Press releases
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Press releases are intended to inform the general public and journalists in an accessible style, about matters of media interest or which have an impact on the lives of citizens. They also cover major institutional events.
The Court also produces
résumés
of the most important decisions. Résumés are primarily intended for an informed public, particularly lawyers, who wish to have a more detailed overview of the decisions adopted by the Court of Justice and the General Court.
No 231/2021
: 21 December 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Dissemination of allegedly disparaging remarks on the internet: compensation for the resulting damage in a Member State may be sought before the courts of that Member State
No 230/2021
: 21 December 2021
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-357/19
Euro Box Promotion and Others,C-379/19 DNA- Serviciul Teritorial Oradea, C-547/19 Asociaţia « Forumul Judecătorilor din România », C-811/19 FQ e.a. ,C-840/19 NC
Law governing the institutions
No 229/2021
: 21 December 2021
Environment and consumers
The Court clarifies the extent of protection afforded to consumers under a loan contract repayable in a foreign currency
No 228/2021
: 21 December 2021
DFON
EU law does not preclude the highest court in the judicial order of a Member State from being unable to set aside a judgment delivered in breach of EU law by that Member State’s highest administrative court
No 227/2021
: 21 December 2021
Free movement of capital
The prohibition imposed by EU law on complying with secondary sanctions laid down by the United States against Iran may be relied on in civil proceedings
No 226/2021
: 21 December 2021
Transport
A flight must be regarded as having been ‘cancelled’ in the case where the operating air carrier brings it forward by more than one hour
No 225/2021
: 20 December 2021
No 224/2021
: 16 December 2021
Opinions of the Advocate General in joined cases C-562/21 PPU,C-563/21 PPU
Openbaar Ministerie (Tribunal établi par la loi dans l’État membre d’émission)
DFON
No 223/2021
: 16 December 2021
State aid
Tax ruling: Advocate General Priit Pikamäe proposes that the Court allow the appeal brought by Ireland and annul the Commission’s decision declaring aid which Luxembourg granted to Fiat as being incompatible with the internal market
No 222/2021
: 16 December 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The principle ne bis in idem does not preclude the issue of a European arrest warrant against persons accused of abducting the son of a former Slovak President
No 221/2021
: 14 December 2021
Citizenship of the Union
Child, being a minor and a Union citizen, whose birth certificate was drawn up by the host Member State and designates as parents two persons of the same sex: the Member State of which the child is a national is obliged to issue an identity card or a passport to that child without requiring a birth certificate to be drawn up beforehand by its national authorities
No 220/2021
: 9 December 2021
Competition
Advocate General Rantos sets out the criteria for classifying an exclusionary practice as an abuse of a dominant position
No 219/2021
: 9 December 2021
No 218/2021
: 8 December 2021
Law governing the institutions
Energy consumption of cyclonic bagless vacuum cleaners: the General Court dismisses Dyson Ltd’s claim for compensation for alleged loss
No 217/2021
: 2 December 2021
Principles of Community law
AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona: the actions brought by Hungary and Poland against the regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget in the event of breaches of the principles of the rule of law should be dismissed
No 216/2021
: 2 December 2021
Principles of Community law
According to Advocate General Richard de la Tour, the Member States may allow consumer protection associations to bring representative actions against infringements of the protection of personal data
No 215/2021
: 30 November 2021
Orders of the President of the General Court in cases T-710/21 R, T-711/21 R
Roos and Others v Parliament
SANT
No 214/2021
: 30 November 2021
Privileges and immunities
Where a criminal authority finds that the conduct investigated by it of a governor of a central bank of a Member State was manifestly not committed by that governor in his or her official capacity, proceedings against him or her may be continued since immunity from legal proceedings does not apply
No 213/2021
: 26 November 2021
Law governing the institutions
The Vice-President of the General Court of the European Union refuses the new request for the suspension of waiver of the parliamentary immunity of Mr Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó, Mr Antoni Comín i Oliveres and Ms Clara Ponsatí i Obiols
No 212/2021
: 25 November 2021
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-437/19
État luxembourgeois (Informations sur un groupe de contribuables)
Approximation of laws
No 211/2021
: 25 November 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Jurisdiction to hear a divorce application: the Court clarifies the meaning and scope of the concept of the « habitual residence » of a spouse
No 210/2021
: 25 November 2021
Approximation of laws
‘Inbox advertising’: the display in the electronic inbox of advertising messages in a form similar to that of a real email constitutes use of electronic mail for the purposes of direct marketing within the meaning of Directive 2002/58
No 209/2021
: 25 November 2021
Free movement of goods
EU law precludes national legislation under which a parallel import licence of a medicinal product is to expire automatically after one year from the expiry of the marketing authorisation for the reference medicinal product, without carrying out an examination whether there is any risk to the health and life of humans
No 208/2021
: 23 November 2021
External relations
The Court of Justice upholds the acts of the Council maintaining Hamas on the European list of terrorist organisations
No 207/2021
: 23 November 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
EU law precludes a national supreme court, following an appeal in the interests of the law brought by the Prosecutor General, from declaring a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by a lower court unlawful on the ground that the questions referred are not relevant and necessary for the resolution of the dispute in the main proceedings
No 206/2021
: 18 November 2021
Approximation of laws
Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona reiterates that the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data relating to electronic communications is permitted only in the event of a serious threat to national security
No 205/2021
: 16 November 2021
External relations
The provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement concerning the European arrest warrant regime with respect to the United Kingdom and the provision in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom concerning the new surrender mechanism are binding on Ireland
No 204/2021
: 16 November 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
EU law precludes the regime in force in Poland which permits the Minister for Justice to second judges to higher criminal courts; secondments which that minister - who is also the Public Prosecutor General - may terminate at any time without stating reasons
No 203/2021
: 16 November 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
By criminalising organising activities in relation to the initiation of a procedure for international protection by persons not fulfilling the national criteria for granting that protection, Hungary infringed EU law.
