Natixis v Commission

Action brought on 30 July 2021 – Natixis v Commission(Case T-449/21)Language of the case: English Parties Applicant: Natixis (Paris, France)(represented by: J. Stratford, Barrister-at-law, and J.-J. Lemonnier, lawyer)Defendant: European Commission Form of order sought The applicant claims that the Court should:declare Commission Decision C(2021) 3489 final adopted on 20 May 2021 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 of the TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement in Case AT.40324: European Government Bonds (the “Contested Decision”) to be void in its entirety, as concerns the applicant, andorder the Commission to pay the applicant’s legal and other costs and expenses in relation to this matter. Pleas in law and main arguments In support of the action, the applicant relies on four pleas in law. First plea in law, alleging that the Commission did not have a legitimate interest in adopting the Contested Decision within the meaning of the last sentence of Article 7(1) of Council Regulation (EC) N° 1/20031 . Second plea in law, alleging the infringement of: (a) the applicant’s rights of defence; (b) Article 27(1) of Council Regulation (EC) N° 1/2003 (and/or (c) Articles 10(1) and 11(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) N 773/2004/EC 2 . The applicant states that in the Contested Decision, the Commission relied on the legal and deterrent effects stemming from a finding of infringement in support of its finding of a legitimate interest; notwithstanding that this was not an...