In Industrias Químicas del Vallés, the Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) dismissed Industrias Químicas del Vallés’ appeal against the General Court’s Order of 16 February 2016. In that Order, the General Court rejected as inadmissible the annulment proceedings instituted by Industrias Químicas del Vallés against Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/408 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and establishing a list of candidates for substitution.
The Court of Justice adopted in this case a very restrictive interpretation of Article 263, 4th paragraph of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). According to this Article, any natural or legal person may, under the conditions laid down in the first and second paragraphs, institute proceedings against an act addressed to that person or which is of direct and individual concern to him, as well as against a regulatory act which is of direct concern to that person and does not entail implementing measures.
In particular, the Court of Justice held, contrary to the opinion of Advocate General Wathelet, that a measure may be classified as an implementing measure of a regulatory act within the meaning of Article 263, 4th paragraph TFEU even where the concerned regulatory act is not the legal base of said measure. According to the Court of Justice, the same measure can be an implementing measure both of the act which constitutes its legal base as well as of a different act, where all or part of the legal effects of the latter act will be produced, vis-à-vis the applicant, only through the intermediary of that measure.
With the ruling in Industrias Químicas del Vallés, the Court of Justice perpetuates its restrictive case-law concerning the admissibility of annulment proceedings.
For further information on this case and/or for general legal advice relating to EU Litigation, please contact Pierre de Bandt or Raluca Gherghinaru.