Action brought on 25 August 2010 - Ecologistas en Acción - CODA v Commission

(Case T-359/10)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Applicant: Ecologistas en Acción - CODA (represented by: J. Ramos Segarra, lawyer)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

annul the decision of 30 June 2010 of the Secretariat General of the European Commission refusing access to the documents requested by the applicant in the proceedings GESTDEM 2010/957 and declare that the applicant is entitled to receive the information requested:

letter of 7 January 2010 from the Servicio de Asesoramiento Urbanístico del Ajuntament de Valencia;

communication of 17 January 2010 by the Spanish authorities regarding EU-PILOT 724/09/2ENVI;

letter of 21 January 2010 from the Generalität Valenciana - Directorate General for Environmental Management;

order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant association challenges the decision refusing its request for access to certain documents submitted by Spain in the investigation concerning EU-PILOT-ENVI 72409, which is intended to implement the Special Protection and Internal Reform Plan (PEPRI) for the district of Cabanyal in the City of Valencia, approved by the Ayuntamiento de Valencia and the Generalidad de Valencia.

In support of its forms of order the applicant claims that the contested decision infringes Articles 3, 4 and 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006.¹

The applicant states in that regard that, contrary to the Commission's submissions, there are no domestic legal proceedings clearly connected to the procedure initiated by the Commission. The legal proceedings to which the defendant refers concern non-compliance with domestic laws which do not in any way regulate the environment or refer to the environmental impact assessment.

Further, the applicant takes the view that, in any event, the disclosure of the information requested cannot prejudice the environmental protection to which that information refers.

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¹ - Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies(OJ 2006 L 264, p. 13).