Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:130
Date: 2001-03-06
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Freedom to provide services;Transport
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 
Transport — Air transport — Freedom to provide services — Restrictions — National 
legislation providing for different departure taxes for national and intra-Community 
flights — Not permissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC); Council Regulation 
No 2408/92, Art. 3(1)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-447/99 
National legislation which provides for 
different departure taxes to be paid by 
aircraft passengers according to whether 
their flight is domestic or intra-Community 
must be regarded as a restriction on the 
freedom to provide services and is prohib­
ited under the combined provisions of 
Article 59 of the Treaty (now, after amend­
ment, Article 49 EC) and Article 3(1) of 
Regulation No 2408/92 on access for Com­
munity air carriers to intra-Community air 
routes, a regulation which defines the 
conditions for applying in the air transport 
sector the principle of the freedom to 
provide services. The freedom enshrined 
in Article 59 of the Treaty precludes the 
application of any national legislation 
which has the effect of making the provi­
sion of services between Member States 
more difficult than the provision of services 
purely within one Member State. 
(see paras 11-12, 15) 
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