Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 16 November 2023 – Kingdom of Spain v Council of the European Union
(Case C-224/22) 1
(Action for annulment – Regulation (EU) 2022/110 – Annex III(c) – Fixing the maximum authorised fishing effort of European hake and red mullet for demersal longliners – Annex III(e) – Fixing maximum catch limits for red shrimp – Geographical subareas (GSAs) 1-2-5-6-7 – Article 43(2) and (3) TFEU – Regulation (EU) 2019/1022 –Fishing effort regime– Supplementary measures – Article 7(5) – Concept of ‘significant catches’ – Scientific advice – Article 7(3)(b) – Concept of a ‘conservation measure’ – Obligation to state reasons – Discretion – Limits – Principle of proportionality)
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Applicant: Kingdom of Spain (represented initially by J. Rodríguez de la Rúa Puig, and subsequently by A. Gavela Llopis, acting as Agents)
Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by: F. Naert, A. Nowak-Salles and S. Sáez Moreno, acting as Agents)
Intervener in support of the defendant: European Commission (represented by: A. Dawes, I. Galindo Martín and A. Stobiecka-Kuik, acting as Agents)
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
1.    Dismisses the action;
2.    Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union;
3.    Order the European Commission to bear its own costs.
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1 OJ C 207, 23.5.2022.