Case T-31/07: Judgment of the General Court of 12 April 2013 — Du Pont de Nemours (France) and Others v Commission (Plant protection products — Active substance flusilazole — Inclusion of flusilazole in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC — Actions for annulment — Partial annulment — Non-severability — Inadmissibility — Non-contractual liability — Limiting the inclusion for a period of 18 months and for four crops — Precautionary principle — Principle of proportionality — Right to be heard — Equal treatment — Statement of reasons — Misuse of powers — Sufficiently serious breach of a rule of law conferring rights on individuals)
Date: 2013-04-12
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: abuse of power, contractual liability, damages, equal treatment, indemnification, plant health product, principle of proportionality, rights of the defence








C_2013156EN.01002601.xml










1.6.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 156/26





Judgment of the General Court of 12 April 2013 — Du Pont de Nemours (France) and Others v Commission
(Case T-31/07) (1)

(Plant protection products - Active substance flusilazole - Inclusion of flusilazole in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC - Actions for annulment - Partial annulment - Non-severability - Inadmissibility - Non-contractual liability - Limiting the inclusion for a period of 18 months and for four crops - Precautionary principle - Principle of proportionality - Right to be heard - Equal treatment - Statement of reasons - Misuse of powers - Sufficiently serious breach of a rule of law conferring rights on individuals)
2013/C 156/43
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicants: Du Pont de Nemours (France) SAS (Puteaux, France); Du Pont Portugal — Serviços, Sociedade Unipessoal Lda (Lisbon, Portugal); Du Pont Ibérica, SL (Barcelona, Spain); Du Pont de Nemours (Belgium) BVBA (Mechelen, Belgium); Du Pont de Nemours Italiana Srl (Milan, Italy); Du Pont De Nemours (Nederland) BV (Dordrecht, Netherlands); Du Pont de Nemours (Deutschland) GmbH (Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany); DuPont CZ s.r.o. (Prague, Czech Republic); DuPont Magyarország Kereskedelmi kft (Budaors, Hungary); DuPont Poland sp. z o.o. (Warsaw, Poland); DuPont Romania Srl (Bucharest, Romania); DuPont (UK) Ltd (Stevenage, United Kingdom); Dy-Pont Agkro Ellas AE (Halandri, Greece); DuPont International Operations SARL (Le Grand Saconnex, Switzerland); DuPont Solutions (France) SAS (Puteaux) (represented: initially by D. Waelbroeck and N. Rampal, and subsequently by D. Waelbroeck, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented: initially by L. Parpala and B. Doherty, and subsequently by L. Parpala and G. von Rintelen, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the applicants: European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) (Brussels, Belgium) (represented: by U. Zinsmeister and E. Antypas, lawyers)

Re:

Action for (i) annulment of Commission Directive 2006/133/EC of 11 December 2006 amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC to include flusilazole as active substance (OJ 2006 L 349, p. 27) in so far as it includes flusilazole in Annex I to Directive 91/414 in respect of only four crops and for a period of 18 months and (ii) damages.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the action;










2.


Orders Du Pont de Nemours (France) SAS, Du Pont Portugal — Serviços, Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Du Pont Ibérica, SL, Du Pont de Nemours (Belgium) BVBA, Du Pont de Nemours Italiana Srl, Du Pont De Nemours (Nederland) BV, Du Pont de Nemours (Deutschland) GmbH, DuPont CZ s.r.o., DuPont Magyarország Kereskedelmi kft, DuPont Poland sp. z o.o., DuPont Romania Srl, DuPont (UK) Ltd, Dy-Pont Agkro Ellas AE, DuPont International Operations SARL and DuPont Solutions (France) SAS, to bear their own costs and to pay those of the Commission in respect of the main proceedings and the interlocutory proceedings;










3.


Orders the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) to bear its own costs.






(1)  OJ C 69, 24.3.2007.