In a judgment handed down on Wednesday 29 October (Case T-399/23), the General Court of the European Union annulled a European Commission decision rejecting a request from ClientEarth and Collectif Nourrir to re-examine its August 2022 decision approving France’s CAP 2023-2027 agricultural strategic plan (see EUROPE 13011/11).
In their application under the ‘Aarhus’ regulations (1367/2006 and 2021/1767) on public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, the applicants put forward four pleas based on compliance with the rules on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting water resources and preserving biodiversity.
The General Court rejected almost all the arguments put forward. However, it upheld the complaint that the French strategic plan provided for derogations from the annual crop rotation rules, which it considered to be contrary to regulation (2021/2115) governing such plans.
The two organisations hailed a landmark judgment demonstrating that the European Commission should not have approved the French plan, which was endowed with €9 billion in European subsidies per year for the 2023-2027 period.
Sarah Martin, a lawyer at ClientEarth, states in a press release that “this judgment confirms the Commission’s enforcement duty - to only approve CAP Strategic Plans that comply with EU law”, particularly environmental law.
Consulted on Thursday 30 October, the Commission said it was analysing the content of the judgment.
See the General Court’s judgment (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/j7x (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)