This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 62011CN0416
Case C-416/11 P: Appeal brought on 8 August 2011 by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland against the order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) delivered on 24 May 2011 in Case T-115/10: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v European Commission
Case C-416/11 P: Appeal brought on 8 August 2011 by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland against the order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) delivered on 24 May 2011 in Case T-115/10: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v European Commission
Case C-416/11 P: Appeal brought on 8 August 2011 by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland against the order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) delivered on 24 May 2011 in Case T-115/10: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v European Commission
SL C 298, 8.10.2011, p. 17–18
(BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
8.10.2011 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 298/17 |
Appeal brought on 8 August 2011 by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland against the order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) delivered on 24 May 2011 in Case T-115/10: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v European Commission
(Case C-416/11 P)
2011/C 298/31
Language of the case: English
Parties
Appellant: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (represented by: S. Ossowski, Agent, D. Wyatt QC, V. Wakefield, Barrister)
Other party to the proceedings: European Commission
Form of order sought
The applicant asks the Court that:
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the Order of the General Court be set aside; |
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the United Kingdom's action for annulment be declared admissible and the case be referred back to the General Court so that it may examine the substance of the United Kingdom's action for annulment; |
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the Commission be ordered to pay the United Kingdom's costs of the present proceedings and those arising at first instance relating to the plea of inadmissibility; and |
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the costs be reserved as to the remainder. |
Pleas in law and main arguments
1. |
The United Kingdom appeals against the Order of the General Court of the European Union (Seventh Chamber) in Case T-115/10 United Kingdom v Commission, in which the General Court ruled that the United Kingdom's action for the annulment of the listing of the Spanish Site of Community Importance ES6120032 (‘Estrecho Oriental’) in Commission Decision 2010/45/EU (1) was inadmissible. |
2. |
The General Court found that the listing of Site ES6120032 in Commission Decision 2010/45/EU was merely confirmatory of the earlier listing of that Site in Commission Decision 2009/95/EC (2). It was wrong to do so, since the listing of Site ES6120032 in Decision 2010/45/EU was adopted on the basis of substantial new facts, namely that ES6120032:
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3. |
At the time of the first listing of ES6120032 in Decision 2009/95/EC, it seems that only Spain had actual knowledge of the fact that ES6120032 overlaps with UKGIB0002 and BGTW. Certainly the United Kingdom did not know this fact, and there has been no indication that the Commission or the Habitats Committee (which adopted Decision 2009/95/EC) knew this fact. |
4. |
By the time of the second listing of ES6120032 in Decision 2010/45/EU, the United Kingdom, the Commission and the Habitats Committee all knew this highly relevant fact, as evidenced by the debate which preceded the adoption of this measure. |
5. |
Since there was no actual knowledge of the fact of the overlapping at the time of adoption of Decision 2009/95/EC, the General Court focussed on constructive knowledge, namely whether there could have been knowledge of the fact of the overlap at the time. It held that neither the United Kingdom nor the Commission could not have known of the fact at that time, and so (according to its reasoning) Decision 2010/45/EU was ‘merely confirmatory’ of the earlier listing. |
6. |
The General Court fell into serious errors of law in its consideration of constructive knowledge. In particular:
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(1) 2010/45/EU: Commission Decision of 22 December 2009 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, a third updated list of sites of Community importance for the Mediterranean biogeographical region (notified under document C(2009) 10406)
OJ L 30, p. 322
(2) 2009/95/EC: Commission Decision of 12 December 2008 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, a second updated list of sites of Community importance for the Mediterranean biogeographical region (notified under document number C(2008) 8049)
OJ L 43, p. 393