judgment

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission - judgment

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

application

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission - application

press release

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission - press release

appeal

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission - appeal

order

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission - order

opinion

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission - opinion

Filing Year For Action

In 2007, the European Union (EU) legislature established a harmonized framework for the approval of motor vehicles to facilitate their registration, sale, and entry into service in the EU. Within this framework, the European Commission adopted Regulation 2016/646 to set up a procedure for testing the real driving emissions of certain motor vehicles to better reflect the emissions measured on the road. This Regulation was supplemented by Commission Regulation 2016/646, which establishes limits for emissions not to be exceeded during tests.

On June 26, June 29, and July 16, 2016, respectively, the City of Paris, the City of Brussels, and the Municipality of Madrid brought an action before the General Court to annul Regulation 2016/646. The cities argued that the regulation would prevent them from imposing restrictions on the circulation of passenger vehicles in relation to their air pollutant emissions. The Commission raised the objection that the contested regulation was not of direct concern to the applicants within the meaning of the fourth paragraph of article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). 

In its judgment of December 13, 2018, the General Court partially upheld the actions and held that the contested regulation was of direct concern to the applicants. The General Court considered the regulation a regulatory act which does not entail implementing measures and which directly affects the cities’ powers to regulate the circulation of motor vehicles. On February 23, 2019, the Commission appealed to the European Court of Justice.

On January 13, 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) set aside the judgement of the General Court, in particular the interpretation by the General Court of Directive 2007/46. The ECJ clarified that for the applicants to be directly concerned by the regulation (and therefore, for the action to be admissible), two conditions must be met. First, the contested measure must directly affect the legal situation of the applicant. Secondly, it must leave no discretion to the entity entrusted with the implementation. The ECJ held that the General Court erred when it stated that the cities were prevented from exercising their powers to regulate the circulation of passenger vehicles to reduce pollution. 

The disagreement between the General Court and the ECJ revolved around article 4, paragraph 3, second subparagraph of Directive 2007/46, which mentions that member states “shall not prohibit, restrict or impede the registration, sale, entry into service or circulation on the road of vehicles, […] if they satisfy the requirements of the [Directive].” The General Court inferred from the inclusion of the words ‘circulation on the road’ that the Directive restricted the regulatory powers of the local governments to adopt traffic restrictions for vehicles. As a result, the Directive and its implementing acts directly affect the legal position of the cities. 

The ECJ, however, ruled that the negative obligation in the second subparagraph of article 4, paragraph 3 must be read together with the first subparagraph. The first subparagraph gives the member states a positive obligation to “register or permit the sale or entry into service only of such vehicles, components and separate technical units as satisfy the requirements of this Directive,” without any mention of circulation on the road. As the two subparagraphs are complementary, the ECJ concluded that the General Court erred when it gave the second subparagraph a broader meaning. As a consequence, the General Court also erred when it derived from this that the cities were directly affected, and thus directly concerned, by the contested Regulation. 

The ECJ also mentioned that the obligations Directive 2007/46 imposes on Member States only concern placing motor vehicles on the market and not their subsequent use. Moreover, the cities are not liable to infringe on Directive 2007/46 (read together with Commission Regulation 2016/646) solely by adopting environmental protection legislation to limit the local circulation of certain vehicles. Through its judgment, the ECJ clarified that local governments do not violate the EU framework for testing real driving emissions when they adopt low-emission zones.

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Ville de Paris and Others v. European Commission - judgment

Target

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Finance