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17.4.2010 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 100/24 |
Action brought on 28 January 2010 — European Commission v Kingdom of Spain
(Case C-48/10)
2010/C 100/35
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Applicant: European Commission (represented by: A. Alcover San Pedro, Agent)
Defendant: Kingdom of Spain
Form of order sought
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declare that, by failing to adopt the measures necessary so that the authorities ensure — by granting authorisations in accordance with Articles 6 and 8 or, by adequately revising the conditions and, if appropriate, updating them — that installations are operated in accordance with the requirements laid down in Articles 3, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14(a) and (b), and 15(2) by 30 October 2007 at the latest, unless other specific provisions of Community law are applicable, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under to Article 5(1) of Directive 2008/1/EC (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (‘IPPC Directive’). |
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order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs. |
Pleas in law and main arguments
Under Article 5(1) of Directive 2008/1/EC, the period for complying with the obligation to adapt existing installations to the requirements of the IPPC Directive, by granting an integrated environmental authorisation, lapsed on 30 October 2007.
On that date, many existing installations continued operating in Spain without that authorisation. Since the commencement of an action based on that infringement, the process of granting environmental authorisations has been speeded up without, however, bringing an end to that infringement within the period prescribed in the reasoned opinion or, according to the information available to the Commission, without bringing an end to it by the present date. According to the information supplied by the national authorities in their reply to the reasoned opinion, 533 existing installations were still operating without the mandatory IPPC authorisation on the date on which the period prescribed in that opinion, for complying with the obligations arising under Article 5(1) of the IPPC Directive, lapsed.
In those circumstances, it is clear that the Kingdom of Spain has still not fulfilled the obligations arising from that provision.