No 202/2021
: 11 November 2021
SOPO
Employment of people with disabilities: according to Advocate General Rantos, an employer is obliged, as a matter of reasonable accommodation, to reassign a worker who has become unfit for his or her job to another job where he or she has the necessary skill, ability and availability, and where such a measure does not impose a disproportionate burden on the employer
No 201/2021
: 11 November 2021
Freedom of movement for persons
The Court defines the scope of the concept of ‘working time’ for a period of stand-by time according to a stand-by system
No 200/2021
: 11 November 2021
Freedom of establishment
A Member State cannot make, in principle, the full and automatic exclusion of pension rights from a bankruptcy estate dependent on the pension scheme in which those rights are held obtaining prior tax approval in that country where that scheme has already been tax approved in the home Member State of the migrant EU citizen concerned
No 199/2021
: 10 November 2021
Law governing the institutions
The General Court dismisses Romania’s action against the Commission’s decision registering the proposed citizens’ initiative entitled ‘Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures’
No 198/2021
: 10 November 2021
Intellectual and industrial property
The General Court confirms that the sign representing the crest of the football club AC Milan cannot be registered internationally as a trade mark designating the Union for stationery and office supplies
No 197/2021
: 10 November 2021
Competition
The General Court largely dismisses Google’s action against the decision of the Commission finding that Google abused its dominant position by favouring its own comparison shopping service over competing comparison shopping services
No 196/2021
: 9 November 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Advocate General Kokott: The provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement and of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which provide for the continuation of the European arrest warrant regime in respect of the United Kingdom, are binding on Ireland.
No 195/2021
: 9 November 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Common European Asylum System does not, in principle, preclude a Member State from automatically extending, as a derived right and for the purposes of maintaining family unity, refugee status to the minor child of a parent who has been granted that status
No 194/2021
: 29 October 2021
Order of the President of the General Court in case T-527/21
Abenante and Others v Parliament and Council
SANT
No 193/2021
: 28 October 2021
Competition
Truck cartel in Spain: Advocate General Rantos clarifies the temporal scope of the directive on the compensation of victims of anti-competitive practices
No 192/2021
: 27 October 2021
Principles of Community law
As it has not suspended the application of the provisions of national legislation relating, in particular, to the areas of jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, Poland is ordered to pay the European Commission a daily penalty payment in an amount of €1 000 000
No 191/2021
: 27 October 2021
No 190/2021
: 26 October 2021
DGEN
EU law prohibits the conclusion by a Member State of an arbitration agreement with identical content to an invalid arbitration clause in a bilateral investment treaty between Member States
No 189/2021
: 21 October 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Court provides guidance on specific provisions of the directive on the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime in the European Union
No 188/2021
: 20 October 2021
Competition
The General Court dismisses the actions of Polskie Linie Lotnicze ‘LOT’ against the Commission decisions authorising the mergers concerning the acquisition by easyJet and Lufthansa, respectively, of certain assets of the Air Berlin group
No 187/2021
: 11 October 2021
No 186/2021
: 8 October 2021
No 185/2021
: 8 October 2021
No 184/2021
: 8 October 2021
No 183/2021
: 8 October 2021
Mr Lars Bay Larsen is elected Vice-President of the Court of Justice of the European Union
No 182/2021
: 8 October 2021
Mr Koen Lenaerts is re-elected as President of the Court of Justice of the European Union
No 181/2021
: 7 October 2021
Partial renewal of membership and entry into office of nine new Members of the Court of Justice
No 180/2021
: 6 October 2021
Order of the Court of Justice in Case C-204/21 R-RAP
Commission v Poland
Principles of Community law
No 179/2021
: 6 October 2021
Energy
Advocate General Bobek: Nord Stream 2 AG can challenge before the EU Courts the directive extending the scope of the Gas Directive to pipelines connecting the EU with third countries
No 178/2021
: 6 October 2021
Law governing the institutions
Advocate General Bobek: The Court has no jurisdiction over the decisions of the representatives of the Member States locating the new seats of the European Medicines Agency and of the European Labour Authority
No 177/2021
: 6 October 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
According to Advocate General Saugmandsgaard Øe, a Member State faced with persistent serious threats to public policy or internal security may reintroduce controls at its internal borders for longer than only six months
No 176/2021
: 6 October 2021
The Treaties do not prohibit the Council from waiting, before adopting the decision concluding the Istanbul Convention on behalf of the European Union, for the ‘common accord’ of the Member States, but the Council cannot alter the procedure for concluding that convention by making that conclusion contingent on the prior establishment of such a ‘common accord’
No 175/2021
: 6 October 2021
Law governing the institutions
The Court clarifies its case-law in Cilfit concerning the situations in which national courts or tribunals of last instance are not subject to the obligation to make a reference for a preliminary ruling
No 174/2021
: 6 October 2021
Competition
The victim of an infringement of EU competition law committed by a parent company may seek compensation from that company’s subsidiary for the resulting loss
No 173/2021
: 6 October 2021
Principles of Community law
Transfers without consent of a judge from one court to another or between two divisions of the same court are liable to undermine the principles of the irremovability of judges and judicial independence
No 172/2021
: 6 October 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
A Member State may require its nationals to carry a valid identity card or passport when travelling to another Member State, irrespective of the means of transport used and the itinerary, subject to sanctions.
