EU Law

// Case C-66/06 Intervention EIA Poland

ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT

21 May 2007 (*)

(Intervention - Confidentiality)

In Case C?66/06,

ACTION under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 6 February 2006,

Commission of the European Communities, represented by F. Simonetti and X. Lewis, acting as Agents, assisted by F. Louis, avocat, and by C. O'Daly, Solicitor, with an address for service in Luxembourg,

applicant,

v

Ireland, represented by D. O'Hagan, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,

defendant,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT,

having regard to the proposal of J. Makarczyk, Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Advocate General, J. Mazák,

makes the following

Order

1 By application lodged at the Registry of the Court on 30 June 2006, the Republic of Poland, represented by Ewa O?niecka-Tamecka, acting as Agent, requested leave to intervene in Case C?66/06 in support of the form of order sought by the defendant.

2 The application to intervene was made in accordance with Article 93(1) of the Rules of Procedure and is submitted pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 40 of the Statute of the Court of Justice.

3 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 21 July 2006, the Commission, pursuant to Article 93(3) of the Rules of Procedure, requested confidential treatment for those parts of the annexes to its application which concern infringement proceedings against Ireland which have no link with the present proceedings. A non-confidential version of those annexes is attached to that letter.

4 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 23 August 2006, Ireland stated that it did not have any objection to the communication of all the documents at issue to the Republic of Poland, since the infringement procedures to which they relate do not involve any other Member State.

5 In accordance with the second sentence of Article 93(3) of the Rules of Procedure, the President of the Court may, on application by one of the parties, omit secret or confidential documents from those communicated to the intervener.

6 Having regard to the confidential nature of the exchanges of information between the Commission and Ireland on the subject of possible infringements of Community law unconnected to the present action for failure to fulfil obligations, and taking account of the fact that the omission of the information for which confidentiality is requested does not affect the procedural rights of the party seeking leave to intervene, the application of the second sentence of Article 93(3) of the Rules of Procedure appears warranted.

7 It follows from the foregoing that the application to intervene submitted by the Republic of Poland should be allowed and the Commission's request for confidential treatment should be granted.

On those grounds, the President of the Court hereby orders:

1. The Republic of Poland is granted leave to intervene in Case C?66/06 in support of the form of order sought by Ireland.

2. A period shall be prescribed within which the intervener must state in writing the pleas relied on in support of the form of order which it seeks.

3. The Registrar shall serve on the intervener a copy of all the procedural documents with the exception of those parts of Annexes 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 to the application concerning infringement procedures unconnected to the present action.

4. The Registrar shall serve on the intervener a non-confidential version of those annexes.

5. The costs are reserved.

Luxembourg, 21 May 2007.

[Signatures]