ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

12 December 2002

((Directive 92/12/EEC – Article 20 – Export to non-member countries of products under duty-suspension arrangements – Products having to be considered not to have arrived at their destination by reason of the falsification of the accompanying document – Place of the offence or irregularity unknown – Determination of the Member State in which excise duty is chargeable))

and

THE COURT,,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:

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having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral observations of Distillerie Fratelli Cipriani SpA and the Commission at the hearing on 29 January 2002,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 21 March 2002,
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

20 March 2003

((Trade marks – Approximation of laws – Directive 89/104/EEC – Article 5(1)(a) – Notion of sign which is identical with the trade mark – Use of the distinctive element of the mark to the exclusion of other elements – Use of all the elements making up the trade mark but with the addition of other elements))

and

THE COURT,,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:

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─

─

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral observations of LTJ Diffusion SA, represented by F. Fajgenbaum, of Sadas Vertbaudet SA, represented by A. Bertrand, of the French Government, represented by A. Maitrepierre, acting as Agent, of the United Kingdom Government, represented by M. Tappin, barrister, and of the Commission, represented by K. Banks, at the hearing on 10 October 2001,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 17 January 2002,
Case C-409/00





Kingdom of Spain

v

Commission of the European Communities





«(State aid – Effect on competition and trade between Member States – Sectoral guidelines and guidelines on aid for environmental protection)»

Opinion of Advocate General Alber delivered on 10 September 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 13 February 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. State aid – Concept – Selective nature of the measure

(EC Treaty, Art. 92(1) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(1) EC))

2.. State aid – Concept – Differential treatment of undertakings in the application of charges

(EC Treaty, Art. 92(1) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(1) EC))

3.. State aid – Effect on trade between Member States – Aid of minor importance – Exclusion by the Commission of the transport sector from the benefit of the de minimis rule – Scope – Undertakings which only carry out transport on their own account

(EC Treaty, Art. 92(1) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(1) EC))

4.. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Commission decision on State aid – Characterisation of the effect on trade between Member States

(EC Treaty, Art. 92(1) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(1) EC); Art. 253 EC)

5.. State aid – Effect on trade between Member States – Adverse effect on competition – Aid relatively small in amount in a sector with strong competition

(EC Treaty, Art. 92(1) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(1) EC))

6.. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Refusal by the Commission to authorise State aid under guidelines that are binding on it – Requirement to classify the aid according to an essential distinction made in the guidelines

(EC Treaty, Art. 92(3) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(3); Art. 253 EC)

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Case C-404/00





Commission of the European Communities

v

Kingdom of Spain





«(Failure of Member State to fulfil obligations – State aid – Regulation (EC) No 1013/97 – Aid to publicly-owned shipyards – Commission Decision 2000/131/EC ordering repayment – Non-implementation)»

Opinion of Advocate General Geelhoed delivered on 7 March 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 26 June 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Non-compliance with a Commission decision on State aid – Pleas in defence – Plea alleging that the decision is unlawful – Inadmissible – Limits – Non-existent measure

(Art. 88(2), second subpara., EC, Arts 226 EC, 227 EC, 230 EC and 232 EC)

2.. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Non-compliance with a Commission decision on State aid – Pleas in defence – Absolutely impossible to implement

(Art. 88(2) EC)

3.. State aid – Commission decision finding aid incompatible with the common market – Difficulties of implementation – Obligation of the Commission and the Member State to cooperate in seeking a solution compatible with the Treaty

(Arts 10 EC and 88(2) EC)

4.. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Application of national law – Conditions and limitations – Interests of the Community to be taken into account

(Art. 88(2), first subpara., EC)

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Case C-463/00





Commission of the European Communities

v

Kingdom of Spain





«(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Articles 43 EC and 56 EC – System of administrative approval relating to privatised undertakings)»

Opinion of Advocate General Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer delivered on 6 February 2003 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court, 13 May 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Free movement of capital – Restrictions – Obstacles resulting from privileges retained by the Member States in the management of privatised undertakings – Justification – System of property ownership – No justification

(Arts 56 and 295 EC)

2.. Free movement of capital – Restrictions – National rules laying down a system of prior administrative approval in respect of certain decisions by commercial undertakings – Not permissible – Justification based on grounds of public security – No justification

