Judgment_paragraph 48 · Westfälische Drahtindustrie GmbH and Others v European Commission (T-275/20)

48As regards the third head of claim, it must be recalled that actions for unjust enrichment do not fall under the rules governing non‑contractual liability in the strict sense, which, to be invoked, require a number of conditions to be satisfied relating to the unlawfulness of the conduct imputed to the European Union, the fact of the damage alleged and the existence of a causal link between that conduct and the damage complained of. They differ from actions brought under those rules in that they do not require proof of unlawful conduct – indeed, of any form of conduct at all – on the part of the defendant, but merely proof of enrichment on the part of the defendant for which there is no valid legal basis and of impoverishment on the part of the applicant which is linked to that enrichment (see judgment of 16 December 2008, Masdar (UK) v Commission, C‑47/07 P, EU:C:2008:726, paragraph 49 and the case-law cited).

Westfälische Drahtindustrie GmbH and Others v European Commission (T-275/20)

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