Joined Cases C-80/18 to C-83/18: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 7 November 2019 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo — Spain) — Asociación Española de la Industria Eléctrica (UNESA) (C-80/18), Endesa Generación SA (C-82/18) v Administración General del Estado, Iberdrola Generación Nuclear SAU (C-80/18 and C-82/18) and Endesa Generación SA (C-81/18), Iberdrola Generación Nuclear SAU (C-83/18) v Administración General del Estado (C-81/18 and C-83/18) (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Polluter-pays principle — Common rules for the internal market in electricity — Directive 2009/72/EC — Article 3(1) and (2) — Principle of non-discrimination — Financing the tariff deficit — Taxes applying only to undertakings which use nuclear energy to produce electricity)
Date: 2019-11-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: electrical energy, energy production, environmental protection, environmental tax, equal treatment, nuclear energy, polluter pays principle, radioactive waste, single market, storage of waste








C_2020010EN.01000601.xml










13.1.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 10/6






Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 7 November 2019 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo — Spain) — Asociación Española de la Industria Eléctrica (UNESA) (C-80/18), Endesa Generación SA (C-82/18) v Administración General del Estado, Iberdrola Generación Nuclear SAU (C-80/18 and C-82/18) and Endesa Generación SA (C-81/18), Iberdrola Generación Nuclear SAU (C-83/18) v Administración General del Estado (C-81/18 and C-83/18)
(Joined Cases C-80/18 to C-83/18) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Polluter-pays principle - Common rules for the internal market in electricity - Directive 2009/72/EC - Article 3(1) and (2) - Principle of non-discrimination - Financing the tariff deficit - Taxes applying only to undertakings which use nuclear energy to produce electricity)
(2020/C 10/07)
Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Tribunal Supremo

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Asociación Española de la Industria Eléctrica (UNESA) (C-80/18), Endesa Generación SA (C-82/18), Endesa Generación SA (C-81/18) Iberdrola Generación Nuclear SAU (C-83/18)

Defendants: Administración General del Estado, Iberdrola Generación Nuclear SAU (C-80/18 and C-82/18), Administración General del Estado (C-81/18 and C-83/18)

Operative part of the judgment







1.


The principle of non-discrimination, as provided for in Article 3(1) of Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation establishing taxes on the production and storage of nuclear fuel and waste, such as those taxes at issue in the cases in the main proceedings, which apply only to electricity-generating undertakings using nuclear energy and the main objective of which is not to protect the environment but to increase the amount of revenue for the electricity financial system;










2.


Article 3(2) of Directive 2009/72 must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the cases in the main proceedings, when the environmental objective and the characteristics that define environmental taxes provided for in that legislation are not specified in the statutory provision having legislative force in that legislation.






(1)  OJ C 182, 28.5.2018.