# C_2004228EN.01001302.xml

| 11.9.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 228/13 |
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11.9.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 228/13

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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

of 15 July 2004

in Case C-213/03 (reference for a preliminary ruling by the Cour de cassation): Syndicat professionnel coordination des pêcheurs de l'étang de Berre et de la region v Électricité de France (EDF) (1)

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(Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (Barcelona Convention - Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources - Article 6(3) - Authorisation to discharge - Direct effect)

(2004/C 228/25)

Language of the case: French

In Case C-213/03: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC by the Cour de cassation (France) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between Syndicat professionnel coordination des pêcheurs de l'étang de Berre et de la region and Électricité de France (EDF) — on the interpretation of Article 6(3) of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources, signed in Athens on 17 May 1980, approved by Council Decision 83/101/EEC of 28 February 1983 (OJ 1983 L 67, p. 1), and of Article 6(1) of the Protocol as amended at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries held in Syracuse on 7 and 8 March 1996, which amendments were approved by Council Decision 1999/801/EC of 22 October 1999 (OJ 1999 L 322, p. 18) — the Court (Second Chamber), composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber, C. Gulmann, J.-P. Puissochet, J.N. Cunha Rodrigues and R. Schintgen (Rapporteur), Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; M. Múgica Arzamendi, Principal Administrator, has given a judgment on 15 July 2004, the operative part of which is as follows:

| 1. | Article 6(3) of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources, signed in Athens on 17 May 1980, approved by Council Decision 83/101/EEC of 28 February 1983 and, following its entry into force, Article 6(1) of the Protocol as amended at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries held in Syracuse on 7 and 8 March 1996, which amendments were approved by Council Decision 1999/801/EC of 22 October 1999, have direct effect, so that any interested party is entitled to rely on those provisions before the national courts. |
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1.

Article 6(3) of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources, signed in Athens on 17 May 1980, approved by Council Decision 83/101/EEC of 28 February 1983 and, following its entry into force, Article 6(1) of the Protocol as amended at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries held in Syracuse on 7 and 8 March 1996, which amendments were approved by Council Decision 1999/801/EC of 22 October 1999, have direct effect, so that any interested party is entitled to rely on those provisions before the national courts.

| 2. | Those same provisions must be interpreted as prohibiting, without an authorisation issued by the national competent authorities, the discharge into a saltwater marsh communicating with the Mediterranean Sea of substances which, although not toxic, have an adverse effect on the oxygen content of the marine environment. |
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2.

Those same provisions must be interpreted as prohibiting, without an authorisation issued by the national competent authorities, the discharge into a saltwater marsh communicating with the Mediterranean Sea of substances which, although not toxic, have an adverse effect on the oxygen content of the marine environment.

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(1)  OJ C 158 of 5.7.2003.

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