ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT (Fourth Chamber)
21 December 2021 (*)
(Economic and monetary policy – Applicant who has ceased to reply to the Court’s requests – No need to adjudicate)
In Case T‑330/19,
PNB Banka AS, established in Riga (Latvia),
CR,
CT,
represented by O. Behrends, lawyer,
applicants,
v
European Central Bank (ECB), represented by C. Hernández Saseta, F. Bonnard and V. Hümpfner, acting as Agents,
defendant,
supported by
European Commission, represented by D. Triantafyllou, A. Nijenhuis and A. Steiblytė, acting as Agents,
intervener,
APPLICATION under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of the ECB’s decision, notified by letter of 21 March 2019, to oppose the acquisition of qualifying holdings in a credit institution,
THE GENERAL COURT (Fourth Chamber),
composed of S. Gervasoni (Rapporteur), President, P. Nihoul and R. Frendo, Judges,
Registrar: E. Coulon,
makes the following
Order
1 On 1 and 19 October 2018, the applicants, PNB Banka AS, a Latvian credit institution, and CR and CT, shareholders in that institution, notified the Finanšu un kapitāla tirgus komisija (Financial and Capital Market Commission, Latvia) of their intention to acquire qualifying holdings in a third-party Latvian bank.
2 By a decision notified by letter of 21 March 2019, the European Central Bank (ECB) opposed the proposed acquisition (‘the contested decision’).
3 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 31 May 2019, the applicants brought an action for annulment of the contested decision.
4 By letter of 26 June 2019, the applicants requested anonymity as regards CR and CT and the omission of certain information vis-à-vis the public, on the basis of Article 66 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court. By decision of 3 July 2019, the Court granted the application for anonymity.
5 On 10 September 2019, the ECB lodged its defence at the Court Registry.
6 By document lodged at the Court Registry on 20 September 2019, the European Commission sought leave to intervene in the present proceedings in support of the form of order sought by the ECB. By decision of 28 October 2019, the President of the Fourth Chamber of the General Court granted the Commission leave to intervene.
7 On 4 November 2019, the Commission lodged its statement in intervention at the Court Registry.
8 On 28 April 2020, the President of the Fourth Chamber decided, pursuant to Article 69(d) of the Rules of Procedure, to stay proceedings until the delivery of a decision by the Court in Case T‑50/20. By order of 12 March 2021, PNB Banka v ECB (T‑50/20, under appeal, EU:T:2021:141), the Court gave its decision in that case.
9 By letter of 8 July 2021, the applicants’ representative informed the Court that he no longer represented CR and CT.
10 By letter of 27 July 2021, the Court informed the applicants’ representative that he remained its contact person until CR and CT appointed a new representative. It also requested that he inform CR and CT that, by virtue of Article 51(1) of the Rules of Procedure, it was for them to appoint a new representative. It added that, if the Court were not informed of that appointment by 31 August 2021 at the latest, it was minded to close the proceedings as concerns those two applicants.
11 CR and CT did not appoint a new representative within the prescribed period.
12 By way of measures of organisation of procedure provided for in Article 89 of the Rules of Procedure, the Court, by letter of 12 October 2021, put a question to the parties to be answered in writing asking them to state whether the Court might declare of its own motion, by way of a reasoned order, that there was no longer any need to adjudicate on the action in respect of CR and CT, in accordance with Article 131(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
13 In their letters of 27 and 28 October 2021 respectively, the Commission and the ECB replied in the affirmative to the question put by the Court. The ECB added that it was appropriate for the Court to order CR and CT to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the ECB. CR and CT did not reply to the Court’s question within the prescribed period.
14 Under Article 131(2) of the Rules of Procedure, if the applicant ceases to reply to the Court’s requests, the Court may, on a proposal from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the parties, declare of its own motion, by reasoned order, that there is no longer any need to adjudicate.
15 In the present case, it is apparent from paragraphs 9 to 13 above that CR and CT are no longer represented by a lawyer before the General Court, in breach of Article 19 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union and Article 51(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, and that they no longer respond to the requests of the General Court.
16 Consequently, in view of the inaction of CR and CT, it is appropriate to find, in accordance with Article 131(2) of the Rules of Procedure, that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the action in so far as it is brought by them (see, to that effect, orders of 10 July 2017, NTS Energie- und Transportsysteme v EUIPO – Schütz (X-Windwerk), T‑649/14, not published, EU:T:2017:516, paragraph 14, and of 28 May 2021, Makhlouf v Commission and ECB, T‑260/18, not published, EU:T:2021:305, paragraph 15).
Costs
17 Under Article 137 of the Rules of Procedure, where a case does not proceed to judgment, the costs are to be in the discretion of the Court.
18 In the light of the circumstances of the present case, it is appropriate to order CR and CT to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the ECB only to the extent that those costs concern CR and CT.
19 Lastly, under Article 138(1) of the Rules of Procedure, the Member States and institutions which have intervened in the proceedings are to bear their own costs.
20 The Commission must therefore bear its own costs in so far as they concern CR and CT.
On those grounds,
THE GENERAL COURT (Fourth Chamber)
hereby orders:
1. There is no longer any need to adjudicate on the action in so far as it is brought by CR and CT.
2. CR and CT shall bear their own costs and pay those incurred by the European Central Bank (ECB) only to the extent that those costs concern CR and CT.
3. The European Commission shall pay its own costs in so far as they concern CR and CT.
Luxembourg, 21 December 2021.