(Arts 56 EC and 58(1)(b) EC)

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2.
Case C-185/00





Commission of the European Communities

v

Republic of Finland





«(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Directives 92/81/EEC and 92/82/EEC – Rates of excise duties on mineral oils – Fiscal control – Use of gas oil as motor fuel)»

Opinion of Advocate General Geelhoed delivered on 5 December 2003

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 27 November 2003

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Rates of excise duties on mineral oils – Directive 92/82 – National legislation allowing the use of less heavily taxed gas as oil motor fuel – Not permissible

(Council Directive 92/82, Art. 5(1))

2.. Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Structures of excise duties on mineral oils – Directive 92/81 – Rates of excise duties on mineral oils – Directive 92/82 – National legislation on the use of gas oil – Failure to implement fiscal control such as to ensure that gas oil used as motor fuel is taxed at the minimum rate of excise duty – Failure to fulfil obligations

(Council Directives 92/81, Arts 8(2) and (3), and 92/82, Art. 5(1))

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2.
Case C-445/00





Republic of Austria

v

Council of the European Union





«(System of ecopoints for heavy goods vehicles transiting through Austria – Amendment by Regulation (EC) No 2012/2000 – Illegality)»

Opinion of Advocate General Mischo delivered on 13 February 2003

Judgment of the Court, 11 September 2003

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Actions for annulment – Plea calling into question the conduct of an institution other than the defendant institution – Whether admissible – Procedural status of an institution implicated in that way – Mere option to intervene

(Art. 230 EC)

2.. Accession of new Member States to the Communities – Protocols and annexes to acts of accession – Subject to the legal rules governing provisions of primary law

3.. Transport – Road transport – Special rules for the traffic of goods by road through Austria – System of ecopoints for heavy goods vehicles – Reduction in the number of ecopoints in the event of that the threshold for journeys is exceeded – Staggering of the reduction over several years – Invalid

(Protocol No 9 to the 1994 Act of Accession, Art. 11(2)(c), and point 3 of Annex 5; Council Regulation No 2012/2000, Arts 1 and 2(1) and (4))

4.. Transport – Road transport – Special rules for the traffic of goods by road through Austria – System of ecopoints for heavy goods vehicles – Reduction in the number of ecopoints in the event of that the threshold for journeys is exceeded – Proportional distribution between the Member States according to their contribution to exceeding the threshold – Whether permissible

(Protocol No 9 to the 1994 Act of Accession, Arts 11(6) and 16)

5.. Transport – Road transport – Special rules for the traffic of goods by road through Austria – System of ecopoints for heavy goods vehicles – Reduction in the number of ecopoints in the event that the threshold for journeys is exceeded – Method of calculation laid down by Regulation No 2012/2000 – Whether valid – Method of calculation based on the average use of ecopoints – Not permissible

(Protocol No 9 to the 1994 Act of Accession, points 2 and 3 of Annex 5; Council Regulation No 2012/2000)

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1. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations - Examination of merits by the Court - Situation to be taken into consideration - Situation at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion

(Art. 226 EC )

2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations - Subject-matter - Determination by the reasoned opinion - Time-limit prescribed for the Member State - Default subsequently remedied - Interest in pursuing the action - Possible liability of the Member State

(Art. 226 EC)
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Fisheries — Conservation of the resources of the sea — National conservation measures — National legislation prohibiting on a temporary basis the landing of a specific species caught within the territorial waters of another Member State — Not permissible — (Council Regulations Nos 3760/92, Art. 10(1), and 850/98, Art. 46(1))

Summary

Community fisheries legislation precludes national legislation which prohibits, during a given period, the landing, on part of the coastline of the Member State concerned, of scallops caught within the territorial waters of another Member State. The measures which Member States are empowered to adopt for the conservation and management of fishery stocks, in accordance with Article 10(1), first and second indents, of Regulation No 3760/92 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture and Article 46(1) of Regulation No 850/98 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms must concern strictly local stocks or only the fishermen of the Member State concerned or fishing vessels flying the flag of that State and may apply only to waters coming under its sovereignty or jurisdiction.

