Solidarity in the European Union’s energy policy – not just a political guideline but a justiciable principle of EU primary law?
A closer look at the Advocate General ‘s Opinion on the OPAL case.
On 18 March 2021, Advocate General (AG) Campos Sánchez-Bordona delivered his much-awaited Opinion in a case concerning the OPAL natural gas pipeline (C-848/19 P Germany v Poland). Significantly, the AG recommends that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) should uphold the September 2019 finding of the General Court that energy solidarity is a principle of EU primary law which entails rights and obligations for EU institutions and for the Member States. This Opinion sets the stage for a decision by the CJEU that could be a milestone ruling for EU energy law and beyond.
Solidarity in the European Union’s energy policy – not just a political guideline but a justiciable principle of EU primary law?
This is the position of the CJEU’s Advocate General who delivered his recent Opinion in Case C-848/19 P Germany v Poland. He advises the Court of Justice to uphold the General Court’s earlier ruling in Case T-883/16 Poland v Commission. Although the CJEU may not necessarily follow his advice, this Opinion already raises a number of interesting opportunities for discussion.
The Florence School of Regulation will host a panel of international energy experts to explore and debate the implications of the AG’s Opinion.
?This high-level panel will be composed of Kim Talus, Professor of Energy Law at Tulane Law School, UEF Law School, and the University of Helsinki; Pawel Pikus, Director of the Electricity and Gas Department in the Ministry of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland; and Katja Yafimava, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES). In advance of the event, this blog post aims to introduce some of the most salient issues at stake.
This event is organised in the context of the Vienna Forum Series, an annual joint initiative of the FSR Energy Union Law Area and the Energy Community Secretariat which aims to bridge the gap in energy debate between the EU and Energy Community.
Introduction Dirk Buschle, Energy Community Secretariat; College of Europe
Moderator Leigh Hancher, FSR; Tilburg University; Baker Botts LLP
Setting the Scene
Kim Talus, Universities of Tulane, Eastern Finland, and Helsinki
A Critical appraisal of the AG Opionion
Dr Pawel Pikus, Director of Electricity & Gas Department in the Ministry of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland
Katja Yafimava, OIES, Oxford
Q & A
Conclusion Leigh Hancher & Dirk Buschle