Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions)

ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FOURTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT

18 July 2019 (*)

(Removal from the register)

In Case T‑621/17,

Taminco BVBA, established in Gent (Belgium),

Arysta LifeScience Great Britain Ltd, established in Edinburgh (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland),

represented by C. Mereu and M. Grunchard, lawyers,

applicants,

v

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), represented by D. Detken and S. Gabbi, acting as Agents, and by R. van der Hout and C. Wagner, lawyers,

defendant,

supported by

European Commission, represented by G. Koleva, I. Naglis and F. Castilla Contreras, acting as Agents,

intervener,

APPLICATION under Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of the decision of the European Food Safety Authority of 18 July 2017, notified to the applicants on 20 July 2017, on the assessment of the confidentiality claims made in relation to the application for renewal of the approval process for Thiram as an active substance.

1        By application lodged at the Court Registry on 14 September 2017, the applicants brought the present action.

2        By separate document lodged at the Court Registry on the same day, Taminco BVBA lodged an application for interim measures.

3        On 10 January 2018, the European Commission was granted leave to intervene in support of the forms of order sought by EFSA in the main proceedings.

4        On 12 October 2018, the President of the Court ordered that Taminco’s application for interim measures be dismissed and that the decision as to costs be reserved (Taminco/EFSA, T‑621/17 R, EU:T:2018:763).

5        By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 25 April 2019, the applicants informed the Court, in accordance with Article 125 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, that they wished to discontinue proceedings. They sought no order as to costs.

6        By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 29 April 2019, EFSA requested that the applicants be ordered to pay their own costs and the costs of EFSA.

7        By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 8 May 2019, the Commission informed the Court that it had no observations on the discontinuance.

8        Article 136(1) of the Rules of Procedure provides that a party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings is to be ordered to pay the costs, if they have been applied for in the other party’s observations on the discontinuance.

9        Article 138(1) of the Rules of Procedure provides that the Member States and institutions which have intervened in the proceedings shall bear their own costs.

10      The case shall therefore be removed from the register and the applicants ordered to pay their own costs and those incurred by EFSA in the main proceedings. Taminco must also be ordered to bear its own costs and those incurred by EFSA in the proceedings for interim measures.

11      The Commission shall be ordered to bear its own costs.

On those grounds,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE FOURTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT

hereby orders:

1.      Case T‑621/17 is removed from the register of the General Court.

2.      Taminco BVBA and Arysta LifeScience Great Britain Ltd shall pay their own costs and those incurred by the European Food Safety Authority in the main proceedings.

3.      Taminco BVBA shall pay its own costs and those incurred by the European Food Safety Authority in the proceedings for interim measures.

4.      The European Commission shall bear its own costs.

Luxembourg, 18 July 2019.

* Language of the case: English.

© European Union
The source of this judgment is the Europa web site. The information on this site is subject to a information found here: Important legal notice. This electronic version is not authentic and is subject to amendment.