Case: Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV v GLOBUS Handelshof GmbH & Co. KG
Request: request for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Saarbrücken
Case number: C‑745/24
Reference: ECLI : EU :C : 2025 : 1030
Court (eighth chamber)
- President of the chamber: Ms O. Spineanu‑Matei
- Judges: Mr S. Rodin, N. Piçarra (rapporteur)
- Advocate General: Ms T. Ćapeta
- Registrar: Mr A. Calot Escobar
Composition of the Court and observations presented
| – | for Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV, by Mr R. Welzel, attorney-at-law |
| – | for GLOBUS Handelshof GmbH & Co. KG, by Mr M. Grube, attorney-at-law |
| – | for the European Commission, by Mr A. Dawes and Ms M. Zerwes, in their capacity as agents |
Judgment
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The request for a preliminary ruling concerns the combined interpretation of the following provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/848: article 32(1)(a); article 3 points 52 and 53; article 30(1).
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The request was lodged in the context of an injunction action brought by Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV (VSW) against GLOBUS Handelshof GmbH & Co. KG (Globus). VSW asks that Globus be prohibited from promoting organic products in its advertising leaflets without indicating the control authority or body code of the operator that carried out the most recent production or processing operation, within the meaning of article 32(1)(a).
Legal framework
| 3 | Recitals 6, 9, 15, 17 and 73 of Regulation 2018/848 state: |
| (6) … ensure conditions of fair competition and consumer confidence. | |
| (9) … review the Union rules on organic production. | |
| (15) … consumer confidence is crucial for the organic food market. | |
| (17) … the regulation must serve as a basis for the sustainable development of organic production. | |
| (73) … labeling of agricultural products must avoid any consumer confusion or deception. | |
| 4 | Article 1 of Regulation 2018/848 provides that this regulation establishes the principles of organic production and the rules on labeling and advertising. |
| 5 | Article 3, points 52 and 53, define respectively: |
| 52 “labeling”: mentions, indications, trademarks, images or symbols placed on any material accompanying the product. | |
| 53 “advertising”: any presentation of the product to the public, by any means other than labeling, aimed at influencing purchase. | |
| 6 | Article 30(1) specifies the terms referring to organic production (e.g. “organic”, “eco”) and their authorised use. |
| 7 | Article 32(1)(a) requires that the control authority’s code number appear on the product’s label. |
| 8 | Article 33 recognises the EU organic production logo for labeling and advertising of compliant products. |
Main dispute and preliminary questions
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Globus distributed, in January–February 2024, advertising leaflets containing the term “organic” and the EU organic logo but without the required code number.
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VSW argues that the broad notion of “labeling” (article 3 point 52) also covers advertising (article 3 point 53), thereby imposing the code‑number obligation on the leaflets.
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Globus replies that article 3 clearly distinguishes labeling from advertising, and that the code‑number obligation should be limited to the product itself.
12‑16. The referring court examines whether the definition of “labeling” encompasses advertising leaflets and whether the code‑number obligation extends to those documents.
17‑18. The Court considers that the answers to the preliminary questions can be deduced without any reasonable doubt.
19‑20. The Court poses the following questions:
- 1) Does the code‑number obligation apply to advertising leaflets?
- a) Should article 3 point 52 be interpreted so that any “advertising” also constitutes “labeling”?
- b) Does article 32(1) impose the code‑number obligation in the case of advertising that is physically separate from the product?
- c) Does the same principle apply when several operators are concerned?
Court’s analysis
21‑28. The Court recalls that the term “labeling” includes various media (packaging, document, label, etc.) but excludes advertising, which is defined as any means other than labeling.
29‑30. The visibility requirement for the code number targets the product itself, thus excluding separate leaflets.
31‑32. The German and English versions of the regulation use the terms “Kennzeichnung” and “labelling”, corresponding to “labeling”, not to “label”.
33‑34. Court case‑law confirms that advertising cannot be assimilated to labeling.
35‑36. Imposing the code‑number obligation in advertising would be practically impossible to apply because of the multiplicity of operators.
37‑38. Consequently, the Court answers: article 32(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 does not extend to advertising leaflets that are physically separate from the organic products they promote.
Order
- Article 32(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, read together with articles 3 points 52 and 53 and article 30(1), must be interpreted to mean that the obligation to indicate the control authority or body code does not extend to advertising leaflets that are separate from the organic products.
Signatures