European Court of Justice (News)

Bulgarian Energy Holding and Others v Commission
Competition
The General Court annuls the Commission Decision according to which the BEH Group abused its dominant position by refusing access to strategic gas infrastructures in Bulgaria

G. ST. T.
Approximation of laws
A custodial sentence of a minimum of five years for trade mark infringement may prove to be disproportionate

Lufthansa CityLine
Working time: schemes for obtaining increased remuneration when exceeding a certain number of working hours must not place part-time workers at a disadvantage

Zippo Manufacturing and Others v Commission
Commercial policy
The General Court annuls the additional customs duties on certain lighters from the United States

Verband Wirtschaft im Wettbewerb
Energy
Advertisements for ovens and range hoods must make reference both to the energy efficiency class of those products and to the range of efficiency classes

KBC Verzekeringen
Approximation of laws
An electric bicycle is not covered by the obligation to insure motor vehicles because it is not propelled exclusively by mechanical power

Sofatutor
Approximation of laws
The consumer’s right to withdraw from an initially free and automatically extended subscription made via distance contract is guaranteed only once

Ascenza Agro and Industrias Afrasa v Commission
Agriculture and fisheries
The General Court dismisses the action against the non-renewal of the approval of the active substance chlorpyrifos-methyl, used in plant protection products

Information

La Quadrature du Net and Others
Approximation of laws
Advocate General Szpunar: the retention of, and access to, civil identity data linked to the IP address used should be allowed in cases where those data are the only means of investigation that make it possible to identify the perpetrators of copyright infringements committed exclusively on the internet

Ryanair v Commission
State aid
State aid to SAS during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Court of Justice definitively dismisses Ryanair’s actions concerning the loan guarantees put in place by Sweden and Denmark in April 2020

Commission v United Kingdom
Taxation
The Court of Justice orders the United Kingdom to pay a lump sum penalty of € 32 million for having failed to prohibit the use of marked fuel in private pleasure boats within the time limit prescribed by the Commission

Spain v Commission
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision declaring the Spanish tax scheme on the deduction for indirect acquisitions of shareholdings in foreign companies unlawful

Valve Corporation v Commission
Competition
Online video games: the General Court confirms that geo-blocking of activation keys for the Steam platform infringed EU competition law

Entry into office of two new Members of the General Court of the European Union
Entry into office of two new Members of the General Court of the European Union

ADDE and Others
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Reintroduction of border controls at internal borders: the ‘Returns’ Directive applies to any third-country national who has entered the territory of a Member State without fulfilling the conditions of entry, stay or residence.

Juan
DFON
The prohibition of double jeopardy does not appear to preclude the execution of a European arrest warrant against the person responsible for a fraudulent pyramid scheme set up in Spain and in Portugal

Belgium v Commission
State aid
Tax rulings: the tax exemptions granted by Belgium to companies forming part of multinational groups constitute an unlawful aid scheme

NADA and Others
Principles of Community law
Anti-doping and data protection: Advocate General Ćapeta considers that a national anti-doping authority which publishes personal data of a doped professional athlete on the internet is not in breach of the GDPR

TGSS
Spain - Discrimination on grounds of sex: fathers of two or more children, forced to go to court in order to benefit from a supplement to their invalidity pension, have the right to additional compensation