7.9.2020   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 297/34

Request for a preliminary ruling from the Satversmes tiesa (Latvia) lodged on 30 June 2020 — AS Latvijas Gāze v Latvijas Republikas Saeima, Sabiedrisko pakalpojumu regulēšanas komisija

(Case C-290/20)

(2020/C 297/46)

Language of the case: Latvian

Referring court

Satversmes tiesa

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: AS Latvijas Gāze

Defendants: Latvijas Republikas Saeima, Sabiedrisko pakalpojumu regulēšanas komisija

Questions referred

1.

Must Article 23 and Article 32(1) of Directive 2009/73/EC (1) be interpreted as meaning that Member States must adopt a regulatory framework permitting any final customer to choose which type of network — transmission or distribution — he wishes to connect to and imposing on the network operator an obligation to allow him to connect to the network in question?

2.

Must Article 23 of Directive 2009/73/EC be interpreted as meaning that Member States have an obligation to adopt a regulatory framework permitting only a non-household final customer (that is to say, only an industrial customer) to connect to the natural gas transmission network?

3.

Must Article 23 of Directive 2009/73/EC, in particular the concept of ‘new industrial customer’, be interpreted as meaning that that article lays down an obligation for Member States to adopt a regulatory framework permitting only a non-household final customer (that is to say, only an industrial customer) who has not previously been connected to the distribution network to connect to the natural gas transmission network?

4.

Must Article 2(3) and Article 23 of Directive 2009/73/EC be interpreted as meaning that they preclude a regulatory framework enacted by a Member State according to which the transmission of natural gas includes the transmission of natural gas directly to the final customer’s natural gas supply network?

(1)  Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC (OJ 2009 L 211, p. 94).