Notice for the OJ
Action brought on 20 December 2004 by U.S. Steel Košice s.r.o. against the Commission of the European Communities
(Case T-489/04)
Language of the case: English
An action against the Commission of the European Communities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on 20 December 2004 by U.S. Steel Košice, Košice, Slovak Republic, represented by D. Hueting, Barrister, C. Thomas Solicitor and E. Vermulst, lawyer.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
- annul the Commission Decision of 20 October 2004 concerning the national allowances for the allocation of greenhouse gas allowances notified by the Slovak Republic in accordance with Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and Council;
- order the Commission to pay the applicant's costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
The applicant is a Slovak company, the only steel producer in that country. By its application it seeks the annulment of the Commission's Decision of 20 October 2004 concerning the national allowances for the allocation of greenhouse gas allowances notified by the Slovak Republic in accordance with Directive 2003/871.
In support of its application the applicant first of all submits that the contested decision infringes Article 9 paragraph 3 of Directive 2003/87 in that it purports to approve a national allocation plan where the total amount of allowances approved is lower than the aggregate of the individual allocations and reserves listed in the plan. The applicant further alleges that the contested decision infringes criteria 1 and 2 of Annex III to Directive 2003/87 in that it limits the allocation of allowances by the Slovak Republic to a level substantially lower than the amount originally notified, which was consistent with the Slovak Republic's commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The applicant also invokes a misuse of the Commission's powers in that the contested decision allegedly intends to achieve a scarcity of allowances, an objective different to those stated in Directive 2003/87 and that, further, it was based on non-transparent bilateral negotiations which Directive 2003/87 does not allow. The applicant contends further that the contested decision violates the principle of non-discrimination in that the Commission improperly treated the Slovak Republic differently from Germany and the first eight Member States whose allocation plans were received and that, in other respects, improperly failed to treat the Slovak Republic differently from Latvia and Estonia. According to the applicant, the contested decision also infringes the principle of proportionality in that, firstly, it purports to approve a plan where the total amount of allowances proposed by Slovakia is reduced beyond what is appropriate and necessary, and secondly, the Commission failed to evaluate the effects that the decrease in total allocation would have on individual installations. Finally, the applicant contends that the contested decision fails to provide a meaningful or adequate statement of reasons.
____________1 - Directive 2003/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC, Official Journal L 25 , 25/10/2003 p. 32