17 Supreme Court judges agree that the Storting legally decided to take Norway into Acer.
No to EU leader Einar Frogner during marking outside the Supreme Court in connection with the processing of the ACER lawsuit in September. Photo: Frederik Ringnes / NTBPublished:
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– My conclusion is that the rules of the constitution were not broken when the Storting in 2018 agreed to include the EU’s third energy market package in the EEA agreement, said first-voting Supreme Court judge Knut Erik Sæther during the ruling.
None of the other Supreme Court judges had major objections to the decision.
– The procedure set out in the Constitution’s section 26 second paragraph could be followed as the transfer of authority was not intrusive. The appeal must therefore be rejected, said Sæther.
Thus, a five-year legal battle has been settled.
This is what you need to know about Acer
The EU’s third energy market package contains common rules for electricity and gas, and will create a unified market for this in Europe.ACER is the EU’s energy agency, which among other things will ensure that the rules in the package are applied equally and observed by all parties.ACER cannot force Norway to build new power cables abroad. If Norway joins ACER and the energy market package, it implies a relinquishment of sovereignty. Therefore, law professors Eivind Smith and Hans Petter Graver at UiO believe that a three-quarters majority in the Storting is required to adopt the package. However, the Ministry of Justice’s legal department has concluded that a simple majority is enough. ACER’s most important role is to interpret the regulations and create guidelines. If there is a disagreement between different countries, ACER can make a decision, like a kind of court. The decision-making authority is limited to questions of a technical nature. LO and large parts of the trade union movement are against the energy market package and ACER. Some fear that ACER will lead to higher electricity prices. NVE director Per Sanderud rejects this as “whimsical”. There are other factors that control the price of electricity, he says. The former government parties Høyre, Frp and Liberal voted for it, as did Ap and MDG. KrF, Sp, SV and Rødt are against. The Labor Party has agreed to ACER, subject to certain requirements for the government. Law professor Eivind Smith believes that the government cannot guarantee all the requirements in any case. Norsk Industri, which represents several employers in power-intensive industry, is in favor of ACER and the energy market package. Large parts of the environmental movement are positive about ACER and the energy market package. An important argument is that a more efficient power collaboration enables greater investment in renewable energy. Show more
No to the EU has always believed that the Storting could not cede sovereignty to the EU in the way they did in 2018, when a simple majority adopted the EU’s third energy market package.
With the decision, Norway also joined Acer, the energy agency which will ensure that the rules for power exchange between countries in Europe are observed.
The organization believes that this is such a far-reaching decision that it should have been made with a three-quarters majority in the Storting, in line with section 115 of the Constitution on relinquishment of sovereignty.
The lawsuit was dismissed by the Oslo District Court in October 2019, and by the Borgarting Court of Appeal in March 2020.
The appeal to the Supreme Court was allowed to be submitted in 2021.
– We will continue to fight to have political control as far as possible over the Norwegian electricity market, says Nei to EU leader Einar Frogner to NTB.
He says it was important for No to the EU to raise the case before the Supreme Court.
– It is clear that after the organization has fought that battle for five years, there is a bit of a vacuum, he admits.
Government attorney Fredrik Sejersted is not surprised by the verdict, and calls it a continuation of the conditions from the railway hill.
– It is in line with what we have been arguing for all along, and with what the Storting laid down as a basis. But there is always a moment of tension when this is tried, he tells NTB.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) is also happy about the clarification, he tells NTB.
– It is useful that we have now received the principled clarifications that come in this comprehensive judgement, says Støre.
– Crushing verdict
Høyre’s Nikolai Astrup calls Acer a side track from the real goal.
– That we need more clean and affordable power. And it is urgent to get started, says Astrup in a statement to the judgement.
– This is a crushing verdict, which confirms that No to the EU’s presentation of Acer’s importance for energy policy and electricity prices in Norway is completely wrong.
The Liberal Party’s deputy leader Sveinung Rotevatn says the verdict puts down conspiracy theories.
– No, Acer imposes neither wind power development nor foreign cables on us. It hardly makes an impression on the strongest conspirators, but I hope at least serious actors stop reproducing their claims after this unanimous Supreme Court verdict, says Rotevatn.
From Rødt, second deputy chairperson of the energy and environment committee Sofie Marhaug comments as follows:
– I think many people are disappointed today and had hoped that the Supreme Court would put their foot down for the transfer of authority to Acer. But the verdict shows us that it is a political responsibility to put the foot down for power liberalism. Only the Storting can do that, says Marhaug.
Facts about Acer and the EU’s third energy package
*Acer stands for Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators – the agency for cooperation between regulatory authorities.
* Acer is part of the energy cooperation in the EU. ACER must ensure a level playing field and that the different countries’ regulatory authorities (in Norway it is NVE) work together.
* Acer must ensure that European countries comply with the rules for power exchange in Europe. The agency must interpret the regulations and create guidelines for the power markets.
* The EU’s third energy market package is a bundle of legal acts from 2009 which further develops the internal market for energy. Norway joined the package in a vote in the Storting in 2018.
* No until the EU has taken legal action against the state following the decision in the Storting. The dispute is over whether the Storting should only cede sovereignty to the EU with a simple majority, or whether a three-quarters majority was needed.
* No to the EU lost the case in the Oslo District Court and in the Borgarting Court of Appeal.
* On 5 September, the case will go before the Supreme Court in plenary session.
Source: NTB
Sea view
Plenary proceedings
No to the EU believes that the decision in the Storting in 2018 was in violation of the Constitution as not three quarters of the representatives were present during the vote.
The proposal was adopted with a majority of 76 per cent, but only 56 per cent of the representatives of the Storting who actually voted.
The Oslo district court, however, considered that the transfer of authority that took place with the participation in Acer is “little intrusive” and therefore does not trigger a majority requirement under the Constitution.
The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal from No to the EU, but gave the organization the right to appeal the question to the Supreme Court.
also read
No to the EU appeals the Acer case to the Supreme Court
17 out of 20 judges participated when the Supreme Court dealt with the question in plenary at the beginning of September.
Such treatment in plenary is only decided in very special cases.
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2023-10-31 08:49:04
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