Press Release: Commission to appeal to Court of Justice against judgment of Court of First Instance in Case T-351/03 Schneider Electric v Commission

The European Commission has decided to lodge an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Communities against the judgment of the Court of First Instance of 11 July 2007 ordering the Commission to compensate Schneider Electric for the damage sustained as a result of the infringement of its right to be heard during the investigation into its planned acquisition of Legrand in 2001. The Commission considers that the conditions under which the Community’s non-contractual liability is incurred are not met in this case. It disputes the finding that the infringement of Schneider Electric’s rights of defence constituted a “sufficiently serious breach”, as is required by the case law. It believes that no causal link can be established between the fault allegedly committed and the main head of damages identified by the Court of First Instance. The Commission has two months from the date of service of the judgment in which to lodge its appeal before the Court of Justice.