see paras 34-38, operative part
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1. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Consideration of the merits by the Court — Situation to be taken into account — Situation as it stood at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion — (Art. 226 EC)

2. Environment — Disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCT) — Directive 96/59 — Plan for decontamination and/or disposal of equipment containing PCBs — Obligation of Member States — Scope — (Council Directive 96/59, Arts 4 and 11(1), first indent)

Summary

1. In proceedings pursuant to Article 226 EC, the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation in the Member State as it stood at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion, and the Court cannot take account of any subsequent changes.

see para. 18

2. In order to comply with the first indent of Article 11(1) of Directive 96/59 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT), the Member States must draw up plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein, in accordance with Article 4 of the Directive.

The first indent of Article 11(1) of the Directive, read in conjunction with the 10th and 16th recitals in the preamble thereto, indicates that the drawing up of the plan for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein in accordance with Article 4 of the Directive obliges the Member States to compare the amount of inventoried equipment and quantities of PCBs contained therein which must be disposed of or decontaminated with the disposal or decontamination facilities available for that purpose. The plan must also enable the Member States to define the types of treatment for the various categories of equipment and the PCBs contained therein.

There is no doubt, therefore, that in order to satisfy fully the obligations arising from the first indent of Article 11(1) of the Directive, the plan drawn up must be specific and in conformity with the system for the disposal of PCBs laid down by the Directive as a whole.

see paras 23-25
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Environment — Conservation of wild birds — Directive 79/409 — Classification of special protection areas — Obligation of the Member States — Criteria for assessment — (Council Directive 79/409, Art. 4(1) and (2))

Summary

Article 4(1) and (2) of Directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds require the Member States to classify as special protection areas the territories meeting the ornithological criteria specified by those provisions. Neither the economic nor the recreational requirements mentioned in Article 2 of the directive may be taken into account when selecting special protection areas and defining their boundaries.

In order to assess whether a Member State has classified a sufficient number and area of territories as special protection areas for the purposes of Article 4(1) and (2) of that directive, the Court may, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, use the Inventory of Important Bird Areas in the European Community , published in 1989, as a basis for reference, although it is not legally binding on the Member State concerned.

see paras 14-15, 18
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Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Freedom to provide services — Direct insurance other than life assurance — Directive 92/49 — Freedom to set premiums — Price-control system applicable to contracts of insurance covering third-party liability arising from the use of motor vehicles — Not permissible — (Council Directive 92/49, Arts 6, 29 and 39)

Summary

By introducing and maintaining in force rate-freezing rules applicable to all contracts of insurance in respect of third-party liability arising from the use of motor vehicles in relation to risks situated within its territory, without distinguishing between insurance companies having their head office in that Member State and those conducting their business there, through branch offices or under the freedom to provide services, a Member State fails to fulfil its obligations under Council Directive 92/49 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and amending Directives 73/239 and 88/357 (third non-life insurance Directive).

Such legislation is in fact contrary to the principle of freedom to set premiums referred to in Articles 6, 29 and 39 of that directive, which implies the prohibition of any system of prior or systematic notification or approval of the rates which an undertaking intends to use in its dealings with policy-holders. It does not, moreover, fall within the exception provided for by the third subparagraph of Article 8(3) of Directive 73/239, the second paragraph of Article 29 and Article 39(3) of Directive 92/49 in so far as it cannot be regarded as forming part of a general price-control system within the meaning of those provisions.

see paras 26, 29, 37, 48, operative part
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Free movement of capital — Restrictions — National rules limiting the acquisition of shareholdings in a company and laying down a system of prior consent in relation to disposal of the company's assets, to control of its subsidiaries and to its winding-up — Not permissible — (Art. 56 EC)

Summary

The fact that restrictions on the acquisition of shares apply without distinction to both residents and non-residents does not mean that they fall outside the scope of Article 56 EC, since they affect the position of a person acquiring a shareholding as such and are thus liable to deter investors from other Member States from making such investments and, consequently, to affect access to the market.

