Case T-824/25: Action brought on 1 December 2025 – Union belliloise pour l’environnement et le développement v Commission
Date: 2025-12-01
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Brittany, France, Mediterranean Sea, State aid, clean technology, control of State aid, electrical energy, energy production, environmental protection, offshore wind energy production








C_202600488EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/488


2.2.2026






Action brought on 1 December 2025 – Union belliloise pour l’environnement et le développement v Commission


(Case T-824/25)

(C/2026/488)
Language of the case: French

Parties


Applicant: Union belliloise pour l’environnement et le développement (Bangor, France) (represented by: T. Truchet, lawyer)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






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annul Commission Decision C(2025) 5420 final of 5 August 2025, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 5 September 2025, not to raise objections to an aid scheme to accelerate renewable energy deployment, notified by France, aimed at supporting the construction and operation of three offshore wind farms, one off the coast of southern Brittany and two others in the Mediterranean, under the Framework for State Aid measures to support the Clean Industrial Deal (SA.115764);










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order the Commission to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on three pleas in law.






1.


First plea in law, alleging failure to state reasons in relation to the condition of France’s compliance with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle.






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The applicant claims that the Commission did not comply with the obligation to state reasons required by Article 296 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in the contested decision in failing to set out clearly and unequivocally its reasoning as regards the verification of the condition laid down by point 56 of the Framework for State Aid measures to support the Clean Industrial Deal, according to which the Member State must ensure that the aid scheme is implemented.














2.


Second plea in law, alleging an error in law regarding compliance with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle.






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The applicant submits that the Commission committed an error of law, consisting in a manifest error of assessment, in relation to France’s compliance with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle provided for by point 56 of the Framework for State Aid measures to support the Clean Industrial Deal.










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The applicant claims that the Commission could not implement the technical screening criteria concerning in particular the objective of pollution prevention and control for electricity generation from wind energy since Delegated Regulation 2021/2139 (1) supplementing Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (2) by establishing the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation and for determining whether that economic activity causes no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives has not provided for such a technical screening criterion in breach of Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852.










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The applicant also submits that the Commission could not, without committing a manifest error of assessment, consider that France had legitimately undertaken to comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle since, at the stage of projects eligible for the aid scheme, national law does not ensure compliance with that principle.














3.


Third plea in law, alleging an error of law as regards the principle of public participation.






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The applicant argues that the Commission erred in law in not providing for public participation in decisions not to raise objections in breach of Article 6 of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters of 25 June 1998 or the ‘Aarhus Convention’.










(1)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 of 4 June 2021, supplementing Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation and for determining whether that economic activity causes no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives (OJ L 442, 9.12.2021).

(2)  Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (OJ L 198, 22.6.2020).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/488/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)