No 171/2021
: 6 October 2021
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-136/20
LU
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
No 170/2021
: 6 October 2021
State aid
The Court of Justice dismisses the appeals brought against the judgments of the General Court upholding the classification of the Spanish tax rules on the amortisation of financial goodwill as State aid incompatible with the internal market
No 169/2021
: 30 September 2021
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-130/19
Court of Auditors v Pinxten
Law governing the institutions
No 168/2021
: 30 September 2021
SOPO
Domestic workers in Spain: according to Advocate General Szpunar, legislation which excludes them from unemployment benefits, where those workers are almost exclusively women, is contrary to EU law
No 167/2021
: 30 September 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
According to Advocate General Pikamäe, EU law precludes a Member State from declaring an application for international protection automatically inadmissible when the applicant already has refugee status granted in another Member State
No 166/2021
: 29 September 2021
External relations
The General Court annuls the Council decisions concerning, first, the agreement between the European Union and Morocco amending the tariff preferences granted by the European Union to products of Moroccan origin and, second, the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement No 165/2021
: 29 September 2021
Principles of Community law
The General Court dismisses the action brought by M. Kočner against Europol in the context of the investigation into the murder of the journalist J. Kuciak and his fiancée M. Kušnírová
No 164/2021
: 29 September 2021
Competition
The General Court maintains the fines imposed by the Commission on several undertakings by reason of their participation in a cartel on the market for aluminium electrolytic capacitors and tantalum electrolytic capacitors
No 163/2021
: 27 September 2021
No 162/2021
: 23 September 2021
Approximation of laws
According to Advocate General Rantos, the installation of software that alters the level of pollutant gas emissions of vehicles based on the outside temperature and the altitude is contrary to EU law, and such a vehicle is not in conformity with the contract of sale within the meaning of Directive 1999/44
No 161/2021
: 22 September 2021
State aid
The General Court annuls the decisions by which the Commission found that an arbitration award setting an allegedly preferential tariff for electricity did not involve the granting of an advantage to the aluminium producer Mytilinaios
No 160/2021
: 22 September 2021
Competition
The General Court dismisses Altice Europe’s action against the Commission decision imposing two fines totalling €124.5 million in connection with the acquisition of PT Portugal
No 159/2021
: 20 September 2021
Environment and consumers
Poland is ordered to pay the European Commission a daily penalty payment of €500 000 because it has not ceased lignite extraction activities at Turów mine
No 158/2021
: 16 September 2021
State aid
Tax exemptions granted by Belgium to multinational companies by way of rulings: the Commission correctly found that there was an aid scheme
No 157/2021
: 16 September 2021
Taxation
Italy has infringed EU law by exempting from excise duty fuels used for private pleasure craft, chartered and used by end users for non-commercial activities
No 156/2021
: 15 September 2021
Judgment of the General Court in case T-777/19
CAPA and Others v Commission
State aid
No 155/2021
: 9 September 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
EU law precludes a subsequent application for international protection from being rejected as inadmissible on the sole ground that it is based on circumstances which already existed during the procedure relating to the first application
No 154/2021
: 9 September 2021
Agriculture and fisheries
The Court specifies the conditions for the protection of products covered by a protected designation of origin as laid down by the regulation establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products
No 153/2021
: 2 September 2021
DFON
Advocate General Bobek proposes a unified test for the protection against double jeopardy (ne bis in idem) under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
No 152/2021
: 2 September 2021
Law governing the institutions
The Court of Justice annuls the decisions of the Council on the application of the Partnership Agreement with Armenia
No 151/2021
: 2 September 2021
SOPO
Appeal by EPSU: the Commission is not bound to give effect to the social partners’ request seeking implementation, at EU level, of the agreement that they have concluded
No 150/2021
: 2 September 2021
Transport
The Court of Justice clarifies a number of provisions of the regulation concerning passengers’ rights when travelling by sea and inland waterway
No 149/2021
: 2 September 2021
State aid
The Commission must re-examine whether the sale of the Nürburgring in 2014 entailed a grant of State aid
No 148/2021
: 2 September 2021
Social security for migrant workers
Third-country nationals who hold a single work permit obtained pursuant to the Italian legislation transposing an EU directive are entitled to a childbirth allowance and a maternity allowance as provided for by the Italian legislation
No 147/2021
: 2 September 2021
Citizenship of the Union
According to the Court of Justice, a third-country national who has been the victim of acts of domestic violence committed by his or her spouse, who is a Union citizen, is not in a comparable situation to a third-country national who has been the victim of acts of domestic violence committed by his or her spouse, who is also a third-country national
No 146/2021
: 2 September 2021
Taxation
The rules for calculating the registration tax on second-hand vehicles imported into Portugal infringe the principle of the free movement of goods
No 145/2021
: 2 September 2021
Approximation of laws
‘Zero tariff’ options are contrary to the regulation on open internet access
No 144/2021
: 2 September 2021
Approximation of laws
Hungarian legislation which prohibits the annulment of a loan agreement denominated in a foreign currency on the ground that it contains an unfair term relating to the exchange difference appears to be compatible with EU law
No 143/2021
: 1 September 2021
Law governing the institutions
The General Court annuls OLAF’s decision not to grant partial access to the final report of its investigation relating to street-lighting projects implemented by the company Elios in Hungary with financial participation from the EU
No 142/2021
: 2 August 2021
No 141/2021
: 30 July 2021
Order of the General Court in case T-272/21 R
Puigdemont i Casamajó and Others v Parliament
Le vice-président du Tribunal de l’Union européenne rejette la demande de suspension de la levée de l’immunité parlementaire de MM. Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó et Antoni Comín i Oliveres ainsi que de Mme Clara Ponsatí i Obiols
No 140/2021
: 15 July 2021
Principles of Community law
