Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 3 June 2021 – Commission v Germany (Limit values – NO2)
(Case C‑635/18)(1)
(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Environment – Directive 2008/50/EC – Ambient air quality – Article 13(1) and Annex XI – Systematic and constant exceedance of the limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in certain zones and agglomerations of Germany – Article 23(1) – Annex XV – Exceedance period to be ‘as short as possible’ – Appropriate measures)
1.      Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Subject matter of the dispute – Determination during the pre-litigation procedure – Initial complaints set out in greater detail in the application instituting proceedings – Whether permissible
(Art. 258 TFEU)
(see para. 47)
2.      Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Subject matter of the dispute – Determination during the pre-litigation procedure – Consideration of events which took place after the delivery of the reasoned opinion – Conditions – Facts of the same kind and constituting the same conduct as those referred to originally
(Art. 258 TFEU)
(see paras 53-58)
3.      Environment – Atmospheric pollution – Ambient air quality – Directive 2008/50 – Limit values for the protection of human health – Systematic and persistent exceedance – Failure to fulfil obligations
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/50, Art. 13(1) and Annex XI)
(see paras 77-84, 89, 90, operative part 1)
4.      Environment – Atmospheric pollution – Ambient air quality – Directive 2008/50 – Limit values for the protection of human health – Nitrogen dioxide – Exceeded – Evaluation criteria –Exceedance of a limit value measured at a single sampling point – Whether permissible
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/50, Arts 13(1) and 23(1) and Annex XI)
(see paras 86, 87)
5.      Environment – Atmospheric pollution – Ambient air quality – Directive 2008/50 – Limit values for the protection of human health – Nitrogen dioxide – Exceeded – Consequences – Obligation on the Member State to draw up a plan to remedy the infringement – Time limit – Failure to adopt appropriate and effective measures ensuring that the exceedance period is as short as possible – Failure to fulfil obligations
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/50, Arts 13(1) and 23(1) and Annexes XI and XV)
(see paras 138-152, operative part 1)
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Declares that the Federal Republic of Germany,
–        by having systematically and persistently exceeded, from 1 January 2010 up to and including 2016, first, the annual limit value for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in 26 zones and agglomerations situated in German territory, namely zones DEZBXX0001A (agglomeration of Berlin), DEZCXX0007A (agglomeration of Stuttgart), DEZCXX0043S (district of Tübingen), DEZCXX0063S (district of Stuttgart (without agglomeration)), DEZCXX0004A (agglomeration of Freiburg), DEZCXX0041S (district of Karlsruhe (without agglomerations)), DEZCXX0006A (agglomeration of Mannheim/Heidelberg), DEZDXX0001A (agglomeration of Munich), DEZDXX0003A (agglomeration of Nuremberg/Fürth/Erlangen), DEZFXX0005S (Zone III Central and Northern Hesse), DEZFXX0001A (agglomeration I (Rhine-Main)), DEZFXX0002A (agglomeration II (Kassel)), DEZGLX0001A (agglomeration of Hamburg), DEZJXX0015A (Grevenbroich (Rhineland mining area)), DEZJXX0004A (Cologne), DEZJXX0009A (Düsseldorf), DEZJXX0006A (Essen), DEZJXX0017A (Duisburg, Oberhausen, Mülheim), DEZJXX0005A (Hagen), DEZJXX0008A (Dortmund), DEZJXX0002A (Wuppertal), DEZJXX0011A (Aachen), DEZJXX0016S (urban and rural areas in North Rhine-Westphalia), DEZKXX0006S (Mainz), DEZKXX0007S (Worms/Frankenthal/Ludwigshafen), DEZKXX0004S (Koblenz/Neuwied), and, secondly, the hourly limit value for NO2 in two of those zones, namely agglomerations DEZCXX0007A (agglomeration of Stuttgart) and DEZFXX0001A (agglomeration I (Rhine-Main)), has failed to fulfil its obligations under the combined provisions of Article 13(1) of Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe and of Annex XI thereto,
–        by not having adopted, from 11 June 2010, appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the limit values for NO2 in all those zones, has failed to fulfil its obligations under the combined provisions of Article 23(1) of Directive 2008/50, read alone and in conjunction with Section A of Annex XV thereto, and in particular the obligation, laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 23(1) of that directive, to ensure that air quality plans set out appropriate measures, so that the period of exceedance of limit values can be kept as short as possible;
2.
Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission;
3.
Orders the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to bear its own costs.
1 OJ C 436, 3.12.2018.