Case C-540/15: Action brought on 15 October 2015 — European Commission v Hellenic Republic
Date: 2015-10-15
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: approximation of laws, energy consumption, energy efficiency, energy saving, energy use, sanction (EU)








C_2016007EN.01000902.xml










11.1.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 7/9





Action brought on 15 October 2015 — European Commission v Hellenic Republic
(Case C-540/15)
(2016/C 007/15)
Language of the case: Greek

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by Μaria Patakia, Muriel Heller and Klara Talabér-Ritz, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Hellenic Republic

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






—


Declare that the Hellenic Republic, by failing to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive 2012/27/ΕU (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC, or, in any event, by failing to communicate those provisions to the Commission, failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 28(1) of that directive.










—


Order the Hellenic Republic to pay, in accordance with Article 260(3) TFEU, a daily penalty payment of EUR 29 145,6 from the date of delivery of the Court’s judgment.










—


order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments







1.


Directive 2012/27/ΕU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 is concerned with energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC (‘the Directive’). In accordance with Article 1 thereof, Directive 2012/27/ΕU establishes a common framework of measures for the promotion of energy efficiency within the Union in order to ensure the achievement of the Union’s 2020 20 % headline target on energy efficiency and to pave the way for further energy efficiency improvements beyond that date. The Directive lays down rules designed to remove barriers in the energy market and overcome market failures that impede efficiency in the supply and use of energy, and provides for the establishment of indicative national energy efficiency targets for 2020.










2.


In accordance with Article 28 of Directive 2012/27/EU, the Member States are obliged to adopt the national provisions necessary to comply with the directive by 5 June 2014 and, more specifically, with respect to particular obligations which are referred to in particular articles, which are referred to in Article 28, by the dates specified in those articles, and to communicate the measures which they adopt to the Commission. That communication is an intrinsic element of the obligation to transpose EU directives into national law and of the duty of sincere cooperation, and that fact is also reflected in Article 260(3) TFEU.










3.


The Commission, after following the procedure provided for in Article 258(2) TFEU, found that the Hellenic Republic did not adopt, within the time-limits prescribed for the relevant provisions of the Directive the measures required for the transposition of Directive 2012/27/EU and has not to date done so, or, in any event, did not communicate those measures to it, and decided to being an action before the Court against the Hellenic Republic seeking a declaration of the infringement concerned.










4.


Further, in accordance with Article 260(3) TFEU, the Commission claims that the Court should impose a financial penalty on the Hellenic Republic. The financial penalty proposed by the Commission is calculated in accordance with the criteria and the method adopted by the Commission in the relevant Communication of 15 January 2011.






(1)  OJ L 315 of 14.11.2012, p. 1.