European Union – Renewable energy. The Court of Justice of the European union gave a preliminary ruling deciding, among other things, that art 17 of Directive (EC) 2004/35 should be interpreted as meaning that, subject to investigations which were for the national court, that directive applied ratione temporis to the environmental damage that had occurred after 30 April 2007 but which had been caused by the operation of a facility authorised in accordance with the law governing matters relating to water and put into operation before that date.