Action brought on 11 March 2021 — Paccor Packaging and Others v Commission

(Case T-148/21)

(2021/C 206/38)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicants: Paccor Packaging GmbH (Düsseldorf, Germany), and 6 Others (represented by: P. Kugel and G. Dávid, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicants claim that the Court should:

— annul the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151 of 17 December 2020 (1) in its entirety, or, alternatively, annul the Regulation No 2020/2151 partially, in so far as it concerns Article 2 (4) thereof as well as Annex IV thereto, or, alternatively, annul the Regulation No 2020/2151 partially, in so far as it concerns beverage cups wholly made of plastic;

— annul the Regulation No 2020/2151 partially, in so far as it concerns Article 3;

— annul, partially, the Directive (EU) 2019/904 of 5 June 2019, (2) in so far as it concerns Article 7 to the extent that it applies to cups for beverages and point 4 under part D of the Annex thereto; and

— order the defendant to pay the costs;

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicants rely on seven pleas in law and a plea of illegality:

1. First plea in law, alleging that the defendant, in adopting the regulation 2020/2151, infringed Article 7 of Directive 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment and exceeded the powers conferred upon it by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

2. Second plea in law, alleging that the defendant, in adopting the Regulation No 2020/2151, infringed an essential procedural requirement by adopting it after 3 July 2020, and the relating corrected language versions, more than 6 months after the time limit set by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament in the Directive 2019/904.

3. Third plea in law, alleging that the defendant, by adopting the Regulation No 2020/2151, infringed Article 7 of the Directive 2019/904 and the principles of legal certainty and of the protection of legitimate expectations.

4. Fourth plea in law, alleging that the defendant, in adopting the Regulation No 2020/2151, infringed its duty to provide reasons.

5. Fifth plea in law, alleging that the defendant infringed Article 7 (1) of the Directive 2019/904, made a manifest error of assessment and exceeded its competence.

6. Sixth plea in law, alleging that the defendant infringed Article 7 (2) (c) of the Directive 2019/904 and manifestly erred in its assessment.

7. Seventh plea in law, alleging that the defendant breached the principle of proportionality. The applicants also raise a plea of illegality, pursuant to Article 277 TFEU, alleging that Article 7 and Part D, point 4, of the annex to Directive 2019/904 are unlawful.

(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151 of 17 December 2020 laying down rules on harmonised marking specifications on single-use plastic products listed in Part D of the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ 2020 L 428, p. 57)

(2) Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ 2019 L 155, p. 1)