Action brought on 16 May 2007 - Scientific and Technological Committee and Others v Potocnik and Others, Members of the Commission

(Case T-125/07)

Language of the case: Polish

Parties

Applicants: Scientific and Technological Committee of AGH University of Science and Technology and Others (Cracow, Poland) (represented by A. Żuraniewski, lawyer)

Defendants: J. Potocnik, S. Dimas and A. Piebalgs, Members of the Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

declare that J. Potocnik, S. Dimas and A. Piebalgs, Members of the Commission of the European Communities, by not taking immediate action in defence of the life of the population of the EU from the time of receipt of the three documents reporting the risks connected with the technique of storing CO2 in geological strata, committed the offence of failure to act, by which they caused an existing and continuing state of danger to the life of the population of the EU and danger of an ecological catastrophe;

indicate the need for carrying out the proposed studies;

indicate the need for financing in full the studies which are not of a commercial nature but protect the safety of the life of the population of the EU;

indicate the need for suspension in the EU of further procedures for injecting CO2 into geological strata until the completion of the proposed studies.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicants seek a declaration of failure to act by members of the European Commission who were informed by the applicants of the dangers to human health and the natural environment deriving from the containerless depositing of carbon dioxide in geological strata but did not take the appropriate measures with the aim of preventing the negative effects of the application of such techniques. The applicants claim that after being called on to take action and to carry out the studies proposed by the applicants on the effects of the storage of carbon dioxide in surface layers of land the defendant members of the Commission did not take any position on the issue of the problems raised in the complaints addressed to them. The applicants submit that such inactivity infringes the legal order of the European Union and conflicts with the obligations of a member of the Commission.

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