In Advocate General Maciej Szpunar’s view, a national court hearing a dispute between individuals concerning a claim based on a national provision which fixes minimum tariffs for service providers in a manner that is contrary to the Services Directive must disapply such a national provision
No 139/2021
: 15 July 2021
Opinion of the Advocate General in the case C-788/19
Commission v Spain
Résidents fiscaux en Espagne : selon l’avocat général Saugmandsgaard Øe, sont contraires au droit de l’Union les amendes forfaitaires infligées en cas d’inexécution ou d’exécution tardive de l’obligation d’information concernant la détention de biens et droits à l’étranger
No 138/2021
: 15 July 2021
According to Advocate General Saugmandsgaard Øe, Article 17 of Directive 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market is compatible with the freedom of expression and information guaranteed in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
No 137/2021
: 15 July 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Cartel on the sale prices of trucks: the Court of Justice clarifies the courts with jurisdiction over actions for damages
No 136/2021
: 15 July 2021
Citizenship of the Union
The Court confirms the right of economically inactive Union citizens residing in a Member State other than their Member State of origin to be affiliated to the public sickness insurance system of the host Member State
No 135/2021
: 15 July 2021
Economic policy
Annulment of the decision of the Single Resolution Board on the calculation of ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund for 2017 as far as it concerns Landesbank Baden-Württemberg on the ground that the statement of reasons was inadequate
No 134/2021
: 15 July 2021
Principles of Community law
The Estonian legislation imposing an absolute bar on a prison officer remaining in employment when his or her hearing acuity does not meet minimum standards of sound perception without allowing it to be ascertained whether that officer is capable of performing his or her duties is contrary to EU law
No 133/2021
: 15 July 2021
DISC
The UK legislation on Universal Credit, which deprives of that benefit Union citizens who have a right to reside on the basis of the scheme established in the context of Brexit but who do not satisfy all of the conditions of Directive 2004/38, is compatible with the principle of equal treatment guaranteed by EU law
No 132/2021
: 15 July 2021
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-911/19
FBF
Law governing the institutions
No 131/2021
: 15 July 2021
Freedom of movement for persons
The Court of Justice provides guidance on the instances in which the Directive concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time does not apply to activities carried out by military personnel
No 130/2021
: 15 July 2021
Principles of Community law
The disciplinary regime for judges in Poland is not compatible with EU law
No 129/2021
: 15 July 2021
Energy
The legality of any act of the EU institutions falling within the European Union’s energy policy must be assessed in the light of the principle of energy solidarity
No 128/2021
: 15 July 2021
SOPO
A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer’s need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes
No 127/2021
: 14 July 2021
Order of the Court of Justice in Case C-204/21 R
Commission v Poland
La Pologne doit suspendre immédiatement l’application des dispositions nationales relatives notamment aux compétences de la chambre disciplinaire de la Cour suprême
No 126/2021
: 14 July 2021
Intellectual and industrial property
EU trade mark: the three-dimensional mark in the shape of a Guerlain lipstick may be registered
No 125/2021
: 14 July 2021
State aid
The General Court confirms that the aid granted by Austria to Austrian Airlines in order to compensate it for the damage resulting from the cancellation or rescheduling of its flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic is compatible with the internal market
No 124/2021
: 14 July 2021
State aid
Tax rulings issued to Nike and Converse by the Netherlands tax administration: the General Court dismisses the action brought against the Commission’s decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure
No 123/2021
: 8 July 2021
Approximation of laws
Advocate General Bobek: the circumstances referred by the Polish Supreme Court are not such as to cast doubts on the independence and impartiality of potentially all Polish judges appointed before 2018
No 122/2021
: 8 July 2021
Approximation of laws
A medicinal product not subject to medical prescription in one Member State may not be placed on the market in another Member State unless that Member State, too, has granted its marketing authorisation
No 121/2021
: 8 July 2021
Agriculture and fisheries
European rural development policy: the determining criterion for enabling a young farmer to access business start-up aid is the standard gross output of the entire agricultural holding, and not simply his or her share in that holding
No 120/2021
: 7 July 2021
Intellectual and industrial property
The Court gives a ruling for the first time on the registration of a sound mark submitted in audio format
No 119/2021
: 6 July 2021
No 118/2021
: 1 July 2021
State aid
According to Advocate General Szpunar, the General Court erred in law in concluding that the Commission was not competent to examine, in the light of the law on State aid, compensation paid by Romania following an arbitral award
No 117/2021
: 1 July 2021
Taxation
In the determination of the taxable amount of a transaction concealed by taxable persons for VAT purposes, the amounts paid and received as reconstituted by the tax authority must be regarded as already including that tax
No 116/2021
: 30 June 2021
Law governing the institutions
The resolution of Banca delle Marche by the Italian authorities was in essence determined by that bank’s failure
No 115/2021
: 24 June 2021
DISC
Advocate General Richard de la Tour: The grant without conditions as to resources of a right of residence by a Member State to Union citizens cannot have the effect of systematically excluding them from social assistance granted to nationals of that State without constituting discrimination based on nationality
No 114/2021
: 24 June 2021
Freedom of establishment
Advocate General Hogan: a Member State is not obliged to limit the extent of the areas in which one specific operator is entitled to carry out prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons, such as petroleum and natural gas
No 113/2021
: 24 June 2021
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-559/19
Commission v Spain (Détérioration de l’espace naturel de Doñana)
Environment and consumers
No 112/2021
: 22 June 2021
External relations
Venezuela has standing to bring proceedings against a regulation which introduces restrictive measures against it
No 111/2021
: 22 June 2021
Citizenship of the Union
A Union citizen who has been the subject of an expulsion decision cannot enjoy a new right of residence in the territory of the host Member State until he or she has genuinely and effectively terminated his or her residence there.
