Action brought on 8 July 2022 — European Commission v Romania

(Case C-455/22)

(2022/C 318/45)

Language of the case: Romanian

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: M. Escobar Gómez, E.A. Stamate and C. Valero, Agents)

Defendant: Romania

Form of order sought

The Commission claims that the Court should:

Pleas in law and main arguments

It is submitted that, from 2014 until 3 October 2020, S.C. CET Govora nr. 2, S.C. Electrocentrale Deva (Mintia) nr. 2 and S.C. Electrocentrale Deva (Mintia) nr. 3 were operated without a valid environmental permit according to the requirements laid down in Directive 2010/75. The Romanian authorities acknowledged that the three installations continued to be operated without a valid environmental permit until 3 October 2020, but argued that the installations were operated sporadically in order to ensure the safety of the national energy system.

Since Romania failed to take the measures necessary to ensure that S.C. CET Govora nr. 2, S.C. Electrocentrale Deva (Mintia) nr. 2 and S.C. Electrocentrale Deva (Mintia) nr. 3 were operated on the basis of a valid environmental permit, it infringed Article 4(1) of Directive 2010/75.

As regards the argument relating to the sporadic operation of the installations in order to ensure the safety of the national energy system, Directive 2010/75 does not contain such a possibility for a general exemption from the obligation to hold an environmental permit laid down in Article 4(1) of that directive. In addition, in accordance with the case-law of the Court, Member States are responsible for an infringement of obligations under EU law regardless of the State body in question responsible and they may not rely on provisions, practices or circumstances existing in the domestic legal order in order to justify the failure to comply with obligations provided for by [EU] directives. In that regard, Romania cannot rely on purely internal situations such as the operators’ insolvency or disputes relating to the suspension of the installations’ activities in order justify the failure to fulfil obligations under the directive.

(1)  Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ 2010 L 334, p. 17).