Case T-329/17: Judgment of the General Court of 7 March 2019 –Hautala and Others v EFSA (Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents relating to carcinogenicity studies conducted in connection with the renewal of the approval of the active substance glyphosate — Partial refusal to grant access — Exception relating to the protection of commercial interests — Overriding public interest — Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 — Concept of information relating to emissions into the environment)
Date: 2019-03-07
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: access to EU information, carcinogenic substance, environmental protection, herbicide, market approval, pollution








C_2019148EN.01004702.xml










29.4.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 148/47






Judgment of the General Court of 7 March 2019 –Hautala and Others v EFSA
(Case T-329/17) (1)

(Access to documents - Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 - Documents relating to carcinogenicity studies conducted in connection with the renewal of the approval of the active substance glyphosate - Partial refusal to grant access - Exception relating to the protection of commercial interests - Overriding public interest - Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 - Concept of information relating to emissions into the environment)
(2019/C 148/44)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicants: Heidi Hautala (Finland), Benedek Jávor (Hungary), Michèle Rivasi (France), Bart Staes (Belgium) (represented by: B. Kloostra, lawyer)

Defendant: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (represented by: D. Detken, J. Tarazona, F. Volpi and B. Vagenende, acting as Agents, assisted by R. van der Hout and C. Wagner, lawyers)

Interveners in support of the defendant: Cheminova A/S (Harboøre (Denmark), (represented by: C. Mereu, lawyer); and Monsanto Europe (Antwerp, Belgium); Monsanto Company (Wilmington, Delaware, United States) (represented initially by M. Pittie, P. Honoré and N. Callens, and subsequently by P. Honoré, N. Callens and A. Helfer, lawyers)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 263 TFEU for the partial annulment of the EFSA decision of 14 March 2017 partially refusing access to twelve carcinogenicity studies on the active substance glyphosate, conducted in connection with the procedure for renewing the approval of that active substance in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC (OJ 2009 L 309, p. 1).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.



Annuls the decision of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) of 14 March 2017, in so far as EFSA refused access to the parts ‘material, experimental conditions and methods’ and ‘results and discussion’ of 12 carcinogenicity studies on the active substance glyphosate;











2.



Orders EFSA to bear its own costs and pay the costs incurred by Ms Heidi Hautala, Ms Michèle Rivasi, Mr Benedek Jávor and Mr Bart Staes;











3.



Orders Cheminova A/S, Monsanto Europe and Monsanto Company to bear their own costs.







(1)  OJ C 249, 31.7.2017.