Action brought on 17 March 2023 – European Commission v Hellenic Republic
(Case C-167/23)
Language of the case: Greek
Parties
Applicant: European Commission (represented by: A. Bouchagiar and C. Hermes, acting as Agents)
Defendant: Hellenic Republic
Form of order sought
The applicant claims that the Court of Justice should
declare that:
by failing to adopt all the measures necessary to establish a surveillance system of invasive alien species of Union concern and to adopt, implement and transmit action plans for tackling priority pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 14(1) and (2) and Article 13(2) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 1 and under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; and
order Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
The European Commission takes the view that the Hellenic Republic has yet to establish (and makes no provision in its existing legal order for) a surveillance system of invasive alien species of Union concern, as required by Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014. In the absence of any surveillance system, the Hellenic Republic has also infringed the substantive requirements to be met by such a surveillance system pursuant to Article 14(2) of that regulation.
Furthermore, the European Commission considers that the Hellenic Republic has failed either to develop or implement one single action plan or a set of action plans, and has failed to transmit those plans to the Commission without delay. Consequently, the Hellenic Republic has failed to comply with Article 13(2) and (5) of the regulation in question.
On those grounds, the Hellenic Republic has infringed Article 14(1) and (2) and Article 13(2) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014, and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
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1 Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of alien species (OJ 2014 L 317, p. 35).