CELEX: C2004/071/65
Language: en
Date: 2004-03-20 00:00:00
Title: Case T-17/04: Action brought on 13 January 2004 by Le Front National and seven others against Council of the European Union and European Parliament

20.3.2004               EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                           C 71/37
—      Declare that the Defendants are bound to make good the              Action brought on 13 January 2004 by Le Front National
       damage that the Applicant has suffered, and may yet                 and seven others against Council of the European Union
       suffer, as a result of the adoption of Articles 4, 12(3) and                           and European Parliament
       6(2e), 9, 16 (2), (3) and (4), in conjunction with Article 2,
       Annex I and Annex Ill, No. 1, of Directive 2003/87/EC;
                                                                                                    (Case T-17/04)
—      Order the Defendants to bear the costs.
                                                                                                    (2004/C 71/65)
Pleas in law and main arguments                                                               (Language of the case: French)
The applicant is a steel producing company with installations
for the production of pig iron and steel in France, Spain,
Germany and Belgium. Directive 2003/87/EC of the European
                                                                           An action was brought before the Court of First Instance of
Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 (1) establish-
                                                                           the European Communities on 13 January 2004 against the
es a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading
                                                                           Council of the Union and the European Parliament by Le
within the Community. This Directive institutes a licensing
                                                                           Front National, established in St-Cloud, France, Marie- France
system for certain activities leading to the emission of green-
                                                                           Stirbois, residing in Villeneuve-Loubey, France, Bruno
house gas, among them the production of pig iron or steel,
                                                                           Gollnisch, residing in Limonest, France, Carl Lang, residing in
and makes provision for emission allowances to be allocated
                                                                           Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Jean-Claude Martinez, residing
to relevant installations. Emissions of greenhouse gases by an
                                                                           in Montpellier, France, Philip Claeys, residing in Overijse,
installation in excess of its allowance for the relevant trading
                                                                           Belgium, Koen Dillen, residing in Antwerp, Belgium, and Mario
period is subject to monetary penalties.
                                                                           Borghezio, residing in Turin, Italy, represented by a Maître
                                                                           Wallerand de St-Just, lawyer.
In support of its application the applicant submits that
the contested provisions infringe its fundamental rights to
property and the pursuit of an economic activity, by requiring             The applicants claim that the Court of First Instance should:
it to operate its plants under economic conditions that are
unsustainable. The applicant further claims that there is very
little technological potential for steel producers to reduce their         —     Annul Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European
greenhouse gas emissions beyond the 18 % reduction already                       Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on
achieved since 1990 and that, therefore it is an infringement                    the regulations governing political parties at European
of the principle of proportionality to subject such installations                level and the rules regarding their funding;
to the Directive in question. The applicant also invokes a
breach of the principle of equality, alleging that other sectors           —     Order the European Parliament and the council to pay
in direct competition with the applicant and with comparable                     the costs and lawyers’ fees amounting to EUR 10 000.
or even higher emissions of greenhouse gases, such as
producers of non-ferrous metals and chemicals, are not subject
to the Directive. In the same context the applicant further
alleges that steel producers find themselves in a unique lock-in
situation preventing them from passing on to their clients any
monetary fines imposed for excessive emissions. The applicant              Pleas in law and main arguments
also submits that the contested provisions infringe the freedom
of establishment within the European Union by affecting its
right to transfer production freely from a less efficient plant in
one Member State to a more efficient plant in another Member               In support of their application, the applicants rely on the same
State. Finally, the applicant also invokes a breach of the                 pleas as those put forward by the applicant in Case T-13/04 (1).
principle of legal certainty, claiming that the Directive imposes          They also claim that the contested regulation infringes French
obligations whose financial implications are unforeseeable.                Law No 95-65 of 19 January 1995 on the financing of political
                                                                           parties. The latter law prohibits financing by legal persons,
                                                                           whereas the contested regulation contains no such prohibition
                                                                           and could result in evasion of the French prohibition.
(1) Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the
     Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse
     gas emission allowance trading within the Community and
     amending Council Directive 96/61/EC. OJ L 275 of 25.10.2003,
                                                                           (1) Case T-13/04 Bonde and Others v Parliament and Council.
     p. 32-46.