Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2015:202
Date: 2015-03-26
Language of the case: Lithuanian
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Approximation of laws
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Lithuania

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 26 March 2015 1. EU law — Interpretation — Methods — Literal, systematic and teleological interpretation 2. Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Obligations of the Member States — General obligation to insure vehicles normally based in their territory — Scope — Limits (Council Directive 90/232, as amended by Directive 2005/14) 3. Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directive 90/232 — Obligations of the Member States — Obligation for insurance policies to offer, on the basis of a single premium, cover for the entire territory of the European Union — Concept of single premium — Differentiation in the amount of the premium depending on the territory in which the vehicle is used — Not included (Council Directive 90/232, as amended by Directive 2005/14, Art. 2) 1. See the text of the decision. (see para. 23) 2. See the text of the decision. (see para. 25) 3. Article 2 of the Directive 90/232 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, as amended by Directive 2005/14, must be interpreted as meaning that a premium which varies according to whether the insured vehicle is to be used only in the territory of the Member State in which that vehicle is normally based or in the entire territory of the European Union does not fall within the concept of ‘single premium’, within the meaning of that article. The provisions of that Article 2 are aimed not exclusively at the relationship between the insurer and victim but also at the one between the insurer and the party insured. In particular, those provisions imply that, in return for payment by the party insured of the single premium, the insurer assumes, in principle, the risk of compensating the victims of any accident involving the insured vehicle, regardless of the EU Member State in whose territory that vehicle is used or the accident takes place. A variable premium, contrary to what that article provides, amounts to subjecting the insurer’s commitment to assume the risk of using that vehicle outside the Member State in which it is normally based to the payment of a premium supplement. (see paras 29-31, operative part)