16.10.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 347/10

(Case C-439/17)

(2017/C 347/11)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: British American Tobacco (Germany) GmbH

Defendant: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg

Questions referred

1.Is the first sentence of Article 7(7) of Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC (hereinafter: ‘the directive’) to be interpreted as meaning that the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco products containing flavourings in any of their components does not cover tobacco products which have a characterising flavour, within the meaning of the definition in Article 2(25) of the directive, on account of the flavourings contained in their components?

2.If Question 1 is to be answered in the negative: Is Article 7(14) to be interpreted as meaning that the transitional provision covers only the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco products with a characterising flavour under the first sentence of Article 7(1) of the directive or — also — the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco products containing flavourings in any of their components under the first sentence of Article 7(7) of the directive?

3.If Question 1 is to be answered in the affirmative or Question 2 is to be answered to the effect that Article 7(14) of the directive also covers the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco products containing flavourings in any of their components under the first sentence of Article 7(7) of the directive: How are the expressions ‘tobacco products with a characterising flavour’ and ‘particular product category’ in Article 7(14) of the directive to be construed?

(1) OJ 2001 L 127, p. 1.