ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
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1. Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations - Justification - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC))

2. Acts of the institutions - Directives - Implementation by the Member States - Need for clear and precise transposition

(EC Treaty, Art. 189(3) (now Art. 249(3) EC))

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

(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC))

Summary

1. Difficulties encountered in implementing the provisions of a directive cannot constitute a ground for a Member State to exonerate itself from fulfilling its obligations and from adopting the laws and regulations necessary to transpose the directive.

( see paras 21, 23 )

2. A national law containing no substantive provision transposing a directive, but merely referring to legislation that is subsequently to implement the provisions intended to transpose it, cannot be regarded as effecting a complete and accurate transposition of that directive.

( see para. 26 )

3. In the context of proceedings under Article 169 of the Treaty (now Article 226 EC), the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion and the Court cannot take account of any subsequent changes.

( see para. 28 )
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Social security for migrant workers - Equal treatment - Social debt repayment contribution levied by a Member State on its residents working in another Member State - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Arts 48 and 52 (now, after amendment, Arts 39 EC and 43 EC); Council Regulation No 1408/71, Art. 13)

Summary

$$A Member State fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 13 of Regulation No 1408/71 and under Articles 48 and 52 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Articles 39 EC and 43 EC) if it applies a social debt repayment contribution, designed to discharge the deficits of the general social security scheme, to the employment income and substitute income of employed and self-employed persons resident in that State but working in another Member State who, by virtue of that Regulation, are not subject to the social security legislation of the State of residence.

Where such a contribution is allocated specifically and directly to financing the social security scheme of that State, it falls within the scope of Regulation No 1408/71 and constitutes a levy covered by the prohibition against double contributions laid down in Article 13 of that Regulation and the provisions of the Treaty that Article 13 is designed to implement.

That conclusion is not undermined by the specific detailed allocation of the proceeds, by the fact that payment of the contribution does not give entitlement to any direct and identifiable benefit in return, by the limited number of the workers concerned, or by the fact that the rate of the levy is minimal.

( see paras 36, 38-39, 48-49, 51, and operative part )
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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 - Scope - Insurance forming part of a statutory system of social security offered, at their own risk, by insurance undertakings - Inclusion - National legislation excluding from the scope of the national implementing legislation any insurance fund or undertaking covering accidents at work - Failure to fulfil obligations

(Council Directive 92/49, Arts 2(2) and 55)

Summary

$$Article 2(2) of 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) must be interpreted in the light of Article 55 of the Directive, which refers to insurance undertakings offering, at their own risk, compulsory insurance against accidents at work in the territory of the Member States and from which it follows, since it is a special provision derogating from the general scheme of the Directive, that the insurance referred to falls within the scope thereof. It follows that Directive 92/49 is applicable to insurance forming part of a statutory scheme of social security offered by insurance undertakings at their own risk.

Therefore, by adopting and maintaining in force a provision which excludes from the scope of the national legislation implementing Directive 92/49 any insurance fund or undertaking covering accidents at work, even where those funds or undertakings operate at their own risk with a view to profit, a Member State fails to fulfil its obligations under the Directive.

( see paras 35-36, 44 and operative part )
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Approximation of laws - Labelling and presentation of foodstuffs - Directive 79/112 - Prohibition of labelling liable to mislead purchasers - Use of the term naturally pure for strawberry jam containing pectin and traces or residues of lead, cadmium and pesticides - Permissibility - Conditions

(Council Directive 79/112, Art. 2(1)(a)(i))

Summary

$$Article 2(1)(a)(i) of Directive 79/112 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer, which provides that labelling must not be such as to mislead the purchaser as to the characteristics of the foodstuff, does not preclude use of the description naturally pure for a strawberry jam which contains the gelling agent pectin and traces or residues of lead, cadmium and pesticides of the following levels: 0.01 mg/kg of lead, 0.008 mg/kg of cadmium, 0.016 mg/kg of procymidone and 0.005 mg/kg of vinclozolin.

Notwithstanding the presence of those substances, the term naturally pure used on the label of the packaging of that foodstuff is not liable to mislead an average consumer who is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect as to its characteristics.

( see paras 33 and 34 )
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1. Preliminary rulings - Reference to the Court - Need for a preliminary ruling - To be determined by the national court

(EC Treaty, Art. 177 (now Article 234 EC))

2. Freedom of movement for persons - Workers - Equal treatment - Basis for calculating sickness insurance contributions levied by a Member State on supplementary retirement pensions payable under an agreement in another Member State - No account taken of contributions already deducted in that other Member State - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 48 (now, after amendment, Art. 39 EC))

Summary

1. It is solely for the national court before which the dispute has been brought, and which must assume responsibility for the subsequent judicial decision, to determine in the light of the particular circumstances of the case both the need for a preliminary ruling in order to enable it to deliver judgment and the relevance of the questions which it submits to the Court.

( see para. 20 )

2. Article 48 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 39 EC) precludes a Member State from calculating the sickness insurance contributions of a retired worker subject to its legislation on the basis of the gross amount of the supplementary retirement pension payable under an agreement which that worker draws in another Member State, without taking account of the fact that a part of the gross amount of that pension has already been deducted by way of sickness insurance contributions in the latter Member State.