A Member State which maintains in force rules limiting the possibility of acquiring voting shares in a company as well as a procedure requiring consent to the disposal of the company's assets, to control of its subsidiaries and to winding-up, fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 56 EC.

see paras 46, 48, 51, operative part
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Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent effect — Medicinal products — Withdrawal of a parallel import licence solely because of the withdrawal of the reference marketing authorisation at the request of the holder — Not permissible — Justification — Protection of public health — Risk to the health of humans as a result of the continued existence of the medicinal product on the market of the Member State concerned — (Arts 28 EC and 30 EC)

Summary

Article 28 EC and Article 30 EC preclude national legislation under which the withdrawal, at the request of its holder, of the marketing authorisation of reference of itself entails the withdrawal of the parallel import licence granted for the medicinal product in question.

However, those provisions do not preclude restrictions on parallel imports of the medicinal product in question if there is in fact a risk to the health of humans as a result of the continued existence of that medicinal product on the market of the importing Member State.

see para. 33, operative part
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Social policy — Protection of health and safety of workers — Directive 89/391 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work — Workers' representatives with specific responsibility for safety and health — National legislation on procedures for election or designation — Scope — (Council Directive 89/391, Art. 3(c))

Summary

It is clear from Article 3(c) of Directive 89/391 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work that the said directive does not oblige the Member States to provide for an election procedure for workers' representatives with specific responsibility for the safety and health of workers, but envisages other possibilities for choosing or designating such representatives.

If a choice of the election procedure has been made by a Member State, Directive 89/391 does not expressly require the national legislation to state all the detailed rules applying to that procedure. However, where a Member State provides that workers' representatives with such responsibility must be elected, it is for that Member State to ensure that workers can elect their representatives in accordance with national legislation and/or practices.

see paras 20-22
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Agriculture — Approximation of laws concerning animal health — Veterinary and zootechnical checks in intra-Community trade in live animals and products of animal origin — Emergency measures to protect against bovine spongiform encephalopathy — Commission's obligation to carry out inspections before the ban on bovine products from Portugal was lifted — Decision setting the date for recommencement of exports of those products adopted without the verifications required having first been carried out — Breach of its obligation — (Commission Decisions 2001/376, Arts 11, 21(b), (c) and (d), and 22(2) and 2001/577)

Summary

In adopting Decision 2001/577 setting the date on which dispatch from Portugal of bovine products under the Date-Based Export Scheme may commence by virtue of Article 22(2) of Decision 2001/376 without first carrying out the verifications required so as to ensure adequate safety in the operation of that scheme applicable to the products referred to in Article 11 of Decision 2001/376 concerning measures made necessary by the occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Portugal and implementing a date-based export scheme, the Commission infringed Article 21, in conjunction with Article 22, of that decision.

Before setting the date for recommencement of exports of the products originating in Portugal, referred to in Article 11 of that decision, the Commission was not permitted to confine itself to the inspection referred to in Article 21(b), concerning specifically the products referred to in Article 11, but had also to carry out the inspections provided for in Article 21(c) and (d), at least in respect of the elements essential to the safety of the Data-Based Export Schemes which are more general in nature. Those more general inspections ensure that compliance with the prohibition on meat meal, bone meal and meat-and-bone meal in animal feed and the proper operation of the systems for identification and traceability of bovine animals can be checked, which remain elements essential to the safety that the scheme must guarantee.

see paras 46-49, 60
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Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax — Supply of services for consideration — Concept — Admission of a new member to a partnership in consideration of payment of a contribution in cash — Excluded — (Council Directive 77/388, Art. 2(1))

Summary

A partnership which admits a partner in consideration of payment of a contribution in cash does not effect towards that person a supply of services for consideration within the meaning of Article 2(1) of Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes.

If the mere acquisition of financial holdings in other undertakings does not in itself constitute an economic activity within the meaning of the Sixth Directive, the same must be true of activities consisting in the transfer of such holdings.

see paras 38, 40, 43, operative part
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Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax — Taxable transactions — Liability to tax on services supplied in other Member States in circumstances where entitlement to deduction is excluded if services are supplied within the territory of the country — Not permissible — (Council Directive 77/388)

Summary

The provisions of the Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes preclude a measure of a Member State which provides that payment for services supplied in other Member States to a person in the first Member State is subject to VAT whereas, had the services in question been supplied within the territory of the country, the person to whom they were supplied would not have been entitled to deduction of input tax.

see para. 68, operative part