The OPAL Case And The Solidarity Principle

In this podcast, Professor Kim Talus from Tulane University discusses the latest controversies surrounding the OPAL gas pipeline, which links the Nordstream gas pipeline to Eastern Europe, and the implications of the recent judgment from the European Court of Justice for the interpretation and application of EU energy law. On 10 Sept 2019, the General Court of the ECJ annulled an earlier Commission decision to modify the exemption of the OPAL pipeline, by drawing on the principle of energy solidarity introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, as laid down in Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. In this podcast, Professor Talus gives a brief overview of the case, discusses the salient features of the judgment, particularly the meaning of the principle of solidarity, and reflects on the consequences of such an interpretation.