5.9.2016

Official Journal of the European Union

C 326/15

(Case C-347/16)

(2016/C 326/26)

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Balgarska energiyna borsa AD (BEB)

Defendant: Komisia za energiyno i vodno regulirane (KEVR)

Questions referred

1.Does Article 9(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of Directive 2009/72/EC (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC permit the same person to be the sole shareholder of the independent transmission system operator and of the company whose most important activities are the generation and transmission of electricity?

2.Does Article 9(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC permit the same person directly or indirectly to exercise control over the independent transmission system operator and over an undertaking which generates and supplies electricity?

3.Does Article 9(1)(c) and (d) of Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC permit the same person to appoint the members of the supervisory board of the transmission system operator (which in turn elects its management board) and the members of the board of directors of the undertaking which generates and supplies electricity?

4.Do Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC, Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 (2) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1228/2003, (3) [Commission] Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 (4) [of 24 July 2015] establishing a guideline on capacity allocation and congestion management [and] Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 (5) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency permit restrictions on the number of persons to whom a licence for electricity transmission may be issued in a particular territory?

5.If the foregoing questions are answered in the affirmative and [on the basis that] in accordance with Article 43(1)(1) [of the Zakon na energetikata (Law on the energy sector)] only one single licence is issued for the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria: Must it be assumed that there is a conflict of interest within the meaning of [recital 12 of] Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC?

6.Must it be assumed that, in providing that only one licence for electricity transmission may be issued within the national territory, the national rule laid down in Article 43(1)(1) [of the Law on the energy sector] restricts competition within the meaning of Articles 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU?

* Language of the case: Bulgarian.

(1) OJ 2009 L 211, p. 55.

(2) OJ 2009 L 211, p. 15.

(3) OJ 2003 L 176, p. 1.

(4) OJ 2015 L 197, p. 24.

(5) OJ 2011 L 326, p. 1.