The German nuclear power plant operators have with their lawsuit against the billionaire nuclear fuel tax before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) failed. The Luxembourg judges ruled that the levy is not contrary to EU law. She also does not constitute State aid (Az: C-5/14). They were responding to the assessment of the ECJ Advocate General in February.
E.on, RWE and EnBW had appealed against the imposed since 2011 control. They are hoping for a return of nearly five billion euros already paid taxes.
before the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision is available in a second process on the subject but still pending. There shall come in the second half of a verdict. The German Supreme Court could overturn the tax yet. The shares of utilities fell by the ECJ ruling under tremendous pressure. RWE lost up to 2.9 percent, E.on 1.8 percent.
Balanced budget by atomic control
Four years ago, introduced a tax on nuclear fuel in Germany. Fuel used for the first time in the reactor will be taxed at 145 euros per gram of nuclear fuel. By contrast, energy companies complained -. The Finanzgericht Hamburg requested a clarification by the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice, because the tax unilaterally charged the operators of nuclear power plants
Therefore, had the government initially will refund the tax. But the Bundesfinanzhof decided shortly before Christmas, that until a final legal clarification of the tax was payable. Because the corporations paid over two billion euros, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was suddenly happy about a “black zero” – the first budget without new debt since 1969.
The tax is levied not by 2016. E.on has not paid claims to EUR 2.3 billion to the federal government, RWE end of 2014 around 1.2 billion euros and 1.1 billion euros EnBW. “We accept the ruling of the ECJ noted,” an E.on spokesman. “So the issue is not finished.”
Because it was only decided whether the tax is compatible with European law. The compatibility of the tax with the German Basic Law check the Federal Constitutional Court in a parallel process. “We expect a decision later this year.”
Even RWE CFO Bernhard Günther recently stressed that “would be enough there, if we prevail in one of the two methods to the nuclear fuel tax in accordance with ineffective to make. “
” Since this is under German law rather than concerns from the perspective of plaintive utilities in control to a disguised income tax to a pure consumption tax, must are still considered in the matter as open the procedure in Karlsruhe, “said Peter Rosin, energy law expert at the law firm White and Case in Dusseldorf:” In addition, it should be noted that the right understanding of excise duty under German law is not necessarily identical to the interpretation of the European Law . “
Hendricks talks about a level playing field
” Now the Entfristung the fuel tax is part of the agenda “, declared the Green Party politicians Lisa Paus and Sylvia Kotting-Uhl: “. The Minister of Finance has the control even beyond 2016 raise until the last nuclear power plant from the grid is”
A requirement that (SPD) was immediately taken up by the Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks. About the control more will “level playing field between energy sources” produced, said Hendricks: “At the same time, the ECJ provides a good argument for a possible extension of nuclear control to the operating end of the last German nuclear power plant.”
Overall, energy companies E.on, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall lawsuits in approximately 30 individual cases against nuclear policy decisions of the Federal Government. Three of the companies have complained against the 2011 approved, accelerated nuclear phase-out in front of the Federal Constitutional Court. The court will deal with the case nor in 2015. Whether it comes to the end yet a verdict, is open.
the corporations is not about to make the planned withdrawal until the end of 2022 reversed. However, they claim damages, because the federal government had extended the maturities of the pile a few months before the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Should the Constitutional Court give the company law, this would erstreiten the damages in other procedures.
interim storage decision also still open
E.on calls over eight billion euros. RWE has given no numbers, the Deutsche Bank analysts expect six billion euros. Vattenfall wants 4.7 billion euros and also complains before an arbitral tribunal in the United States.
after also against the three-month banning of eight nuclear power plants, which immediately the Federal Government had obtained the Japanese nuclear disaster at Fukushima, sue the company. The moratorium ran from March to June 2011, and culminated in August in the final withdrawal decision.
Originally had only complained RWE. After the energy giant got right in court, E.ON and EnBW followed suit. E.on suing for damages in the amount of 380 million euros. RWE calls for 235 million euros, EnBW a “low hundreds of millions”.
Finally, corporations also go against the newly introduced obligation to the plants’ intermediate storage of nuclear waste sued. The federal government wants to prevent that reprocessed nuclear waste is placed in the central interim storage facility abroad. The energy companies believe that the exclusion of the Gorleben interim storage facility for arbitrary.
No comments:
Post a Comment