No 110/2021
: 22 June 2021
Citizenship of the Union
Measures to enforce a decision to expel a Union citizen and family members on grounds of public policy or public security constitute restrictions on the right to movement and residence, which may be justified if they are based exclusively on the personal conduct of the individual concerned and comply with the principle of proportionality
No 109/2021
: 22 June 2021
Approximation of laws
EU data protection law precludes Latvian legislation which obliges the road safety authority to make the data relating to the penalty points imposed on drivers for road traffic offences accessible to the public
No 108/2021
: 22 June 2021
Approximation of laws
As currently stands, operators of online platforms do not, in principle, themselves make a communication to the public of copyright-protected content illegally posted online by users of those platforms
No 107/2021
: 17 June 2021
Advocate General Kokott: European arrest warrant for the abduction of the son of a former Slovak President to be issued after revocation of an amnesty
No 106/2021
: 17 June 2021
Freedom of establishment
Advocate General Bobek: the Services Directive applies to disciplinary proceedings initiated against lawyers, the result of which may affect the ongoing ability of those lawyers to provide legal services
No 105/2021
: 17 June 2021
Freedom of establishment
The systematic registration of IP addresses of users and the communication of their names and postal addresses to the holder of intellectual property rights or to a third party in order to enable an action for damages to be brought is permissible under certain conditions
No 104/2021
: 16 June 2021
Law governing the institutions
The Court of Justice confirms the dismissal of two actions for annulment brought by Ms Eleanor Sharpston, seeking a finding that the premature end of her mandate as Advocate General by virtue of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was unlawful
No 103/2021
: 15 June 2021
Principles of Community law
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): the Court specifies the conditions for the exercise of the national supervisory authorities’ powers with respect to the cross-border processing of data
No 102/2021
: 10 June 2021
Environment and consumers
Advocate General Bobek: the Court should dismiss the appeals against the General Court’s judgment annulling the excessive oxides of nitrogen emission limits the Commission set for real driving tests in the wake of the ‘dieselgate’ scandal
No 101/2021
: 10 June 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
When considering an application for subsidiary protection, the competent authorities of the Member States must examine all the relevant circumstances which characterise the situation of the country of origin of the applicant in order to determine the intensity of an armed conflict
No 100/2021
: 10 June 2021
Environment and consumers
A consumer who has taken out a loan denominated in a foreign currency and who does not know that a term in the loan agreement is unfair cannot be subject to any limitation period for the repayment of sums paid on the basis of that term
No 99/2021
: 10 June 2021
Approximation of laws
An article in a printed newspaper that provides inaccurate health advice relating to the use of a plant which, when followed, has proved injurious to the health of a reader, does not constitute a defective product within the meaning of EU law
No 98/2021
: 9 June 2021
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission decision approving the State aid granted by Germany to the airline Condor Flugdienst on the ground of an inadequate statement of reasons,
No 97/2021
: 9 June 2021
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission decision finding that the non-charging of a deposit on certain drinks packaging sold by German border shops to customers resident in Denmark does not constitute State aid
No 96/2021
: 9 June 2021
External relations
The General Court annuls the Council’s 2019 acts extending the fund-freezing measures imposed on Viktor Yanukovych, former President of Ukraine, and his son, Oleksandr Yanukovych
No 95/2021
: 3 June 2021
SOPO
The principle, laid down by EU law, of equal pay for male and female workers can be relied upon directly, in respect both of ‘equal work’ and of ‘work of equal value’, in proceedings between individuals
No 94/2021
: 3 June 2021
Environment and consumers
Between 2010 and 2016, Germany systematically and persistently exceeded the limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
No 93/2021
: 3 June 2021
Law governing the institutions
The Court dismisses Hungary’s action against the Parliament resolution triggering the procedure for determining the existence of a clear risk of a serious breach, by a Member State, of the values on which the European Union is founded
No 92/2021
: 3 June 2021
Freedom of movement for persons
In order for it to be considered that it ‘normally carries out its activities’ in a Member State, a temporary-work agency must carry out a significant part of its activities of assigning temporary agency workers for the benefit of user undertakings established and carrying out their activities in the territory of the same Member State.
