Judgment of the General Court (Ninth Chamber) of 12 December 2014 — Xeda International v Commission
(Case T‑269/11)
Plant protection products — Active substance ethoxyquin — Non-inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC — Withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing that substance — Regulation (EC) No 2229/2004 — Regulation (EC) No 33/2008 — Accelerated assessment procedure — Manifest error of assessment — Rights of the defence — Proportionality — Legitimate expectations
1. Agriculture — Approximation of laws — Placing of plant protection products on the market — Directive 91/414 — Procedure for adding the active substances of those products to Annex I to that directive — Discretion of the Commission — Judicial review — Scope (Council Directive 91/414, Annex I) (see paras 41-43, 62)
2. Agriculture — Approximation of laws — Placing of plant protection products on the market — Directive 91/414 — Procedure for adding the active substances of those products to Annex I to that directive — Scientific uncertainty as to the safety of a substance — Application of the precautionary principle — Scope (Council Directive 91/414, Annex I) (see paras 54-58)
3. EU law — Principles — Rights of defence — Scope — Procedure for registering active substances of plant-protection products in Annex I to Directive 91/414 — No right to submit additional data during the assessment procedure (Commission Regulation No 33/2008, Arts 18(3), and 20(2), second para.; Council Directive 91/414, Annex I) (see paras 107, 108, 116)
4. EU law — Principles — Legal certainty — Concept — Rules with negative consequences for individuals — Requirement of clarity and precision (see para. 127)
5. EU law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Conditions (see para. 128)
6. Agriculture — Approximation of laws — Placing of plant protection products on the market — Directive 91/414 — Commission decision on the non-registration of an active substance in Annex I to that directive — Lack of sufficient information to conclude that no risks present — Consequences for the undertaking seeking registration in terms of the costs of preparing a new file and losses of commercial revenues — No breach of principle of proportionality (Council Directive 91/414, Art. 5(1), and Annex I) (see paras 136-138, 143, 151)
Re:
| ACTION for annulment of Commission Decision 2011/143/EU of 3 March 2011 concerning the non-inclusion of ethoxyquin in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and amending Commission Decision 2008/941/EC (OJ 2011 L 59, p. 71). |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Xeda International SA to bear its own costs and to pay the costs incurred by the European Commission, including those relating to the proceedings for interim relief. |