Court of Justice 25 January 2018, C-683/16 (Deutscher Naturschutzring – Dachverband der deutschen Natur- und Umweltschutzverbände e.V. v Bundesrepublik Deutschland.)

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Advocate General Wahl opines that a Member State's general prohibition of specific fishing techniques in protected Natura 2000 sites falls within the European Union's exclusive competence over the conservation of marine biological resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The Opinion argues that Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 precludes Member States from unilaterally adopting such measures if they affect the fishing vessels of other Member States, even when intended to fulfill environmental obligations under Directive 92/43/EEC. Furthermore, the Advocate General suggests that the exhaustive list of environmental directives in Article 11 of the CFP Regulation cannot be extended by analogy to include measures purportedly necessary under Directive 2004/35/CE on environmental liability.AI