Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2017:616
Date: 2017-07-26
Language of the case: French
Subject matter: Energy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 20 December 2017 1. Energy — Security of natural gas supply — Regulation No 994/2010 — Obligation of natural gas suppliers to take measures to safeguard the supply of gas to protected customers — Scope — National legislation imposing on gas suppliers an additional gas storage obligation to safeguard the supply of gas to other types of customers — Lawfulness — Condition (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 994/2010, Arts 2, second para., point 1, and 8(2)) 2. Energy — Security of natural gas supply — Regulation No 994/2010 — Obligation of natural gas suppliers to hold gas stocks in order to guarantee security of supply in the event of crisis — Scope — National legislation requiring suppliers to fulfil that obligation exclusively through infrastructure situated within the territory of the Member State — Unlawful (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 994/2010, Art. 8(5)) 1. Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 994/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply and repealing Council Directive 2004/67/EC must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that in the main proceedings, that imposes on natural gas suppliers a gas storage obligation, the scope of which includes customers who are not among the protected customers listed in point 1 of the second paragraph of Article 2 of that regulation, provided that the conditions set out in Article 8(2) of the regulation are complied with, a matter which it is for the referring court to ascertain. (see para. 40, operative part1) 2. Article 8(5) of Regulation No 994/2010 must be interpreted as precluding national legislation that requires natural gas suppliers to comply with their obligations to hold gas stocks, in order to guarantee security of supply in the event of crisis, necessarily and exclusively through infrastructure located within the territory of the Member State. In the present case, it is however for the referring court to ascertain whether the power which the competent authority has under the national legislation to take account of the ‘other regulatory instruments’ available to the suppliers concerned ensures that it is actually possible for them to meet their obligations at regional level or at EU level. (see para. 48, operative part 2)