10 June 2022, accrued up to 29 June 2022, which has not been called by the EIB;
Declares that the sums of EUR 40 744 064.86 and USD 2 223 971.84 comprising the principal amounts are to bear default interest, in accordance with the method laid down in Article 3.02 of Loan Agreement No 21595 concerning the design, construction, equipping and commissioning of certain hospitals located in Syria, entered into by the EIB and the Syrian Arab Republic on 15 June 2002, as amended by letter of 11 April 2006 and as modified on 17 October and 29 November 2007, from 30 June 2022 until the date that payment is made;
Orders the Syrian Arab Republic to pay the costs.
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1 OJ C 359, 19.9.2022.