European Union Institution adopted measures are actionable measures when they are intended to have binding legal effects

LITIGATION - GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

Any measures adopted by the institutions of the European Union which are intended to have binding legal effects, are actionable measures (article 263 TFEU).

"54. According to consistent case-law any measures adopted by the institutions of the European Union, whatever their form, which are intended to have binding legal effects, are regarded as actionable measures, within the meaning of Article 263 TFEU (see, in particular, Case C‑316/91 Parliament v Council [1994] ECR I‑625, paragraph 8; Joined Cases C‑138/03, C‑324/03 and C‑431/03 Italy v Commission [2005] ECR I‑10043, paragraph 32; and Joined Cases C‑463/10 P and C‑475/10 P Deutsche Post and Germany v Commission [2011] ECR I‑9639, paragraph 36).

55. Those binding legal effects of a measure must be assessed in accordance with objective criteria, such as the contents of that measure (see, to this effect, inter alia Case 60/81 IBM v Commission [1981] ECR 2639, paragraph 9, and Case C‑57/95 France v Commission [1997] ECR I‑1627, paragraph 9), taking into account, as appropriate, the context in which it was adopted (see, to this effect, inter alia the Order of 13 June 1991 in Case C‑50/90 Sunzest v Commission [1991] ECR I‑2917, paragraph 13, and Case C‑362/08 P Internationaler Hilfsfonds v Commission [2010] ECR I‑669, paragraph 58), and the powers of the institution which adopted the measure (see, to this effect, inter alia Case C‑301/03 Italy v Commission [2005] ECR I‑10217, paragraph 28)."

Automatic registration by European Commission of already protected wine names in E-Bacchusdatabase does not establish binding legal effects and thus is not subject to appeal.

"63. It follows from all of the foregoing that an entry made in the E-Bacchus database by the Commission under Article 73(1) of Regulation No 607/2009 concerning wine names recognised by Member States as designations of origin or geographical indications before 1 August 2009, which were not published by the Commission under Article 54(5) of Regulation No 1493/1999, has no effect on the automatic protection which those wine names enjoy at EU level. Indeed, the Commission is not authorised either to grant protection or to decide on the wine name which must be entered in the E-Bacchus database pursuant to Article 73(1). Thus, there is no need to make a distinction between the effects of an entry in the lists of quality wines psr published in the ‘C’ Series of the Official Journal of the European Union and the effects of an entry in the E-Bacchus database.

64. Therefore, the General Court, in paragraphs 21 and 23 of the judgment under appeal, rightly found that an entry in the E-Bacchus database is not required for those wines names to enjoy protection at EU level, as those names are protected automatically under Regulation No 1234/2007, as amended, without that protection being dependent on their inclusion in that database.

65. Given that the entry at issue does not satisfy the requirements laid down in the case-law cited in paragraph 54 above, the General Court did not err in law by concluding that that entry does not constitute an actionable measure."

IPPT20140213, CJEU, Hungary v European Commission

C‑31/13 P - ECLI:EU:C:2014:70