Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) 16 December 2008, C-127/07 (Société Arcelor Atlantique et Lorraine and Others v Premier ministre, Ministre de l’Écologie et du Développement durable and Ministre de l'Économie, des Finances et de l'Industrie.)

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In Case C-127/07, the Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) addressed a preliminary reference from the French Conseil d'État (Council of State) concerning the validity of Directive 2003/87/EC, which established a greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme applicable to the steel sector while excluding the chemical and non-ferrous metal sectors. The Court held that, although those sectors are in a comparable situation for the purposes of the equal treatment principle, the differential treatment was objectively justified by the novelty and complexity of the scheme, the need to attain a critical mass of participants without overburdening its administration, and the Community legislature's legitimate recourse to a step-by-step approach based on experience gained during the first stage of implementation. Accordingly, examination of Directive 2003/87/EC from the standpoint of the principle of equal treatment disclosed nothing to affect its validity insofar as it made the allowance trading scheme applicable to the steel sector without including the chemical and non-ferrous metal sectors.AI