No 91/2021
: 2 June 2021
Order of the General Court in case T-272/21 R
Puigdemont i Casamajó and Others v Parliament
Le vice-président du Tribunal de l’Union européenne suspend provisoirement la levée de l’immunité parlementaire de MM. Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó et Antoni Comín i Oliveres ainsi que de Mme Clara Ponsatí i Obiols
No 90/2021
: 26 May 2021
Public procurement
The President of the General Court dismisses the application to suspend the operation of the decisions of the European Space Agency, acting in the name and on behalf of the European Commission, providing for the exclusion of the German company OHB System from the public contract for the ‘Procurement of Galileo transition satellites’
No 89/2021
: 21 May 2021
Poland must immediately cease lignite extraction activities in the Turów mine
No 88/2021
: 20 May 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Advocate General Bobek: EU law precludes the Polish practice of secondment of judges to higher courts that may be terminated at any moment at the discretion of the Minister of Justice, who is simultaneously the General Prosecutor
No 87/2021
: 20 May 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
An application for international protection may not be rejected as inadmissible on the ground that a previous application for asylum made by the same person was rejected by Norway
No 86/2021
: 20 May 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Cross border litigation between a business to which a road traffic accident victim’s claim against an insurance undertaking was transferred and that undertaking: The Court of Justice clarifies the rules regarding jurisdiction
No 85/2021
: 19 May 2021
State aid
The Commission’s decision declaring aid granted by Portugal to the airline TAP to be compatible with the internal market is annulled because of an inadequate statement of reasons
No 84/2021
: 19 May 2021
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision to approve the Netherlands financial aid for the airline KLM amid the COVID-19 pandemic on the grounds of inadequate reasoning
No 83/2021
: 19 May 2021
State aid
The solvency support fund for strategic Spanish undertakings experiencing temporary difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is compatible with EU law
No 82/2021
: 18 May 2021
New accessions
The Court of Justice rules on a series of Romanian reforms in the areas of judicial organisation, the disciplinary regime applicable to judges, and the financial liability of the State and the personal liability of judges as a result of judicial error
No 81/2021
: 12 May 2021
Law governing the institutions
The General Court, finding an inadequate statement of reasons, annuls a Commission decision refusing to register a proposed citizens' initiative
No 80/2021
: 12 May 2021
Tax rulings granted by Luxembourg to companies in the Engie group: the General Court finds the existence of a tax advantage
No 79/2021
: 12 May 2021
State aid
No selective advantage in favour of a Luxembourg subsidiary of the Amazon group: the General Court annuls the Commission’s decision declaring the aid incompatible with the internal market
No 78/2021
: 12 May 2021
Free movement of capital
Advocate General Hogan: Iranian undertakings may invoke EU law blocking US secondary sanctions before the courts of the Member States
No 77/2021
: 12 May 2021
State aid
Greece has failed to fulfil its obligations by failing to recover unlawful aid paid to Greek farmers as compensation for adverse weather conditions
No 76/2021
: 12 May 2021
Principles of Community law
The principle prohibiting the duplication of proceedings can preclude the arrest, within the Schengen Area and the European Union, of a person who is the subject of an Interpol notice
No 75/2021
: 6 May 2021
Principles of Community law
Advocate General Tanchev: the Court should rule that the Polish legislation concerning the disciplinary regime for judges is contrary to EU law
No 74/2021
: 29 April 2021
Agriculture and fisheries
Advocate General Pitruzzella: PDO products are protected against all forms of commercial parasitism
No 73/2021
: 29 April 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Court of Justice clarifies the scope of the principle ne bis in idem applicable when executing a European arrest warrant in respect of acts which were previously the subject of a sentence in a third State
No 72/2021
: 29 April 2021
DFON
The unconditional recognition of a reorganisation measure regarding a credit institution, having retroactive effect, is contrary to EU law if it means that the client can no longer pursue legal proceedings on the merits against the ‘bridge bank’ to which the liabilities in question were previously transferred
No 71/2021
: 29 April 2021
Approximation of laws
The conclusion of a contract of insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles is compulsory where the vehicle concerned is registered in a Member State and has not been officially withdrawn from use
No 70/2021
: 29 April 2021
Transport
A Member State may refuse to recognise a driving licence that was merely renewed in a Member State after its holder had been prohibited from driving in its territory
No 69/2021
: 29 April 2021
Agriculture and fisheries
EU law prohibits the addition of the alga Lithothamnium calcareum in the processing of organic foodstuffs such as rice- and soya-based organic drinks for the purpose of their enrichment with calcium
No 68/2021
: 22 April 2021
Transport
The mere diversion of a flight to a close-by airport does not grant a right to flat-rate compensation
No 67/2021
: 21 April 2021
Chanel v EUIPO - Huawei Technologies (Représentation d'un cercle contenant deux courbes entrelacées)
Intellectual and industrial property
The General Court dismisses the action brought by Chanel against the registration of a Huawei mark on the ground that the figurative marks at issue are not similar
No 66/2021
: 20 April 2021
DFON
National provisions of a Member State which confer on the Prime Minister a decisive power in the appointment of members of the judiciary, while providing for the involvement of an independent body responsible for assessing candidates and providing an opinion, are not contrary to EU law
No 65/2021
: 15 April 2021
DFON
Advocate General Bobek: the Court should revisit its case-law (the CILFIT criteria) on the duty of national courts of last instance to request a preliminary ruling
No 64/2021
: 15 April 2021
Law governing the institutions
Advocate General Bobek: The Court should declare the European Banking Authority Guidelines on Product Oversight and Governance Arrangements for Retail Banking Products invalid
No 63/2021
: 15 April 2021
Competition
According to Advocate General Pitruzzella, a national court can order a subsidiary company to pay compensation for the harm caused by the anticompetitive conduct of its parent company in a case where the Commission has imposed a fine solely on that parent company
No 62/2021
: 15 April 2021
Citizenship of the Union
With regard to the recognition in the European Union of the parentage of a child of a married same-sex couple, Advocate General Kokott recommends that a balance be struck between the national identity of the Member States and the right to freedom of movement of the child and of his or her parents
No 61/2021
: 15 April 2021
Principles of Community law
Advocate General Tanchev: two newly-created chambers of the Polish Supreme Court are liable to fail the requirements established by EU law in a situation where the judges concerned were appointed to those positions in flagrant breach of the national laws applicable to judicial appointments to that court
No 60/2021
: 15 April 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
According to Advocate General Pikamäe, on the basis of the primacy of EU law, a national judge must disapply any national legislation or judicial practice which undermines its power to refer questions to the Court of Justice
No 59/2021
: 15 April 2021
Agriculture and fisheries
The Court of Justice dismisses the action brought by the Netherlands against the ban on fishing by vessels using electric pulse trawls
No 58/2021
: 15 April 2021
SOPO
Public-sector workers placed, in certain circumstances, under the labour reserve system: the Greek legislation is not contrary to EU law
No 57/2021
: 15 April 2021
Taxation
The activity of protecting adults lacking legal capacity carried out by a lawyer constitutes, as a rule, an economic activity
No 56/2021
: 15 April 2021
Approximation of laws
Internet connection service on board aircraft: a mobile satellite system which is principally based, in terms of capacity of transmitted data, on complementary ground components which are installed so as to cover the entire territory of the European Union is not necessarily incompatible with the European legislative framework
No 55/2021
: 15 April 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
An applicant for asylum must be able to plead circumstances subsequent to the adoption of a transfer decision in respect of which he or she exercises a remedy
No 54/2021
: 15 April 2021
Principles of Community law
EU law precludes a national law that prevents a court hearing an action for compensation based on an allegation of discrimination from making a finding on the existence of that discrimination where the defendant agrees to pay the compensation claimed without recognising that discrimination.
