Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:820
Date: 2013-12-12
Language of the case: Estonian
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: Competition;Environment;Waste
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Estonia

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 12 December 2013 1. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Admissibility — Need to provide the Court with sufficient information on the factual and legislative context — Extent of the obligation in the sphere of competition (Art. 267 TFEU) 2. Environment — Waste — Transfers — Regulation No 1013/2006 — Obligation for the future concessionaire to collect and transport certain types of waste to the nearest appropriate treatment facility — Applicability of Articles 34 TFEU to 36 TFEU — Not applicable (Arts 34 TFEU to 36 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1013/2006) 3. Environment — Waste — Transfers — Regulation No 1013/2006 — Mixed municipal waste and waste intended for disposal operations — Obligation to transport that waste to the nearest appropriate treatment facility established in the same Member State — Principles of self-sufficiency and proximity — Lawfulness (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1013/2006, Art. 11(1)(a); European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/98, Art. 16) 4. Environment — Waste — Transfers — Regulation No 1013/2006 — Waste intended for recovery operations other than mixed municipal waste — Obligation for the producers of that waste either to deliver it to the undertaking responsible for the collection of waste or to deliver it directly to the treatment facility — Obligation for that undertaking to transport the waste to the nearest appropriate treatment facility established in the same Member State — Not permissible (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1013/2006, Arts 3(1)(b) and (2), 12(1) and 18; European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/98, Art. 16) 5. Freedom to provide services — Freedom of establishment — Provisions of the Treaty –Not applicable to situations within a Member State (Arts 49 TFEU and 56 TFEU) 1. See the text of the decision. (see paras 39-43) 2. The obligation imposed by a local authority of a Member State on a future concessionaire of a concession for the collection and transport of waste to deliver certain types of waste collected on the territory of that municipality, namely either mixed municipal waste or industrial and building waste, to an undertaking established in the same Member State in order for it to be treated comes within the ambit of Regulation No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, the aim of which is to provide a harmonised set of procedures whereby movements of waste can be limited in order to secure protection of the environment. It follows that it is not necessary to examine separately whether that obligation complies with Articles 34 TFEU to 36 TFEU. (see paras 44, 49) 3. The provisions of Regulation No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, read in conjunction with Article 16 of Directive 2008/98 on waste, must be interpreted as permitting a local authority to require the undertaking responsible for the collection of waste on its territory to transport mixed municipal waste collected from private households and, as applicable, from other producers, to the nearest appropriate treatment facility established in the same Member State as that authority. It follows from those provisions that the Member States may adopt measures of general application restricting shipments of waste intended for disposal operations and mixed municipal waste between Member States, in the form of general or partial prohibitions of shipments, by way of implementation of the principles of proximity, priority for recovery and self-sufficiency under Directive 2008/98. The obligation imposed by a local authority on the undertaking responsible for the collection of waste on its territory to deliver certain types of waste to a treatment facility situated in the same Member State amounts to a measure of general application laying down a prohibition on shipments of the waste in question to other facilities, as provided for in Article 11(1)(a) of Regulation No 1013/2006, where the producers of that waste are themselves required to deliver the waste either to that undertaking or to that facility. Accordingly, in the case of waste destined for disposal operations and mixed municipal waste collected from private households and, as applicable, other producers, a Member State may confer on local authorities, on the geographical scale it deems appropriate, powers to manage the waste produced on their territory in order to ensure compliance with its obligations under Article 16 of Directive 2008/98. Those authorities may, as part of the powers conferred upon them, provide that those types of waste will be treated in the nearest appropriate facility. (see paras 56, 57, 63, 68, operative part 1) 4. The provisions of Regulation No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, read in conjunction with Article 16 of Directive 2008/98 on waste, must be interpreted as not permitting a local authority to require the undertaking responsible for the collection of waste on its territory to transport industrial and building waste produced on its territory to the nearest appropriate treatment facility established in the same Member State as that authority, where that waste is intended for recovery, if the producers of that waste are themselves required to deliver the waste either to that undertaking or directly to that facility. Such an obligation amounts to a measure of general application. Yet it is apparent from the provisions of Regulation No 1013/2006 applicable to shipments between Member States of waste destined for recovery operations other than mixed municipal waste that that regulation does not provide for the possibility for a national authority to adopt a measure of general application having the effect of prohibiting, totally or partially, shipments of such waste to other Member States for treatment. (see paras 66-68, operative part 1) 5. Articles 49 TFEU and 56 TFEU do not apply to a situation which is confined in all respects within a single Member State. (see paras 70, 74, operative part 2)