CJEU Case C-573/12 / Judgment

Key facts of the case:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — National support scheme providing for the award of tradable green certificates for installations producing electricity from renewable energy sources — Obligation for electricity suppliers and certain users to surrender annually to the competent authority a certain number of green certificates — Refusal to award green certificates for electricity production installations located outside the Member State in question — Directive 2009/28/EC — Article 2, second paragraph, point (k), and Article 3(3) — Free movement of goods — Article 34 TFEU.

Outcome of the case:

On those grounds, the Court (Grand Chamber) hereby rules:

1. Point (k) of the second paragraph of Article 2 and Article 3(3) of Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC must be interpreted as allowing a Member State to establish a support scheme, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which provides for the award of tradable certificates to producers of green electricity solely in respect of green electricity produced in the territory of that State and which places suppliers and certain electricity users under an obligation to deliver annually to the competent authority a certain number of those certificates, corresponding to a proportion of the total volume of electricity that they have supplied or consumed.
2. Article 34 TFEU must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which provides for the award of tradable certificates to green electricity producers solely in respect of green electricity produced in the territory of the Member State concerned and which places suppliers and certain electricity users under an obligation to surrender annually to the competent authority a certain number of those certificates, corresponding to a proportion of the total volume of electricity that they have supplied or used, failing which they must pay a specific fee.
3. It is for the national court to determine, taking into account all relevant factors — which may include the EU legislative context in which the legislation at issue in the main proceedings arises — whether, in terms of its territorial scope, that legislation meets the requirements of the principle of legal certainty.