Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:366
Date: 2001-06-28
Language of the case: French
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Freedom to provide services
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Preliminary rulings — Reference to the Court — National court or tribunal for the 
purposes of Article 234 EC — Collège juridictionnel de la Région de Bruxelles-
Capitale — Included 
(Art. 234 EC) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-17/00 
2. Freedom to provide services — Restrictions — Tax on satellite dishes introduced by a 
municipal council — Not permissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC) and Arts 60 and 66 (now Arts 
50 EC and 55 EC) 
1. In order to determine whether a body 
making a reference is a court or 
tribunal for the purposes of Article 234 
EC, which is a question governed by 
Community law alone, the Court takes 
account of a number of factors, such as 
whether the body is established by law, 
whether it is permanent, whether its 
jurisdiction is compulsory, whether its 
procedure is inter partes, whether it 
applies rules of law and whether it is 
independent. The Collège juridiction­
nel de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, 
which has jurisdiction in local tax 
proceedings, satisfies those criteria. 
(see paras 10, 12, 22) 
2. Article 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after 
amendment, Article 49 EC) and Arti­
cles 60 and 66 of the Treaty (now 
Articles 50 EC and 55 EC) must be 
interpreted as preventing the applica­
tion of a tax on satellite dishes intro­
duced by a municipal council of a 
Member State, where it is shown that 
such a tax is liable to impede more the 
activities of operators in the field of 
broadcasting or television transmission 
established in other Member States, 
while giving an advantage to the inter­
nal market of the Member State con­
cerned and to radio and television 
distribution within that Member State. 
(see paras 35, 39 and operative part) 
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