Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 10 April 2019 –

Germany v Commission

(Case T‑229/17)

(Approximation of laws — Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 — Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 — Construction products — Harmonised standards EN 14342:2013 and EN 14904:2006 — Obligation to state reasons)

1. Action for annulment — Actionable measures — Meaning — Harmonised technical standard adopted on the basis of a regulation and published in the Official Journal of the European Union — Included (Art. 263 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 305/2011, Art. 8(3) and (4)) (see para. 41)

2. Action for annulment — Jurisdiction of the EU judicature — Claim seeking that directions be issued to an institution — Inadmissibility (Arts 263 and 266 TFEU) (see para. 46)

3. Action for annulment — Actionable measures — Meaning — Measures producing binding legal effects — Commission communications referring to harmonised standards — Not included (Art. 263 TFEU) (see paras 48-50)

4. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope (Art. 296, second para. TFEU) (see paras 62, 63)

5. Approximation of laws — Construction products — Regulation No 305/2011 — Harmonised standards — Guarantee by the harmonised standards of fulfilment of the basic requirements for construction works — Obligation of verification by the Commission — None (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 305/2011, Art. 17(3)) (see paras 69, 95, 96)

6. Approximation of laws — Construction products — Regulation No 305/2011 — Harmonised standards — Formal objection — Competence of the committee referred to in Article 22 of Regulation No 1025/2012 — Standardisation issue — Included — Question relating to technical regulations — Not included (European Parliament and Council Regulations No 305/2011, Art. 18(2) and No 1025/2012, Art. 22; European Parliament and Council Directive 98/34, Art. 5) (see paras 75-82)

7. Approximation of laws — Construction products — Regulation No 305/2011 — Essential requirements — Implementation through harmonised standards — Products bearing the CE marking — Presumption of fitness for use — Obligation to comply with the procedures for challenging harmonised standards laid down in the regulation — Adoption by a Member State of unilateral national measures restricting free movement of construction products which conform to the harmonised standard — Failure to fulfil obligations (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 305/2011, Arts 8(4) and 18(2)) (see paras 98, 99, 102, 105)

8. EU law — Implementation by Member States — Criteria for assessment — Domain exhaustively harmonised by an act of secondary law — Assessment solely on the basis of the harmonisation measure (see para. 100)

Re:

Application based on Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of, first, Commission Decision (EU) 2017/133 of 25 January 2017 on the maintenance with a restriction in the Official Journal of the European Union of the reference of harmonised standard EN 14342:2013 ‘Wood flooring and parquet: Characteristics, evaluation of conformity and marking’ in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ 2017 L 21, p. 113), second, Commission Decision (EU) 2017/145 of 25 January 2017 on the maintenance with a restriction in the Official Journal of the European Union of the reference of harmonised standard EN 14904:2006 ‘Surfaces for sport areas — Indoor surfaces for multi-sports use: Specification’ in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ 2017 L 22, p. 62), third, the Commission communication of 10 March 2017 in the framework of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC (OJ 2017 C 76, p. 32), in so far as it refers to harmonised standards EN 14342:2013 and EN 14904:2006, fourth, the Commission Communication of 11 August 2017 in the framework of the implementation of Regulation No 305/2011 (OJ 2017 C 267, p. 16), in so far as it refers to harmonised standards EN 14342:2013 and EN 14904:2006, fifth, the Commission Communication of 15 December 2017 in the framework of the implementation of Regulation No 305/2011 (OJ 2017 C 435, p. 41), in so far as it concerns harmonised standards EN 14342:2013 and EN 14904:2006, and, sixth, the Commission Communication of 9 March 2018 in the framework of the implementation of Regulation No 305/2011 (OJ 2018 C 92, p. 139), in so far as it refers to harmonised standards EN 14342:2013 and EN 14904:2006.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to bear its costs and those incurred by the European Commission;