Case T-648/22: Judgment of the General Court of 25 June 2025 – ClientEarth v Council (Common fisheries policy – Conservation of resources – Total allowable catches – Fish stocks shared with the United Kingdom – Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom – Regulation (EU) 2022/515 – Request for internal review of an administrative act under environmental law – Article 2(1)(f) and Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 – Objective of achieving a maximum sustainable yield exploitation rate at the latest by 2020 for all stocks – Articles 2, 3, 9, 10, 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 – Socioeconomic and employment objectives – Best available scientific advice – Landing obligation – Mixed fisheries – Choke species – Precautionary approach – Ecosystem-based approach – Regulation (EU) 2019/472 – Target stocks – By-catches)
Date: 2025-06-25
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: abuse of power, common fisheries policy, fishing rights, powers of the institutions (EU), precautionary principle, sea fish, sustainable fisheries








C_202504284EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/4284


11.8.2025






Judgment of the General Court of 25 June 2025 – ClientEarth v Council


(Case T-648/22)
                (1)

(Common fisheries policy - Conservation of resources - Total allowable catches - Fish stocks shared with the United Kingdom - Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom - Regulation (EU) 2022/515 - Request for internal review of an administrative act under environmental law - Article 2(1)(f) and Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 - Objective of achieving a maximum sustainable yield exploitation rate at the latest by 2020 for all stocks - Articles 2, 3, 9, 10, 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 - Socioeconomic and employment objectives - Best available scientific advice - Landing obligation - Mixed fisheries - Choke species - Precautionary approach - Ecosystem-based approach - Regulation (EU) 2019/472 - Target stocks - By-catches)
(C/2025/4284)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicant: ClientEarth AISBL (Ixelles, Belgium) (represented by: C. Ziegler, lawyer)

Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by: F. Naert, A. Nowak Salles, A. Maceroni and P. Pecheux, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the defendant: European Commission (represented by: A. Dawes, G. Gattinara and A. Stobiecka-Kuik, acting as Agents)

Re:

By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant, seeks annulment of the decision of the Council of the European Union of 26 July 2022, contained in its letter of 3 August 2022 (‘the contested decision’), rejecting as unfounded its request for internal review of 20 May 2022 under Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies (OJ 2006 L 264, p. 13), concerning Council Regulation (EU) 2022/515 of 31 March 2022 amending Regulation (EU) 2022/109 fixing for 2022 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in Union waters and for Union fishing vessels in certain non-Union waters (OJ 2022 L 104, p. 1).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the action;










2.


Orders ClientEarth AISBL to bear its own costs and to pay the costs incurred by the Council of the European Union;










3.


Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs.






(1)  
            OJ C 482, 19.12.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/4284/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)