No 53/2021
: 14 April 2021
State aid
Finland’s guarantee in favour of the airline Finnair to help it obtain a loan of EUR 600 million from a pension fund to cover its working capital requirements following the Covid-19 pandemic is compatible with EU law
No 52/2021
: 14 April 2021
State aid
Aid measures introduced by Sweden and Denmark for SAS for damage resulting from the cancellation or rescheduling of flights in the wake of travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic comply with EU law
No 51/2021
: 25 March 2021
Environment and consumers
The Court of Justice confirms that the action brought by families from the European Union, Kenya and Fiji against the EU ‘climate package’ of 2018 is inadmissible
No 50/2021
: 25 March 2021
Competition
The Court of Justice dismisses the appeals lodged by Slovak Telekom and Deutsche Telekom against the judgments of the General Court relating to anticompetitive practices on the Slovak telecommunications market
No 49/2021
: 25 March 2021
Competition
The Court of Justice dismisses the appeals of a number of manufacturers of medicines involved in an agreement seeking to delay the marketing of the generic antidepressant citalopram
No 48/2021
: 24 March 2021
Intellectual and industrial property
EUIPO erroneously declared invalid a design of a brick of a LEGO toy building set
No 47/2021
: 24 March 2021
Approximation of laws
EU law precludes a national practice by which a candidate excluded from a public procurement procedure may rely, in that candidate’s appeal against the decision to admit the bid of another tenderer, only on the infringement of the principle of equality in the assessment of bids
No 46/2021
: 24 March 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The jurisdiction of the court of a Member State that is seised of an action relating to parental responsibility cannot be based on Article 10 of the Brussels II bis Regulation in a case of abduction of a child to a third State
No 45/2021
: 24 March 2021
SOPO
Lorry, motor coach and bus drivers who, during an inspection, do not produce the record sheets for the tachograph relating to the current day and the previous 28 days are subject to a single penalty, irrespective of the number of missing record sheets
No 44/2021
: 23 March 2021
Transport
A strike organised by a trade union of the staff of an air carrier that is intended in particular to secure pay increases does not fall within the concept of an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ capable of releasing the airline from its obligation to pay compensation for cancellation or long delay in respect of the flights concerned
No 43/2021
: 18 March 2021
Energy
According to Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona, the principle of energy solidarity can be used to review the lawfulness of acts of the EU institutions in energy-related matters
No 42/2021
: 17 March 2021
Approximation of laws
A Member State court is required to exercise the power conferred on it by national law to make a declaration that that Member State has failed correctly to transpose a directive and is required to take remedial steps in that regard
No 41/2021
: 17 March 2021
Freedom of movement for persons
Where a worker has concluded more than one employment contract with the same employer, the minimum daily rest period applies to the contracts taken as a whole and not to each of the contracts taken separately
No 40/2021
: 17 March 2021
Environment and consumers
A Member State may not authorise a method of capture of birds leading to by-catch where that by-catch is likely to cause harm other than negligible harm to the species concerned
No 39/2021
: 16 March 2021
Transport
According to Advocate General Pikamäe, a strike organised by pilots’ trade unions constitutes, in principle, an extraordinary circumstance that may release the air carrier from its obligation to pay compensation for the cancellation or long delay of the flights concerned
No 38/2021
: 16 March 2021
State aid
The Polish tax on the retail sector and the Hungarian tax on advertisements do not infringe EU law on State aid
No 37/2021
: 11 March 2021
Advocate General Hogan proposes that the Court hold that although the EU has signed the Istanbul Convention, the Council is entitled to wait, without however being forced to do so, for the common agreement of all Member States to be bound by that convention before deciding whether and to what extent the EU will accede to it.
