EBAA officially accepted as intervener in Dassault Taxonomy case, reinforcing the defence of business aviation’s interest
EBAA has been officially accepted as an intervener in Dassault’s legal challenge against the EU Taxonomy Delegated Act. This marks a key step in defending business aviation from policies that hinder sustainable investment. EBAA will use its expertise to argue that excluding business aviation contradicts the Taxonomy’s goals. The move is part of a broader strategy to ensure fair, balanced regulation for the sector.
On 21 January 2025, the European General Court accepted EBAA as an intervener in Dassault’s legal challenge against the EU Taxonomy Delegated Act. This allows EBAA to contribute its expertise in challenging legislation that unfairly discriminates against the business aviation sector.
The EU Taxonomy is a framework first launched in 2021 by the European Commission for classifying environmentally sustainable economic activities, helping companies and investors make informed choices regarding sustainable investments and green financing.
With the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2485 of 27 June 2023, business aviation was explicitly excluded from the scope of the taxonomy. This exclusion may discourage financial institutions from financing the manufacturing and purchase of more efficient and sustainable business aircraft, thereby undermining the sector’s common global goal of contributing to aviation decarbonisation.
To challenge this one-sided legislative approach, Dassault initiated an action for annulment of the Taxonomy Delegated Act before the European Court of Justice in February 2024, which was backed from the beginning by EBAA with a request to participate as an intervener in this case.
Nearly a year after submitting its request, EBAA has officially been accepted as an intervener in the case. This follows a complex legal battle, during which the Commission opposed EBAA’s admission, arguing that EBAA’s members were not directly impacted by the Delegated Act.
The acceptance of EBAA as an intervener in this case marks a crucial step in the association’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding the interests of the business aviation sector in the EU legislative arena. By standing alongside Dassault in this legal challenge, EBAA will leverage its industry expertise to demonstrate that excluding an innovative sector such as business aviation from the EU Taxonomy contradicts the legislation’s core objective: supporting economic activities that reduce environmental harm.
This legal action is part of a broader advocacy strategy through which EBAA actively works to ensure fair and proportional treatment for business aviation. Alongside its involvement in the Taxonomy case, the association remains engaged in key regulatory advocacy actions, including overseeing the implementation of the anti-tankering provisions under the ReFuelEU Regulation and the integration of non-CO2 emissions within the EU ETS Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification framework (MRV).
