General Court dismisses application for injunction to block publication of Euribor decision

The EU’s General Court has rejected an application by Crédit Agricole for an interim injunction in an appeal against a European Commission decision to publish the Commission’s decision in the Euro Interest Rate Derivatives cartel.

The proceedings arise out of the Commission’s 2016 decision (the 2016 Decision) fining JPMorgan Chase, Crédit Agricole and HSBC EUR485 million for their participation in the Euribor cartel.  Crédit Agricole argued that the entirety of the decision should remain unpublished until the conclusion of its appeal against the 2016 Decision.  It argued that publishing the decision before the appeal was concluded would violate the presumption of innocence.

The General Court found that the applicants had failed to show that an interim order was justified in fact and law.  The ruling confirms that the bar for obtaining interim measures is high.

In principle, the publication of the 2016 Decision before conclusion of the appeals can be expected to fuel private follow-on damages actions.  However, in practice domestic courts may stay their actions if there is a realistic prospect that the decision will be overruled in appeal proceedings before the EU Courts.

Case T-419/18 R - Crédit Agricole and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank v Commission (ECLI:EU:T:2018:726)