Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2004:215
Date: 2004-04-01
Language of the case: English
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Environment;Approximation of laws
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment Approximation of laws – Disposal of waste oils – Directive 75/439 – Member States obliged to give priority to the processing of waste oils by regeneration – Limits – Technical, economic or organisational constraints – Meaning (Council Directive 75/439, Art. 3(1)) It is clear from Article 3(1) of Directive 75/439 on the disposal of waste oils, as amended by Directive 87/101, that the reference to ‘technical, economic and organisational constraints’ in that article forms part of a provision giving general expression to the obligation imposed on Member States and that the Community legislature did not intend thereby to provide limited exceptions to a rule having general application, but to define the scope and content of a positive obligation to give priority to the processing of waste oils by regeneration. It follows that the definition of such constraints cannot be left to the exclusive discretion of the Member States. Apart from being contrary to the principle of the uniform interpretation and application of Community law, interpretation by the Member States alone would make the compatibility of processing by regeneration with technical, economic and organisational constraints a condition the fulfilment of which would depend entirely on a policy assessment on the part of the Member State concerned. Article 3(1) of Directive 75/439, which relates to the ‘technical, economic and organisational constraints’ must be understood as an expression of the principle of proportionality; accordingly, Member States are under an obligation to take measures appropriate and proportionate to the objective of giving priority to the processing of waste oils by regeneration, which is to say that the limit to that positive obligation is the existence of those constraints. If the technical, economic and organisational circumstances obtaining in a Member State were considered automatically to constitute constraints making it impossible to adopt the measures provided for in that provision, it would be deprived of all practical effect, since the obligation imposed on Member States would be limited by maintenance of the status quo, with the result that there would be no genuine obligation to take the measures necessary for the processing of waste oils by regeneration. (see paras 20-23)