Rome, 7 March 2023 - Confindustria, together with its member associations Anita, and other road haulage associations FAI and FEDIT, are appealing against the judgement of inadmissibility expressed by the European Court regarding the appeal filed by the Associations on the unilateral restrictions on the road transit of heavy goods vehicles imposed by Tyrol along the Brenner axis. The associations will therefore continue the legal action initiated at the European level, believing that the legal prerequisites are in place to allow private individuals to take action. This would put an end to Austria's repeated violation of the principles of free movement of goods and ensure fair competition between the borders of the Union. The associations believe that the actions of the European Commission in this matter have been ineffective and, at the same time, deficient. There is therefore an immediate need for clarity.
The question of the action of private individuals, on which the European Court of First Instance decides, is to be distinguished from the action of a Member State, which falls within the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice. It must therefore be made clear that the ruling was made by the General Court and not by the Court. Moreover, in our view, the General Court's decision is based on outdated case law, without taking into account the most up-to-date judgments of the Court of Justice, which would have upheld similar claims by private individuals. Not to mention that the Court did not rule on the lawfulness of the restrictions. For these reasons, the Associations are appealing against the order of the General Court, which does not limit the Italian State's action to apply to the European Court of Justice for the opening of infringement proceedings against Austria.