129As regards the first consideration, it should be observed that where a bank guarantee has been provided, the Commission is not required to reimburse a fine that was wrongly paid, since, ex hypothesi, the fine was not paid. The undertaking has therefore suffered no loss in value as regards the fine that it was required to pay immediately to the Commission, in light of the enforceable nature of the contested decision (second paragraph of Article 192 of the EC Treaty) and the absence of suspensory effect of actions brought before the Court of First Instance (first sentence of Article 185 of the EC Treaty). As stated above, the only financial damage that may have been sustained by the undertaking concerned is the consequence of its own decision to provide a bank guarantee in order to be in a position, in derogation from the rules set out above, not to pay the fine immediately, even though it has not secured a suspension of enforcement of the decision imposing the fine.
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.