European Union – Taxation. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling deciding, among other things, that art 17(1) of Council Directive (EC) 2003/96 had to be interpreted as meaning that the concept of 'tax reductions' covered the incentives granted, under national law, to energy-intensive businesses, as defined in that provision, in respect of amounts, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, covering general electricity charges, subject to verification by the referring court of the facts and the rules of national law on which that answer from the Court was based.