On Wednesday 5 September, the Austrian authorities announced that they would appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 12 July of this year concerning the UK aid in favour of a subsidiary of EDF Energy, which will operate unit C of the new-generation EPR nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, in principle from 2023 (see EUROPE 12061).
Readers may recall that in this judgment, the General Court upheld the Commission's controversial decision of October 2014 to approve British public support in favour of the planned construction, by a subsidiary of the EDF group, of a new-generation EPR nuclear power station at Hinkley Point (see EUROPE 11172).
Austria, then supported by Luxembourg, appealed against this Commission decision. In the opposite corner, the Commission was supported by the UK, France and Poland. However, the General Court rejected all arguments put forward by Austria, finding that the Commission had been right to approve the British measure in question.
“Our fight against using taxes to finance atomic energy in Europe will continue”, said Elisabeth Köstinger, the Austrian Minister for sustainable development and tourism. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)