08/03/2017 (Agence Europe) – In a case involving Arcelor Mittal (see EUROPE 11587), the Court of Justice of the EU held that a member state can demand the return of emissions quotas that have not been used or were not due under the European Trading Scheme (ETS). Therefore, when a company closes down operations in one of its plants at a date after the allocation of emissions quotas and omits to inform the competent authority of this action in the necessary timeframe, the latter can order the return of the emissions quotas without compensation, in an effort to prevent any distortion to the market in allowances. The Court emphasised that despite what the company claimed in this case, this case did not involve any kind of expropriation. (JK)