The case concerned the question of whether an individual can be sanctioned twice for tax evasion. A number of Member States and the Commission claimed that the individual could not rely on the Charter because it is expressly addressed to EU institutions and only applies to Member States when they are implementing EU law. However, the Court held that the Charter is "applicable in all situations governed by EU law". Therefore, where national laws fall within the scope of EU law, conflicting provisions should be disapplied, subject to other general principles of EU law.

The importance of this judgment is that it could pave the way for an extended application of the Charter to Member States' actions beyond mere transposition in the strict sense of EU law.

The Charter, which was incorporated into the Lisbon Treaty, includes the principle that freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected (Article 11).