EU's top court upholds Volkswagen law granting state entity a blocking minority

The European Union's top court has upheld a law giving a German government authority a say in the running of Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker.

The Court of Justice on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against the rule brought by the European Commission, the 28-nation bloc's executive arm that also acts as the antitrust watchdog.

The German state of Lower Saxony's 20 percent stake in Wolfsburg-based automaker Volkswagen gives it the right to block actions — a lower threshold than the 25 percent blocking minority for all other German public companies. But the court ruled the law still meets the relevant European requirements.

Germany amended the law after the court in 2007 ruled against parts of it. The Commission still claimed it inhibits the free movement of capital within the EU.