Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2015:684
Date: 2015-10-15
Language of the case: Greek
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Environment;Pollution
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Greece

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 15 October 2015 — Commission v Greece (Case C‑167/14) (1) Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 91/271/EEC — Urban waste water treatment — Judgment of the Court establishing a failure to fulfil obligations — Non-compliance — Article 260(2) TFEU — Financial penalties — Lump sum payment and penalty payment 1. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Period for implementation — Reference date for assessing whether there has been a failure to fulfil obligations (Art. 260(2) TFEU) (see paras 29, 30) 2. Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Failure to fulfil obligations — National system pleaded as justification — Not permissible (Art. 258 TFEU) (see paras 35) 3. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Breach of the obligation to comply with the judgment — Pecuniary penalties — Periodic penalty payment — Imposition of a penalty payment — Condition — Persistence of the failure to fulfil obligations until the date of delivery of the judgment (Art. 260(2) TFEU) (see paras 47-50) 4. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Breach of the obligation to comply with the judgment — Pecuniary penalties — Periodic penalty payment — Determination of the form to be taken and of the amount — Discretion of the Court — Criteria (Arts 258 TFEU and 260(2) TFEU) (see paras 51-60) 5. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Breach of the obligation to comply with the judgment — Pecuniary penalties — Periodic penalty payment — Calculation of the amount — Decreasing penalty payment (Art. 260(2) TFEU) (see paras 61-66) 6. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Breach of the obligation to comply with the judgment — Pecuniary penalties — Periodic penalty payment — Lump sum — Whether the two penalties should be cumulated — Lawfulness (Art. 260(2) TFEU) (see para. 72) 7. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Breach of the obligation to comply with the judgment — Pecuniary penalties — Imposition of a lump sum payment — Discretion of the Court — Criteria for assessment (Art. 260(2) TFEU) (see paras 73-78) Operative part The Court: 1. Declares that, by failing to take all the necessary measures to comply with the judgment in Commission v Greece (C‑440/06, EU:C:2007:642), the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 260(1) TFEU; 2. Orders that, if the failure to fulfil obligations found in point 1 has continued until the day of delivery of the present judgment, the Hellenic Republic be required to pay to the European Commission, into the ‘European Union own resources’ account, a penalty payment of EUR 3 640 000 for each six-month period of delay in implementing the measures necessary to comply with the judgment in Commission v Greece (C‑440/06, EU:C:2007:642), from the date of delivery of the present judgment until the judgment in Commission v Greece (C‑440/06, EU:C:2007:642) has been complied with in full, the actual amount of which must be calculated at the end of each six-month period by reducing the total amount relating to each of those periods by a percentage corresponding to the proportion that the number of population equivalents of the agglomerations whose urban waste water treatment and collection systems have been rendered compliant with the judgment in Commission v Greece (C‑440/06, EU:C:2007:642) at the end of the period in question bears to the number of population equivalents of the agglomerations not having such systems on the day of delivery of the present judgment; 3. Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay to the European Commission, into the ‘European Union own resources’ account, a lump sum of EUR 10 million; 4. Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs. 1 OJ C 261, 11.8.2014.