Third-country lobbying to pre-empt pending CJEU judgment on airport capacity (Case C-857/24)

Question for written answer E-001642/2026
to the Commission
Rule 144
Lena Schilling (Verts/ALE)

The Advocate General's opinion of 12 February 2026 in Case C-857/24 supports the use of passenger caps as valid operational constraints under the Slot Regulation. Airlines for America has publicly lobbied the US Government to pressure Ireland into enacting the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) can rule, stating that it fears 'neighbourhoods throughout Europe and potentially the world' being treated as stakeholders in airport capacity decisions.

The Commission has registered complaint CPLT(2026)00881 (led by its Directorate-General for the Environment) alleging that this Bill would permanently remove environmental constraints at Dublin Airport without the environmental impact assessment required by Directive 2011/92/EU and without the Balanced Approach assessment required by Regulation (EU) No 598/2014, in circumstances where the Commission's own Decision C(2026)0919 found Ireland non-compliant with the latter regulation.

• 1.Is the Commission aware of lobbying by third-country industry groups seeking to pre-empt a pending CJEU judgment through Member State legislation?
• 2.Does the Commission intend to assess the compatibility of the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 with Directive 2011/92/EU and Regulation (EU) No 598/2014 before its enactment?
• 3.What steps does the Commission intend to take on complaint CPLT(2026)00881?

Submitted: 22.4.2026