European Union
Republic of Poland v. Commission of the European Communities (Court of First Instance, Second Chamber, 2009)
Jurisdiction: Court of First Instance
Principle law(s): EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) (Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC)
Side A: Republic of Poland (Government)
Side B: Commission of the European Communities (Government)
Core objectives: Challenge to Commission's decision, which held that Poland's NAP was inconsistent with Directive 2003/87
Summary
In 2006, the Republic of Poland notified the Commission of its NAP for the period from 2008 to 2012. In 2007, the Commission held that its NAP was incompatible with the criteria set forth in Directive 2003/87 and decided that the total annual quantities of emission allowances should be reduced to 26.7% less than that proposed. Poland appealed the Commission's decision. As a preliminary issue, the Court held that each member state is to decide, on the basis of its NAP, on the total quantity of allowances it will allocate for a period in question, and the Commission's power to review these NAPs is very restricted. In the present case, the Commission's rejection of Poland's plan based on doubts as to the reliability of the data used exceeded the commission's authority and violated the principle of equal treatment.Case documents
Related laws and policies
-
This law implements European Union legislation
EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) (Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC)
This Directive establishes a Community GHG emissions trading scheme from 2005, to enable the Community and the Member States to meet their Kyoto Protocol commitments. Directive 2004/101/EC reinforces the link between the EU's emission allowance trading scheme and the Kyoto Protocol by making the ...
