Luxembourg, February 2, 2026 — An environmental group has asked the EU General Court to annul the European Commission’s decision approving an €11 billion (approximately $12.9 billion) French state aid scheme supporting three offshore wind farms, arguing that the authority failed to properly assess environmental safeguards and public participation requirements, according to the EU Official Journal.
The action, filed on December 1, 2025, by Union belliloise pour l’environnement et le développement, targets EC’s decision not to raise objections to the French measure under EU state aid rules. The decision was published in the Official Journal on September 5, 2025, and cleared the scheme under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF).
Grounds of Appeal
According to the application, the group advances three pleas. First, it alleges a failure to state reasons under Article 296 TFEU, claiming the Commission did not clearly and unequivocally explain how France complied with the “do no significant harm” principle required by point 56 of the CISAF.
Second, the applicant argues that the Commission committed an error of law, amounting to a manifest error of assessment, in concluding that the scheme complied with the “do no significant harm” principle. It submits that the Commission could not properly apply the relevant technical screening criteria — particularly those relating to pollution prevention and control for wind energy generation — because Delegated Regulation 2021/2139 does not provide such criteria, allegedly in breach of Regulation (EU) 2020/852.
The group also argues that, at the project eligibility stage, national law does not ensure compliance with the principle, making France’s commitments insufficient.
Third, the action alleges an error of law concerning public participation, claiming the Commission breached Article 6 of the Aarhus Convention by failing to provide for public participation when adopting a decision not to raise objections.
Aid Details
The challenged decision concerns a French aid scheme notified under the CISAF to support the construction and operation of three floating offshore wind farms — one off the coast of southern Brittany and two in the Mediterranean. Each project is expected to have a capacity of around 500 MW and generate approximately 2.2 TWh annually, equivalent to the consumption of about 450,000 French households. The scheme is set to run for 20 years.
Aid under the measure takes the form of a monthly variable premium under a two-way contract for difference, awarded through a transparent and non-discriminatory competitive bidding process selecting one beneficiary per offshore zone. When market prices fall below the reference price, beneficiaries receive the difference; when prices exceed it, beneficiaries must repay the difference to the French authorities. The scheme includes safeguards to avoid compensation during periods of negative prices and incorporates resilience criteria in tenders to diversify supply chains.
The case is T-824/25 Union belliloise pour l’environnement et le développement v Commission before the General Court.
Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C_202600488