No 36/2021
: 9 March 2021
Freedom of establishment
Where the copyright holder has adopted or imposed measures to restrict framing, the embedding of a work in a website page of a third party, by means of that technique, constitutes making available that work to a new public
No 35/2021
: 9 March 2021
SOPO
A period of stand-by time according to a stand-by system is not, in its entirety, working time unless the constraints imposed on the worker very significantly affect his or her ability to manage, during that period, his or her free time
No 34/2021
: 5 March 2021
No 33/2021
: 4 March 2021
Law governing the institutions
According to Advocate General Bobek, decisions of a constitutional court declaring unlawful the composition of panels of a supreme court on the ground that the right to an independent and impartial tribunal has been infringed and declaring unconstitutional the technical surveillance measures in criminal proceedings by domestic intelligence service are compatible with EU law
No 32/2021
: 4 March 2021
State aid
The Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court by which the Commission’s decision classifying as State aid the tax scheme of four Spanish professional football clubs had been annulled
No 31/2021
: 2 March 2021
Law governing the institutions
Successive amendments to the Polish Law on the National Council of the Judiciary which have the effect of removing effective judicial review of that council’s decisions proposing to the President of the Republic candidates for the office of judge at the Supreme Court are liable to infringe EU law
No 30/2021
: 2 March 2021
State aid
The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by the Commission against the judgment of the General Court concerning the measures adopted by a consortium of Italian banks to support one of its members
No 29/2021
: 2 March 2021
Approximation of laws
Access, for purposes in the criminal field, to a set of traffic or location data in respect of electronic communications, allowing precise conclusions to be drawn concerning a person’s private life, is permitted only in order to combat serious crime or prevent serious threats to public security
No 28/2021
: 1 March 2021
No 27/2021
: 25 February 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
According to Advocate General Rantos, by imposing criminal penalties on organising activities intended to enable persons to initiate the international protection procedure who do not fulfil the national criteria for the grant of that protection, Hungary has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law
No 26/2021
: 25 February 2021
Research, information, education, statistics
In the opinion of Advocate General Juliane Kokott, the Commission’s decision refusing to review the authorisation of the plasticiser DEHP (bis(2ethylhexyl) phthalate) should be annulled
No 25/2021
: 25 February 2021
SOPO
According to Advocate General Rantos, an employer can authorise, as part of a policy of neutrality, the wearing by its employees of small-scale religious signs
No 24/2021
: 25 February 2021
Freedom of movement for persons
Member States may authorise partial access to one of the professions covered by the mechanism for the automatic recognition of professional qualifications, which include certain healthcare professions
No 23/2021
: 25 February 2021
Law governing the institutions
The Court confirms the dismissal of the action brought by the former European Commissioner John Dalli
No 22/2021
: 25 February 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
On account of its ongoing failure to transpose a directive and to notify transposition measures, Spain is ordered to pay a lump sum of € 15 million and a daily penalty payment of € 89 000
No 21/2021
: 25 February 2021
Competition
Slovak Telekom, found liable by the Commission for abuse of a dominant position on the market for certain telecommunications services, could also be subject to sanctions imposed by the Slovak authorities for such abuse on the market for other telecommunications services
No 20/2021
: 25 February 2021
SOPO
A Member State cannot make entitlement to parental leave subject to the requirement that the parent was employed at the time of the birth or adoption of the child
No 19/2021
: 24 February 2021
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-95/19
Silcompa
Approximation of laws
No 18/2021
: 18 February 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
According to Advocate General Rantos, the courts of a Member State have jurisdiction in a parental dispute in the case where a child, who was habitually resident in that Member State, is wrongfully removed to a non-Member State where he or she acquires habitual residence
No 17/2021
: 17 February 2021
State aid
The deferral of the payment of taxes introduced by France to support airlines which hold a French licence amid the Covid-19 pandemic is consistent with EU law
No 16/2021
: 17 February 2021
State aid
The loan guarantee scheme put in place by Sweden to support airlines holding a Swedish operating licence amid the Covid-19 pandemic and intended to remedy the serious disturbance to the economy of that Member State is compatible with EU law
No 15/2021
: 11 February 2021
Freedom of establishment
Legislation which reserves dock work to recognised workers may be compatible with EU law if it is aimed at ensuring safety in port areas and preventing workplace accidents.
No 14/2021
: 3 February 2021
Freedom of establishment
A national sports federation, such as the Italian Football Federation, may be subject to the rules on the award of public contracts if it pursues activities of general interest not having an industrial or commercial character
No 13/2021
: 3 February 2021
Freedom of establishment
The prohibition on broadcasting advertising only at regional level within the framework of German television programmes broadcast at national level could be contrary to European Union law
No 12/2021
: 3 February 2021
Environment and consumers
Hungary has infringed the rules of EU law on ambient air quality
No 11/2021
: 2 February 2021
Freedom of establishment
Natural persons who are subject to an administrative investigation for insider dealing have the right to remain silent when their answers might establish their liability for an offence that is punishable by administrative sanctions of a criminal nature, or their criminal liability
No 10/2021
: 27 January 2021
Environment and consumers
Curtis project in Spain: The EIB must accept ClientEarth's request for an internal review
No 9/2021
: 26 January 2021
SOPO
The practice adopted by an employer and consisting in the payment of an allowance only to workers with disabilities who have submitted disability certificates after a date chosen by that employer may constitute direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of disability
No 8/2021
: 26 January 2021
Economic policy
A euro area Member State can oblige its administration to accept payments in cash, but can also limit that payment option on public interest grounds
No 7/2021
: 20 January 2021
Intellectual and industrial property
The General Court confirms that there is no likelihood of confusion between the collective mark HALLOUMI, reserved for the members of a Cypriot association, and the sign ‘BBQLOUMI’ which serves to designate the products of a Bulgarian company
No 6/2021
: 20 January 2021
External relations
Advocate General Hogan: a third State may have legal standing in an action for annulment of restrictive measures adopted by the Council against that State
No 5/2021
: 14 January 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Before issuing a return decision in respect of an unaccompanied minor, a Member State must verify that adequate reception facilities are available for the minor in the State of return
No 4/2021
: 14 January 2021
DFON
A national rule permitting the confiscation of an instrumentality that was used to commit an aggravated smuggling offence but belongs to a third party acting in good faith is contrary to EU law
No 3/2021
: 14 January 2021
Taxation
The reduction on the price of fuel for residents of the Regione autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia does not, in itself, constitute an infringement of the Energy Taxation Directive
No 2/2021
: 13 January 2021
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
A European arrest warrant must be regarded as being invalid when it is not based on a national arrest warrant or any other enforceable judicial decision having the same effect
No 1/2021
: 13 January 2021
Principles of Community law
Advocate General Bobek: the data protection authority in the State where a data controller or processor has its main EU establishment has a general competence to start court proceedings for GDPR infringements in relation to cross-border data processing
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