After a series of inconsistencies in the case-law of the CJEU on the application of ne bis in idem to dual administrative – criminal proceedings, in addition to some discrepancies with the Strasbourg case-law on this topic (see Menci, bpost, BV and MV – 98), it is noteworthy that a certain stability seems to be now emerging in this area with the CJEU’s judgment in the case of Engie România SA (C-205/23, 30.1.2025).

Engie România SA, a natural gas supplier, was penalized by two Romanian authorities – the National Energy Sector Regulatory Authority (ANRE) and the National Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC) – for allegedly breaching transparency obligations and engaging in misleading commercial practices.

The applicant company was accused of failing to provide clear information to customers about its right to adjust the price of natural gas during a fixed 12-month contract period. ​The ANRE imposed fines totaling RON 800,000 (approx. ​ EUR 160,000) and required Engie to revert to the original contract price. ​ Separately, the ANPC imposed a fine of RON 150,000 (approx. ​ EUR 30,000) for misleading and aggressive practices.

The referring court, the Bucharest Regional Court, asked the CJEU inter alia whether the combination of these two penalties had infringed the ne bis in idem principle, laid down in Article 50 of the EU-Charter, which prohibits double criminal proceedings or punishment.

The CJEU’s answer to this question is very much in line with its bpost jurisprudence, which itself extensively relied on A and B v. Norway, the leading Strasbourg case on dual proceedings. While applying a methodology according to which the second set of proceedings is to be considered as a limitation the legality of which is to be checked under Article 52(1) of the EU-Charter, thus departing from the Strasbourg approach on this issue, the CJEU nonetheless applies criteria which are rather close to the Strasbourg criteria, with both European Courts considering that the decisive issue is whether the two set of proceedings can be considered as a “coherent whole”. This is notably so when the proceedings brought by two different authorities pursue complementary aims relating to different aspects of the same unlawful conduct (§ 63).

If this is indeed the case, according to the CJEU, imposing criminal penalties by two different authorities for the same facts is allowed under Article 50 of the EU-Charter, provided a) clear and precise rules exist to predict such duplication of proceedings and penalties, and ensure coordination between the two sets of proceedings, b) these proceedings are conducted in a coordinated and timely manner, and c) penalties are proportionate to the seriousness of the offenses and do not impose an excessive burden. ​

This judgment is to be welcomed as an important contribution to the internal stability of the Luxembourg case-law on dual criminal proceedings and to the harmony with the Strasbourg case-law on this issue.