Case T-535/23: Judgment of the General Court of 12 November 2025 – CEE Bankwatch Network and Ökobüro v Council (Environment – Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 laying down a framework to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy – Request for internal review – Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 – Refusal of request – Act adopted on the basis of Article 122(1) TFEU – Act not capable of being the subject of a request for internal review – Article 2(1)(g) of Regulation No 1367/2006 – Concept of administrative act – Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention – Article 2(2) of the Aarhus Convention – Act adopted in a legislative capacity)
Date: 2025-11-12
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: EU energy policy, EU environmental policy, admissibility, energy production, environmental law, legal basis, principle of proportionality, protocol to an agreement, renewable energy, transparency in decision-making








C_202506615EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/6615


22.12.2025






Judgment of the General Court of 12 November 2025 – CEE Bankwatch Network and Ökobüro v Council


(Case T-535/23)
                (1)

(Environment - Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 laying down a framework to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy - Request for internal review - Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 - Refusal of request - Act adopted on the basis of Article 122(1) TFEU - Act not capable of being the subject of a request for internal review - Article 2(1)(g) of Regulation No 1367/2006 - Concept of ‘administrative act’ - Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention - Article 2(2) of the Aarhus Convention - Act adopted in a ‘legislative capacity’)
(C/2025/6615)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicants: CEE Bankwatch Network z.s. (Prague, Czech Republic), Ökobüro - Allianz der Umweltbewegung (Vienna, Austria) (represented by: M. Metzler, lawyer)

Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by: R. Boucquey, A. Maceroni and L. Vétillard, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the defendant: European Commission (represented by: C. Hermes, G. Gattinara, B. De Meester and C. Valero, acting as Agents)

Re:

By their action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicants seek annulment of the decision of the Council of the European Union of 13 June 2023 which rejected as inadmissible, and in the alternative as unfounded, the request for internal review of Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 of 22 December 2022 laying down a framework to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy (OJ 2022 L 335, p. 36), which they made on 20 February 2023 on the basis of Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Union institutions and bodies (OJ 2006 L 264, p. 13), as amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/1767 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2021 (OJ 2021 L 356, p. 1).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the action;










2.


Orders CEE Bankwatch Network z.s. and Ökobüro – Allianz der Umweltbewegung to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union;










3.


Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs.






(1)  
            OJ C, C/2023/221, 23.10.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/6615/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)