Case C-549/15: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 22 June 2017 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Förvaltningsrätten i Linköping — Sweden) — E.ON Biofor Sverige AB v Statens energimyndighet (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Promotion of energy from renewable sources — Biofuels for transport — Directive 2009/28/EC — Article 18(1) — ‘Mass balance’ system to ensure that biogas meets the prescribed sustainability criteria — Validity — Articles 34 and 114 TFEU — National rules requiring the mass balance to be achieved within a location with a clear boundary — Practice of the competent national authority to accept that that condition may be satisfied where sustainable biogas is transported using the national gas network — Order of that authority stating that that condition cannot be satisfied where sustainable biogas is imported from other Member States via interconnected national gas networks — Free movement of goods)
Date: 2017-06-22
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: biofuel, biogas, energy grid, energy transport, free movement of goods, gas supply, import (EU), renewable energy








C_2017277EN.01000502.xml










21.8.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 277/5





Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 22 June 2017 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Förvaltningsrätten i Linköping — Sweden) — E.ON Biofor Sverige AB v Statens energimyndighet
(Case C-549/15) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Promotion of energy from renewable sources - Biofuels for transport - Directive 2009/28/EC - Article 18(1) - ‘Mass balance’ system to ensure that biogas meets the prescribed sustainability criteria - Validity - Articles 34 and 114 TFEU - National rules requiring the mass balance to be achieved within a location with a clear boundary - Practice of the competent national authority to accept that that condition may be satisfied where sustainable biogas is transported using the national gas network - Order of that authority stating that that condition cannot be satisfied where sustainable biogas is imported from other Member States via interconnected national gas networks - Free movement of goods))
(2017/C 277/06)
Language of the case: Swedish

Referring court

Förvaltningsrätten i Linköping

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: E.ON Biofor Sverige AB

Defendant: Statens energimyndighet

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 18(1) of Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC must be interpreted as meaning that it is not intended to place an obligation on the Member States to authorise imports, via their interconnected national gas networks, of biogas satisfying the sustainability criteria set out in Article 17 of that directive and intended for use as biofuel;










2.


Examination of the second question has not disclosed any factor such as to affect the validity of Article 18(1) of Directive 2009/28;










3.


Article 34 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding an order, such as the order at issue in the main proceedings, by which a national authority seeks to exclude the possibility that an economic operator may implement a mass balance system, within the meaning of Article 18(1) of Directive 2009/28, in respect of sustainable biogas transported in interconnected national gas networks, by virtue of a provision adopted by that authority under which such a mass balance must be achieved ‘within a location with a clear boundary’, when that authority accepts, on the basis of that provision, that a mass balance system may be implemented in respect of sustainable biogas transported within the national gas network of the Member State of that authority.






(1)  OJ C 7, 11.1.2016.