14.9.2015

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 302/18

(Case C-304/15)

(2015/C 302/23)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: K. Mifsud-Bonnici, S. Petrova, Agents)

Defendant: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The applicant claims that the Court should:

—declare that, by failing to correctly apply the Directive 2001/80/EC on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants (1) with regard to the Aberthaw Power Station in Wales, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4(3), read in conjunction with Annex VI, Part A, of Directive 2001/80/EC on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants;

—order the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The Commission takes the view that the United Kingdom has failed to correctly apply Article 4(3), read in conjunction with Part A of Annex VI to the Directive 2001/80/EC on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants with regard to the Aberthaw Power Station. The Aberthaw Power Station, a coal-fired combustion plant with a rated thermal input of 4 090 MWth, thus entering the category of installations with a capacity exceeding 500 MWth, exceeds the applicable emission limit value for nitrogen oxides (NOx) under Article 4(3) of the said Directive as read together with its Article 14(1)(a) and Annex VI, Part A. Pursuant to the applicable provisions, the United Kingdom must ensure that a plant of this capacity, from 1 January 2008, does not exceed the limit value of 500 mg/Nm3 for NOx, reducing it to 200 mg/Nm3 as of January 2016. However, the plant’s emission limit value as set out in its permit is currently 1 050 mg/Nm3 for NOx.

(1) OJ L 309, p. 1