30.6.2012

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 194/14

(Case C-198/12)

2012/C 194/23

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: T. Scharf, O. Beynet, and S. Petrova, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Republic of Bulgaria

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

—declare that, the Republic of Bulgaria has infringed its obligations, resulting from Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 (1) in conjunction with Article 16(1) and (2)(b) thereof, to provide maximum capacity to all market participants and, in particular, services for virtual reverse flow gas transport;

—order the Republic of Bulgaria to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By the present action, the Commission seeks a declaration that the Republic of Bulgaria has infringed its obligations resulting from Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 in conjunction with Article 16(1) and (2)(b) thereof, which replace Article 14(1) and Article 5(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005.

Those obligations are the following:

—The obligations resulting from Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 in conjunction with Article 16(1) and (2)(b) thereof to provide maximum capacity to all market participants and, in particular, services for virtual reverse flow gas transport. According to the Bulgarian authorities, the reason why the abovementioned obligation to provide maximum capacity was not fulfilled is that there is no physical connection between the transit system and the national gas transport system of the Republic of Bulgaria, and that those systems are subject to different regulations. A further reason why that obligation was not fulfilled, claim the Bulgarian authorities, is that there are three interstate agreements in force between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the USSR, which were concluded in 1986 and 1989. The Commission contends that, if the interstate trade agreement of 27 April 1998 between OOO Gazprom and Bulgartransgaz EAD impedes the fulfilment by the Bulgarian authorities of their obligation to provide maximum capacity, the Republic of Bulgaria is required, pursuant to Article 351(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take all appropriate steps to eliminate such incompatibilities with the provisions of European Union law.

(1) Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005 (OJ 2009 L 211, p. 36).