France: Green Dot

The highest administrative court in France has upheld the action brought by Green Dot to invalidate a decree issued by the French Ministry of the Environment in 2020. This means that printing Green Dot on packaging is still allowed in France without the threat of penalties.

Originally, French environmental law stipulated that distributors of packaging sold in France would have to pay penalties if they printed symbols that could confuse consumers about waste separation. In a subsequent decree of the Ministry of the Environment, the Green Dot was classified as such a confusing symbol.

The French Supreme Administrative Court has now declared the decree of the French Ministry of Environment invalid with regard to the Green Dot. The decision was mainly justified by the fact that the French authorities did not sufficiently fulfil their obligation to notify the European Commission regarding this legislative proposal.