European Union – Civil and commercial matters. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that art 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and arts 3(3) and 6 of Directive (EC) 2000/35 and arts 7 and 12 of Directive 2011/7 should be interpreted as not precluding a member state which had made use of the option under art 6(3)(b) of Directive 2000/35 from adopting, during the period prescribed for transposition of Directive 2011/7, legislative provisions, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, which were capable of modifying, to the detriment of a creditor of the state, the interest on a debt arising out of the performance of a contract concluded before 8 August 2002.