The Opt-Out-Clause of Article 114 TFEU: Remarks on the Judgment of the General Court of 7 March 2013 – Republic of Poland v. European Commission (Case T-370/11)
The Opt-Out-Clause of Article 114 TFEU: Remarks on the Judgment of the General Court of 7 March 2013 – Republic of Poland v. European Commission (Case T-370/11)

Summary/Abstract: In 2011, the Republic of Poland raised an action against the European Commission claiming that the Court should annul in its entirety Commission Decision 2011/278/EU determining transitional Union-wide rules for the harmonized free allocation of emission allowances, according to which natural gas should be the reference benchmark for emission trading. In 2013, the claim was dismissed in its entirety and Poland was ordered to pay the costs. The aim of the article is to examine whether the Republic of Poland would have another possibility to break free from the obligations imposed by the Commission, that is to apply the opt-out-clause according to Article 114 (4–5) TFEU. The article intends to prove that this way of conduct could more appropriately serve the interest of Poland than the pleas in law raised by Poland in the course of the action before the Court.

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