Action brought on 3 December 2009 - France v Commission

(Case T-485/09)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: The French Republic (represented by: E. Belliard, G. de Bergues, B. Cabouat, and R. Loosli-Surrans, Agents)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

Annul Commission Decision 2009/726/EC of 24 September 2009 concerning interim protection measures taken by France as regards the introduction onto its territory of milk and milk products coming from a holding where a classical scrapie case is confirmed;

Order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By its application, the French government requests the Court, under Article 263 of the TFEU, to annul Commission Decision 2009/726/EC of 24 September 2009 concerning interim protection measures taken by France as regards the introduction onto its territory of milk and milk products coming from a holding where a classical scrapie case is confirmed. ¹

The decision being challenged orders France to suspend the application of interim protection measures which it adopted following the publication of new scientific opinions about a risk of human exposure to classical scrapie due to the consumption of milk and milk products originating from infected herds of ovine and caprine animals in order to prohibit the introduction onto its territory, for the purposes of human consumption, of milk and milk products coming from a holding where a classical scrapie case is confirmed.

In support of its action, the applicant submits that the decision being challenged must be annulled on the grounds that it infringes the precautionary principle, as regards both risk assessment and risk management.

The applicant claims that the Commission infringed the precautionary principle at the risk assessment stage by ignoring the remaining scientific uncertainties over the risk of the transmission to humans of TSE other than BSE.

In the applicant's opinion, the Commission also infringed the precautionary principle at the risk management stage by failing to adopt any measure in order to restrict the risk of human exposure to classical scrapie.

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¹ - OJ 2009 L 258, p. 27