European Court of Justice (News)

Ministre de la Transition écologique and Premier ministre (Responsabilité de l’État pour la pollution de l’air)
Environment and consumers
Les directives européennes fixant des normes pour la qualité de l’air ambiant n’ont pas, comme telles, pour objet de conférer des droits aux particuliers dont la violation serait susceptible de leur ouvrir un droit à réparation

Grünig v Commission
External relations
Le Tribunal rejette les recours en annulation du règlement d’exécution concernant les droits antidumping sur les importations de certains PVAL originaires de Chine

E. Breuninger v Commission
State aid
The General Court dismisses as inadmissible the action brought by the retail undertaking Breuninger against the Commission’s decision approving aid granted by Germany to compensate for losses suffered as a result of lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis

E. Breuninger v Commission
State aid
The General Court dismisses the actions brought by Breuninger and Falke against the Commission’s decision approving German aid to undertakings which suffered, in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, a loss of turnover of at least 30%

In the context of its 70th Anniversary, the Court bestows new names on some of its buildings

Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe v Commission
State aid
Tax rulings: The Court of Justice holds that the General Court was wrong to confirm the reference framework used by the Commission to apply the arm’s length principle to integrated companies in Luxembourg, in failing to take into account the specific rules implementing that principle in that Member State

Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (Examen d’office de la rétention)
Justice and Home Affairs
A national court is required to ascertain of its own motion whether a detention measure taken in respect of an illegally staying foreign national or an asylum seeker is lawful

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Réception des véhicules à moteur)
Environment and consumers
Approved environmental associations must be able to bring legal proceedings to challenge an EC type-approval of vehicles equipped with ‘defeat devices’ that may be prohibited (see Press Release 41/22)

Generalstaatsanwaltschaft München
Citizenship of the Union
The authorities of a Member State are not to extradite a third-country national to another third country where that national has been convicted by final judgment in another Member State for the same acts as those referred to in the extradition request and has been subject to the sentence imposed in that State

Minister for Justice and Equality (Levée du sursis)
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
European Arrest Warrant: Advocate General Ćapeta proposes that the term ‘trial resulting in the decision’ is to be interpreted as any step of the proceedings, which has the decisive influence on the deprivation of a person’s liberty.

Confédération paysanne and Others (Mutagenèse aléatoire in vitro)
Approximation of laws
Genetically modified plant varieties: according to the First Advocate General Szpunar, random mutagenesis applied in vitro must be excluded from the scope of EU law concerning deliberate release into the environment of GMOs

La Quadrature du Net and Others
Approximation of laws
First Advocate General Szpunar: a national authority should be able to access civil identity data linked to IP addresses where such data are the only means of investigation enabling the identification of the holders of those addresses suspected of online copyright infringement

Proximus (Annuaires électroniques publics)
Approximation of laws
The controller of personal data is required to take reasonable steps to inform internet search engine providers of a request for erasure by the data subject

Commission v CK Telecoms UK Investments
Competition
Merger control: Advocate General Kokott clarifies the standards of proof of the existence of non-coordinated effects satisfying the concept of ‘significant impediment to effective competition’ on an oligopolistic market where the merged entity does not have a dominant position

IG Metall and ver.di
Freedom of establishment
The transformation of a company governed by national law into a European company (SE) must not reduce the participation of trade unions in the composition of the Supervisory Board

M P A
DFON
La Cour apporte des précisions quant à la compétence judiciaire en matière de divorce, de responsabilité parentale et d’obligations alimentaires

Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Regroupement familial avec un mineur réfugié)
Justice and Home Affairs
Regroupement familial : le refus de délivrance d’un visa national aux fins du regroupement familial au parent d’un mineur réfugié non accompagné devenu majeur au cours de cette procédure est contraire au droit de l’Union

HOLD Alapkezelő
Freedom of establishment
Les exigences découlant du droit de l’Union en matière de politique de rémunération des gestionnaires d’investissements peuvent s’appliquer au versement de dividendes par ces gestionnaires à certains de leurs employés actionnaires qui relèvent du champ d’application personnel de cette politique

Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (Refus de prise en charge d’un mineur égyptien non accompagné)
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Protection internationale : les mineurs non accompagnés disposent d’un droit de recours contre le refus de prise en charge par un Etat membre où réside un proche

Sea Watch
Transport
Ships of humanitarian organisations systematically carrying out activities relating to the search for and rescue of persons at sea may be subject to controls by the port State