Judgment_paragraph 45 · Appeal — Actions for damages — Second paragraph of Article 340 TFEU — Excessive duration of the proceedings in two cases before the General Court of the European Union — Damage allegedly suffered by the applicants — Material damage — Bank guarantee charges — Causal link — Default interest — Non-material damage (C-138/17 P, C-146/17 P)

45In that regard, it should be borne in mind that, according to settled case-law, arguments directed against grounds included in a decision of the General Court purely for the sake of completeness cannot lead to the decision being set aside and are therefore ineffective ab initio (judgment of 14 December 2016, SV Capital v ABE, C‑577/15 P, EU:C:2016:947, paragraph 65 and the case-law cited).