1) This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 53 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ 2012 L 343, p. 1), Article 6 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 of 18 December 2013 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the establishment of the Union symbols for protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed and with regard to certain rules on sourcing, certain procedural rules and certain additional transitional rules (OJ 2014 L 179, p. 17) and Article 10 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 668/2014 of 13 June 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ 2014 L 179, p. 36), read in conjunction with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’).

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18) The referring court entertains doubts, nevertheless, as to the compatibility of its own case-law with EU law, particularly Article 47 of the Charter, bearing in mind the impact that annulment of a decision made by national authorities concerning an application for an amendment to the product specification for a PDO may have on the validity of the registration thereof by the Commission.

19) In those circumstances, the Conseil d’État (Council of State) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following question to the Court for a preliminary ruling: ‘Must Article 53 of [Regulation No 1151/2012], Article 6 of [Delegated Regulation No 664/2014] and Article 10 of [Implementing Regulation No 668/2014], in conjunction with Article 47 of the [Charter], be interpreted as meaning that, in the specific case where the … Commission has granted the application by the national authorities of a Member State seeking to have the specification of a name amended and to secure registration of the [PDO], although that application is still the subject of an action pending before the national courts of that State, those courts may decide that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the dispute, or, in view of the effects attached to a possible annulment of the contested measure on the validity of the registration by the … Commission, must those courts rule on the lawfulness of that measure adopted by the national authorities?’

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20) By its question, the referring court is asking, in essence, whether Article 53(2) of Regulation No 1151/2012, Article 6 of Delegated Regulation No 664/2014 and Article 10 of Implementing Regulation No 668/2014, read in conjunction with Article 47 of the Charter, must be interpreted as meaning that, when the Commission has granted an application made by the authorities of a Member State seeking a minor amendment to the product specification for a PDO, a national court hearing an action concerning the lawfulness of the decision made by those authorities on that application with a view to its submission to the Commission, in accordance with Article 53(2) of Regulation No 1151/2012, can decide that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the dispute before it.

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33) That requirement on the part of the Member States corresponds to the right to an effective remedy before an impartial tribunal enshrined in Article 47 of the Charter, which is a reaffirmation of the principle of effective judicial protection (see, to that effect, judgments of 26 July 2017, Sacko, C‑348/16, EU:C:2017:591, paragraphs 30 and 31, and of 26 June 2019, Craeynest and Others, C‑723/17, EU:C:2019:533, paragraph 54) and is referred to, moreover, in connection with the registration procedure, in Article 49(4) of Regulation No 1151/2012.

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40) In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the question referred is that Article 53(2) of Regulation No 1151/2012, Article 6 of Delegated Regulation No 664/2014 and Article 10 of Implementing Regulation No 668/2014, read in conjunction with Article 47 of the Charter, must be interpreted as meaning that, when the Commission has granted an application made by the authorities of a Member State seeking a minor amendment to a product specification for a PDO, the national court hearing an action concerning the lawfulness of the decision made by those authorities on that application with a view to submitting it to the Commission, in accordance with Article 53(2) of Regulation No 1151/2012, cannot, on that ground alone, decide that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the dispute pending before it.

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41) Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the referring court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than the costs of those parties, are not recoverable.

On those grounds, the Court (Fourth Chamber) hereby rules:

Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, Article 6 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 of 18 December 2013 supplementing Regulation No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the establishment of the Union symbols for protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed and with regard to certain rules on sourcing, certain procedural rules and certain additional transitional rules, and Article 10 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 668/2014 of 13 June 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, read in conjunction with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, must be interpreted as meaning that, when the European Commission has granted an application made by the authorities of a Member State seeking a minor amendment to a product specification for a protected designation of origin, the national courts hearing an action concerning the lawfulness of the decision made by those authorities on that application with a view to submitting it to the Commission, in accordance with Article 53(2) of Regulation No 1151/2012, cannot, on that ground alone, decide that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the dispute pending before them.