Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2004:670
Date: 2004-10-28
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Environment;Approximation of laws
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Austria;Portugal

Summary of the Judgment Approximation of laws – Disposal of waste oils – Directive 75/439 – Obligation of the Member States to give priority to the processing of 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 or 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 thereby intend 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. To consider that the technical, economic and organisational circumstances obtaining in a Member State automatically constituted constraints making it impossible to adopt the measures provided for in that article would deprive it 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 to give priority to the processing of waste oils by regeneration. (see paras 38-39)