Court of Justice 6 June 2024, C-255/22 P (Orlen S.A., v European Commission.)

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Advocate General Rantos opines that the Commission, when accepting commitments under Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, is not required to state reasons for abandoning preliminary objections or to impose positive obligations beyond competition remedies to satisfy the principle of energy solidarity under Article 194 TFEU. The Opinion clarifies that judicial review of such decisions is limited to verifying the adequacy of commitments in addressing identified competition concerns and that a manifest error of assessment cannot be established through the cumulative effect of non-manifest irregularities. Consequently, the Advocate General recommends dismissing the appeal and cross-appeal against the General Court's judgment upholding the Commission's decision regarding Gazprom's practices in Central and Eastern European gas markets.AI