Case C-77/05: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 18 December 2007 — United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v Council of the European Union (Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 — Establishment of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union — Validity)
Date: 2007-12-18
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Community acquis, Council of the European Union, EC Regulation, Schengen Agreement, United Kingdom, action for annulment (EU), cooperation policy, decision-making, external border of the EU

23.2.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 51/5

Re:

Appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fifth
Chamber, Extended Composition) of 30 November 2004 in
Case T-168/02 IFAW Internationaler Tierschutz-Fonds v Commis-
sion, dismissing an application for annulment of a decision of
the Commission rejecting a request made by IFAW pursuant to
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents
(OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43) for access to certain documents of the
imperative
German authorities
grounds of major public interest for the declassification of a site
protected under Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992
on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and
flora (OJ 1992 L 206, p. 7)

claiming the

existence of

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Sets aside the judgment of

the
European Communities of 30 November 2004 in Case T-168/02
IFAW Internationaler Tierschutz-Fonds v Commission;

the Court of First

Instance of

2. Annuls the decision of the Commission of the European Commu-
nities
of 26 March 2002 refusing IFAW Internationaler
Tierschutz-Fonds gGmbH access to certain documents received by
the Commission in the course of a procedure which ended with the
Commission giving an opinion favourable to the carrying out of an
industrial project on a site protected under Council Directive
92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habi-
tats and of wild fauna and flora;

3. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to pay the
costs incurred by the Kingdom of Sweden in connection with the
appeal proceedings and the costs incurred by IFAW Internationaler
Tierschutz-Fonds gGmbH both in the appeal proceedings and in
those at first instance in which the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities gave judgment on 30 November 2004,
IFAW Internationaler Tierschutz-Fonds v Commission;

4. Orders the Kingdom of Denmark,

the
Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Finland, the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Commis-
sion of the European Communities to bear their own costs relating
to the appeal;

the Kingdom of Spain,

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 18 December
2007 — United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland v Council of the European Union

(Case C-77/05) (1)

(Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 — Establishment of the
the Management of Operational
European Agency for
Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of
the European Union — Validity)

(2008/C 51/08)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (represented by E. O'Neill and C. Gibbs, Agents, and A.
Dashwood, Barrister)

Interveners in support of the applicant: Ireland (represented by D.
O'Hagan, Agent, and A. Collins, SC, and P. McGarry, BL),
Republic of Poland (represented by J. Pietras, Agent), Slovak
Republic (represented by R. Procházka, J. Čorba and B. Ricziová,
Agents)

Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by J.
Schutte and R. Szostak, Agents)

Interveners in support of the defendant: Kingdom of Spain (repre-
sented by J.M. Rodríguez Cárcamo, Agent), Commission of the
European Communities (represented by C. O'Reilly, Agent)

Re:

Annulment of Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 of
26 October 2004 establishing a European Agency for
the
Management of Operational Cooperation at
the External
Borders of the Member States of the European Union (OJ 2004
L 349, p. 1)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

5. Orders the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, and the Commission of the European Commu-
nities to bear their own costs relating to the proceedings at first
instance.

2. Orders the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

to pay the costs;

3. Orders the Kingdom of Spain, Ireland, the Republic of Poland, the
Slovak Republic and the Commission of the European Communities
to bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 115, 14.5.2005.

(1) OJ C 82, 2.4.2005.