Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 18 January 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State – Netherlands) – RTL Nederland BV, RTL Nieuws BV
(Case C-451/22, 1 RTL Nederland and RTL Nieuws)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Aviation transport – Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 – Follow-up of occurrences endangering aviation safety – Article 15 – Confidentiality of details relating to those occurrences – Scope of that confidentiality – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Article 11 – Freedom of expression and of information – Freedom of the media – Request for disclosure of information on the downing of an aircraft flying over eastern Ukraine, made by undertakings operating in the media sector – Article 52(1) – Limitation – Conditions)
Language of the case: Dutch
Referring court
Raad van State
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicants: RTL Nederland BV, RTL Nieuws BV
In the presence of: Minister van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat
Operative part of the judgment
Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, amending Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2003/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 1321/2007 and (EC) No 1330/2007, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018, read in the light of the right to freedom of expression and information enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
must be interpreted as meaning that information held by the national competent authorities regarding an ‘occurrence’ relating to aviation safety, within the meaning of Article 2(7) of Regulation No 376/2014, as amended, is subject to a confidentiality regime the consequence of which is that neither the public nor even a media undertaking has the right to have access to that information in any form.
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1 OJ C 380, 3.10.2022.