Case C-525/20: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 5 May 2022 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État — France) — Association France Nature Environnement v Premier ministre, Ministre de la Transition écologique et solidaire (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Environment — Directive 2000/60/EC — Framework for European Union action in the field of water policy — Article 4(1)(a) — Environmental objectives relating to surface water — Obligation of the Member States not to authorise a programme or a project that may cause a deterioration of the status of a body of surface water — Concept of ‘deterioration’ of the status of a body of surface water — Article 4(6) and (7) — Derogations from the prohibition of deterioration — Conditions — Programme or project with temporary, short-term impacts which are without lasting consequences on the status of a body of surface water)
Date: 2022-05-05
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: degradation of the environment, environmental impact, surface water, water management, water pollution, water protection, water resources








C_2022244EN.01000802.xml










27.6.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 244/8






Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 5 May 2022 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État — France) — Association France Nature Environnement v Premier ministre, Ministre de la Transition écologique et solidaire
(Case C-525/20) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Environment - Directive 2000/60/EC - Framework for European Union action in the field of water policy - Article 4(1)(a) - Environmental objectives relating to surface water - Obligation of the Member States not to authorise a programme or a project that may cause a deterioration of the status of a body of surface water - Concept of ‘deterioration’ of the status of a body of surface water - Article 4(6) and (7) - Derogations from the prohibition of deterioration - Conditions - Programme or project with temporary, short-term impacts which are without lasting consequences on the status of a body of surface water)
(2022/C 244/10)
Language of the case: French

Referring court

Conseil d'État

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Association France Nature Environnement

Defendants: Premier ministre, Ministre de la Transition écologique et solidaire

Operative part of the judgment

Article 4 of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy must be interpreted as precluding Member States, when they assess the compatibility of a particular programme or project with the objective of preventing the deterioration of water quality, from taking into account the temporary, short-term impacts which are without lasting consequences, unless it is clear that such impacts have, by their nature, little effect on the status of the bodies of water concerned and cannot lead to a ‘deterioration’ of that status, within the meaning of that provision. Where, as part of the authorisation procedure for a programme or project, the competent national authorities determine that that programme or project could lead to such a deterioration, that programme or project may be authorised only if the conditions set out in Article 4(7) of that directive are met, even if the deterioration is temporary in nature.


(1)  OJ C 35, 1.2.2021.