Judgment_paragraph 94 · European Commission v Council of the European Union (C-425/13)

94As regards the conditions for partial annulment of an EU act, it is clear from settled case-law that such annulment is possible only in so far as the elements whose annulment is sought may be severed from the remainder of the act (see judgments in Commission v Council, C‑29/99, EU:C:2002:734, paragraph 45, and Germany v Commission, C‑239/01, EU:C:2003:514, paragraph 33). The Court has repeatedly ruled that that requirement of severability is not satisfied where the partial annulment of an act would have the effect of altering its substance (see judgments in Commission v Poland, C‑504/09 P, EU:C:2012:178, paragraph 98, and Commission v Parliament and Council, C‑427/12, EU:C:2014:170, paragraph 16). Review of whether the contested provisions are severable requires consideration of their scope, in order to be able to assess whether their annulment would alter the spirit and substance of the decision challenged (see judgment in Commission v Estonia, C‑505/09 P, EU:C:2012:179, paragraph 112 and the case-law cited).