Case C-576/25, Deutsche Umwelthilfe: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberverwaltungsgericht für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen (Germany) lodged on 1 September 2025 – Deutsche Umwelthilfe e. V. v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, Land Niedersachsen, Land Baden-Württemberg, Freistaat Bayern, Land Hessen, Land Rheinland-Pfalz, Land Saarland and Freistaat Thüringen
Date: 2025-09-01
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: action programme, conservation of resources, quality of the environment, regions of Germany, water, water management, water pollution, water protection, water resources, watercourse








C_202506157EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/6157


24.11.2025






Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberverwaltungsgericht für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen (Germany) lodged on 1 September 2025 – Deutsche Umwelthilfe e. V. v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, Land Niedersachsen, Land Baden-Württemberg, Freistaat Bayern, Land Hessen, Land Rheinland-Pfalz, Land Saarland and Freistaat Thüringen


(Case C-576/25, Deutsche Umwelthilfe)

(C/2025/6157)
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Oberverwaltungsgericht für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Deutsche Umwelthilfe e. V.

Defendants: Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, Land Niedersachsen, Land Baden-Württemberg, Freistaat Bayern, Land Hessen, Land Rheinland-Pfalz, Land Saarland and Freistaat Thüringen

Questions referred







1.


Does Article 11(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC (1) (‘the Water Framework Directive’), as most recently amended by Art. 1 of Directive 2014/101/EU, (2) require the adoption of a single programme of measures by only one appropriate competent authority as referred to in Article 3(3), containing all ‘basic’ measures and, where appropriate, ‘supplementary’ measures necessary to achieve the objectives under Article 4 for the entire river basin district or for the entire part of an international river basin district falling within the territory of the Member State?










2.


If Question 1 is answered in the negative:
Is it in principle sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Article 11(1) of the Water Framework Directive if a number of programmes of measures are established for each part of a river basin district or for each part of an international river basin district falling within the territory of the Member State, which are mutually agreed and coordinated?










3.


If the answer to Question 2 is in the affirmative:






(a)


What requirements arise from Article 11(1) of the Water Framework Directive for the agreement and coordination of a number of programmes of measures for a river basin district or for the part of an international river basin district falling within the territory of a Member State (e.g. whether the agreement is legally binding, what form the coordination ought to take, whether monitoring of the effect of the measures is required, what the consequences of inadequate measures in individual programmes of measures would be)?










(b)


In particular, is it sufficient if the federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany, in whose territory a part of a river basin district or the part of an international river basin district falling within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany is located, set up, on the basis of an administrative agreement, a body consisting of members of the individual federal state’s ministries to take decisions on the coordination of the activities of the federal states as regards the preparation and updating of management plans and programmes of measures under the Water Framework Directive, as well as a working group responsible for coordination and participation in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, but independently establish a programme of measures for each part of the river basin district falling within their area or for each part of the international river basin district falling within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany?










(1)  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 (OJ 2000 L 327, p. 1).

(2)  Commission Directive 2014/101/EU of 30 October 2014 amending Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ 2014 L 311, p. 32)


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/6157/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)