Appeal brought on 20 February 2023 by PNB Banka AS against the judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber, Extended Composition) delivered on 7 December 2022 in Case T-275/19, PNB Banka v ECB

(Case C-99/23 P)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Appellant: PNB Banka AS (represented by: O. Behrends, Rechtsanwalt)

Other parties to the proceedings: European Central Bank (ECB), European Commission

Form of order sought

The appellant claims that the Court should:

set aside the judgment under appeal;

declare void the decision of the ECB, notified by letter of 14 February 2019, to conduct an on-site inspection at the appellant’s premises;

order the ECB to pay the appellant's costs and the costs of this appeal, and

to the extent that the Court of Justice is not in a position to rule on the substance, refer the case back to the General Court.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the appeal, the appellant relies on a single plea in law alleging that the judgement under appeal is procedurally flawed because the General Court did not deal appropriately with the issue of the representation of the appellant in the context of the procedure in front of the General Court.

The General Court erred when it assumed that an issue with respect to the integrity of the procedure in front of the General Court is not a problem as long as it can be argued that the problem would not exist if, hypothetically, Latvia complied with its obligations. It thereby violated the principle that legal protection must not be merely theoretical and illusory and thereby violated Article 47 of the Charter.

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