Laurent Merlin v European Commission (C-69/25 P)

Judgment of 11 Jun 2026

law://eu/cjeu/2025/c-69-25/para_14@2026-11-13

14By letter of 22 November 2021, DG Competition stated, while acknowledging that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had authorised the practice of electrical pulse fishing contrary to the conditions laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms (OJ 1998 L 125, p. 1), that no link could be established between that practice and the funding provided under the EFF and the EMFF. It concluded that there was no potentially unlawful State aid element that would require further examination.

Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.

Key facts

Court: Court of Justice · Eighth Chamber
Case: C-69/25 P · ECLI:EU:C:2026:478
Decided: 11 Jun 2026
Procedure: Appeal
Applicants: Laurent Merlin; Stéphane Pinto and 26 more
Gaëtan Delsart; Gaëtan Baillet; Jean-Yves Noël; Christophe Lhomel; Jérémy Lhomel; Stéphane Fournier; Alexandre Fournier; Christian Dubois; Franck Nowe; Jean-Pierre Deparis; Frédéric Drogerys; Jean-Marie Baheu; Jonathan Delsart; José Pinto; Mathieu Pinto; Olivier Leprêtre; Josse Martin; Lionel Descharles; Loïc Merlin; Philippe Calone; Sébastien Leprêtre; Philippe Mahieu; Andries Visser; Charles Lines; Paul Lines; Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE)
Defendant: European Commission
Rapporteur: O. Spineanu-Matei
Advocate General: A. Biondi
Bench: 3 judges
O. Spineanu-Matei, S. Rodin, N. Piçarra
Language: French
Official: CURIA · EUR-Lex 62025CJ0069

Topics

State aid

History · 1 version

11 Jun 2026Reading

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Cites 1: Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms