EN Official Journal of the European Union C 78/9

Action brought on 30 November 2016 — European Commission v Slovakia

(Case C-626/16)

(2017/C 078/13)

Language of the case: Slovak

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: E. Sanfrutos Cano and A. Tokár, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Slovak Republic

Form of order sought

The European Commission requests the Court to:

1. declare that, by failing to adopt the measures necessary to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-331/11, Commission v Slovakia, in which the Court of Justice declared that the Slovak Republic had failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 14(a)(b) and (c) of Council Directive 1999/31/EC (1) of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, the Slovak Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 260(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

2. order the Slovak Republic to pay the European Commission, into the ‘European Union own resources’ account: (a) a penalty payment of EUR 6 793.80 per day of delay in the adoption of the measures necessary for the Slovak Republic to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-331/11, Commission v Slovakia, payable from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case until the date of adoption of the measures necessary for the Slovak Republic to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-331/11, Commission v Slovakia, (b) a lump sum of EUR 743.60 per day, totalling a minimum of EUR 939 000, for every day of delay in the adoption of the measures necessary for the Slovak Republic to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-331/11, Commission v Slovakia, payable from the date of delivery of that judgment on 25 April 2013: — until the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, or — until the date of the adoption of the measures necessary for the Slovak Republic to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-331/11, Commission v Slovakia, if that date precedes the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, and

3. order the Slovak Republic to pay the costs of the proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

On 25 April 2013, the Court of Justice delivered the judgment in Case C-331/11, Commission v Slovakia, in which it ruled that by authorising the operation of the Žilina-Považský Chlmec waste site without a site conditioning plan and in the absence of a final decision on the continued operation on the basis of an approved site conditioning plan, the Slovak Republic had failed to comply with its obligations under Article 14(a) to (c) of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste.

In the course of the pre-litigation procedure, the Slovak Republic stated that it was planning to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-331/11 by closing the Žilina-Považský Chlmec waste site, and that certain steps had already been taken in this connection.

However, the European Commission has ascertained that, in spite of the Slovak Republic’s statements, the measures required by the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-331/11 have not yet been adopted. The European Commission has therefore decided to bring an action under Article 260 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

(1) OJ 1999 L 182, p. 1.