21.9.2015

Official Journal of the European Union

C 311/2

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 July 2015 — European Commission v Council of the European Union

(Case C-425/13) (1)

((Action for annulment - Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations on linking the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme with a greenhouse gas emissions trading system in Australia - Negotiating directives - Special committee - Articles 13(2) TEU, 218(2) to (4) TFEU and 295 TFEU - Institutional balance))

(2015/C 311/02)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by G. Valero Jordana and F. Castillo de la Torre, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the applicant: European Parliament (represented by R. Passos and D. Warin, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by K. Michoel, M. Moore and J.-P. Hix, acting as Agents)

Interveners in support of the defendant: Czech Republic (represented by M. Smolek, J. Vláčil and E. Ruffer, acting as Agents), Kingdom of Denmark (represented by C. Thorning, L. Volck Madsen and U. Melgaard, acting as Agents), Federal Republic of Germany (represented by T. Henze and B. Beutler, acting as Agents), French Republic (represented by D. Colas, G. de Bergues, F. Fize and N. Rouam, acting as Agents), Kingdom of the Netherlands (represented by M. Bulterman and M. de Ree, acting as Agents), Republic of Poland (represented by B. Majczyna, acting as Agent), Kingdom of Sweden (represented by A. Falk, C. Meyer-Seitz, U. Persson, E. Karlsson, L. Swedenborg and C. Hagerman, acting as Agents), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (represented by E. Jenkinson and M. Holt, acting as Agents, and J. Holmes and B. Kennelly, Barristers)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Annuls, in Section A, entitled ‘Procedure for negotiations’, of the Annex to the Council Decision of 13 May 2013 authorising the opening of negotiations on linking the EU emissions trading scheme with an emissions trading system in Australia:

—	the second sentence of paragraph 1 of that section, according to which, ‘where appropriate, detailed negotiating positions of the Union shall be established within the special committee referred to in Article 1(2) or within the Council’, and

—	the words ‘and establish negotiating positions’ in paragraph 3 of that section;

2)	Dismisses the action as to the remainder;

3)	Orders the European Commission and the Council of the European Union to bear their own costs, including those relating to the procedure that gave rise to the order in Commission v Council (C-425/13, EU:C:2014:91);

4)	Orders the European Parliament and the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Poland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 274, 21.9.2013.