62023CJ0621_SUM
Case C‑621/23 P
Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB
v
European Commission
Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 22 May 2025
(Appeal – Environment – Directive 2003/87/EC – System for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the European Union – Free allocation of allowances – Article 10a(1) – Concept of ‘substitutes’ – National implementing measures – Article 11(1) – Lists of installations covered by Directive 2003/87 submitted to the European Commission by the Member States – Decision (EU) 2021/355 – Proposal of the Member State concerned to cover by a benchmark for sintered ore a sub-installation producing iron ore pellets – Rejection decision – Establishment of benchmarks by the Commission – General objective of incentivising the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – No obligation of result – Article 296 TFEU – Obligation to state reasons for decisions of the EU institutions)
Environment – Atmospheric pollution – Directive 2003/87 – Aim – Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – Compliance with the sub-objectives set out in the directive – Obligation on the Commission to pursue the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions when determining ex-ante benchmarks – Obligation to achieve a result – No such obligation
(Commission Regulation 2019/331, recital 3; European Parliament and Council Directive 2003/87, as amended by Directive 2018/410, recitals 5 and 7 and Art. 10a(1); Commission Decisions 2011/278, recital 4, and 2021/355, recital 13 and Art. 1(3))
(see paragraphs 45-48, 69-70)
Environment – Atmospheric pollution – Directive 2003/87 – Scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading – Transitional arrangements for free allocation of allowances – List, established by the national authorities, of installations eligible for free allowances – Supervision by the Commission – Proposal of a Member State to apply the benchmark for sintered ore to a sub-installation producing iron ore pellets – Rejection by the Commission of the data corresponding to the product benchmark sub-installations – Whether permissible – Application of the same benchmark to substitutable products – Lack of direct substitutability between sintered ore and iron ore pellets
(Commission Regulation 2019/331, recital 3 and Annex I, point 1; European Parliament and Council Directive 2003/87, as amended by Directive 2018/410, recitals 10a(1) and (2); Commission Decisions 2011/278, recital 4, and 2021/355, recital 13 and Art. 1(3))
(see paragraphs 58-66, 71-78)
Appeal – Grounds – Inadequate statement of reasons – Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality
(Art. 296, second para., TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)
(see paragraphs 90-93)
Appeal – Grounds – Incorrect assessment of the facts and evidence – Inadmissibility – Review by the Court of Justice of the assessment of the facts and evidence – Possible only where the facts or evidence have been distorted – Requirement that the distortion be obvious from the documents in the file
(Art. 256, first para., TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)
(see paragraphs 108-111)
Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Assessment of the obligation to state reasons by reference to the circumstances of the case – Need to specify all the relevant factual and legal elements – No such need
(Art. 296 TFEU)
(see paragraphs 127-138)
See the text of the decision.