Case T-503/24: Action brought on 26 September 2024 – Antidote Europe v Commission
Date: 2024-09-26
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: abuse of power, animal experimentation, carcinogenic substance, environmental protection, health risk, herbicide, market approval, plant health control, precautionary principle, toxic substance








C_202406666EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/6666


11.11.2024






Action brought on 26 September 2024 – Antidote Europe v Commission


(Case T-503/24)

(C/2024/6666)
Language of the case: French

Parties


Applicant: Antidote Europe (Strasbourg, France) (represented by: A. Durand, lawyer)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






—


declare that the applicant’s claims are admissible and well founded;










—


annul Decision Ares(2024)4619252 of 26 June 2024 of the European Commission rejecting the request for internal review made by the organisation Antidote Europe on 24 January 2024;










—


annul, consequently, Implementing Regulation 2023/2660 (1) of 28 November 2023, published on 29 November 2023, renewing the approval of the active substance glyphosate in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 (C/2023/8101);










—


order the European Commission to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on five pleas in law.






1.


First plea in law, alleging that the contested decision is formally unlawful on account of an infringement of essential procedural requirements owing to a failure to state reasons under, in particular, Article 296 TFEU, since, according to the applicant, there was no genuine internal review, leading the Commission to set out fictitious reasons that do not correspond to the exact claims made by the applicant in its request for internal review.










2.


Second plea in law, alleging a failure to observe the precautionary principle laid down in Article 191 TFEU, inasmuch as there is a recognised critical concern regarding a part of the product uses, a high long-term risk for mammals in the majority of the proposed uses and, a fortiori, a likelihood of real harm to human health persisting should the risk materialise, and lastly, on account of the Commission giving precedence to economic interests over public health, safety and the environment.










3.


Third plea in law, alleging an infringement of Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the presence of an agent that is considered to be probably carcinogenic to humans.










4.


Fourth plea in law, alleging an infringement of the provisions of Regulation No 1107/2009 in the presence of recognised genotoxicity in human peripheral white blood cells and in the absence of a justification of the steps taken to avoid animal testing and duplication of tests and studies on vertebrate animals.










5.


Fifth plea in law, alleging a misuse of powers. According to the applicant, the Commission encroaches on the competence of the Member States in the field of health, in the presence of a consensus on the necessary elimination of glyphosate.






(1)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2660 of 28 November 2023 renewing the approval of the active substance glyphosate in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 (OJ L 2023/2660).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6666/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)