Even if such a system for calculating contributions applies to migrant and non-migrant workers in the same way, it is liable to prejudice only the former inasmuch as it is unlikely that sickness insurance contributions will be levied twice in a worker's State of origin on the gross amount of his supplementary retirement pension where he has been employed only in that Member State. By contrast, that risk is real for a worker who has been employed in another Member State where he draws a supplementary retirement pension. National legislation of that kind establishing such a system for calculating contributions therefore constitutes an obstacle to freedom of movement for workers.

( see paras 34-36 and operative part )
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1. Social policy - Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security - Directive 79/7 - Derogation permitted with regard to the consequences that may result, for other benefits, from the existence of different pensionable ages - Scope - Whether Member States may adopt or amend measures linked to that age difference after expiry of the period prescribed for transposition

(Council Directive 79/7, Art. 7(1)(a))

2. Social policy - Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security - Directive 79/7 - Derogation permitted with regard to the consequences that may result, for other benefits, from the existence of different pensionable ages - Scope - Limitation solely to discrimination necessarily and objectively linked to the difference in pensionable ages - Discrimination affecting pensions intended to offset a decrease in income from work - Permissible

(Council Directive 79/7, Art. 7(1)(a))

Summary

1. Under Article 7(1)(a) of Directive 79/7 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security, that directive is to be without prejudice to the right of Member States to exclude from its scope not only the determination of pensionable age for the purposes of granting old-age and retirement pensions but also the possible consequences thereof for other benefits. However, the temporary maintenance of different retirement ages according to sex may necessitate the subsequent adoption, after expiry of the period prescribed for transposition of the directive, of measures which are indissociable from the derogation from the principle of equal treatment of men and women and also amendments to such measures. To prohibit a Member State which has set different retirement ages for men and women from adopting or subsequently amending, after expiry of the period prescribed for transposition of the directive, measures linked to that age difference would be tantamount to depriving the derogation allowed by the abovementioned provision of its practical effect.

( see paras 4, 23-24 )

2. The derogation from the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security for which Article 7(1)(a) of Directive 79/7 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security provides must be interpreted as meaning that a benefit such as the reduced earnings allowance at issue in the main proceedings, which was introduced into the legislation of a Member State after expiry of the period prescribed for transposition of the directive and consists of an allowance for employees whose pay has decreased following an accident at work or occupational disease and is subject to age conditions which differ according to sex. Since that allowance is designed to compensate for a decrease in income from work, there is coherence between that scheme and the old-age pension scheme and, accordingly, such discrimination is objectively and necessarily linked to the difference between the retirement age for men and that for women.

( see paras 20, 30-32, 34-35 and operative part )
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Actions for failure to fulfil obligations - Examination of the merits by the Court - Situation to be taken into account - Situation prevailing at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion

(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC))

Summary

$$In an action under Article 169 of the Treaty (now Article 226 EC), the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion and the Court cannot take account of any subsequent changes.

( see para. 25 )
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1. Approximation of laws - Procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations - Technical regulations and specifications - National rules on labelling - Included

(Council Directive 83/189, Art. 1(2))

2. Approximation of laws - Procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations - Obligation of Member States to observe periods of postponement of adoption of a technical regulation - Possibility for individuals to rely on the corresponding provisions - Breach of the obligation - Consequence - Inapplicability of technical regulations adopted in breach of that obligation

(Council Directive 83/189, Arts 8 and 9)

Summary

1. National rules embodying a specification contained in a document which lays down the characteristics required of a product, including the requirements applicable to the product as regards labelling, constitute technical specifications within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Directive 83/189 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, irrespective of the grounds on which they were adopted.

( see para. 25 )

2. The inapplicability of a technical regulation as a legal consequence of non-compliance with the obligation of notification under Article 8 of Directive 83/189 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations may be relied on in proceedings between individuals. The same applies to non-compliance with the obligation to observe the periods of postponement of adoption of a draft technical regulation pursuant to Article 9 of that directive. Whilst it is true that a directive cannot of itself impose obligations on an individual and cannot therefore be relied on as such against an individual, that case-law does not apply in proceedings between individuals where non-compliance with Article 8 or Article 9 of Directive 83/189, which constitutes a substantial procedural defect, renders a technical regulation adopted in breach of either of those articles inapplicable.

In such proceedings, Directive 83/189, which creates neither rights nor obligations for individuals, does not in any way define the substantive scope of the legal rule on the basis of which the national court must decide the case before it. It is therefore incumbent on the national court, in civil proceedings between individuals concerning contractual rights and obligations, to refuse to apply a national technical regulation which was adopted during a period of postponement of adoption prescribed in Article 9 of Directive 83/189.

( see paras 49-52 and operative part )
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1. Environment - Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment - Directive 85/337 - Assessment procedure - Discretion of the Member States - Power of national courts to review whether the limits of the discretion are observed

(Council Directive 85/337, Arts 5 and 6(2))

2. Community law - Interpretation - Principle of uniform interpretation

3. Environment - Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment - Directive 85/337 - Scope - Projects the details of which are adopted by a specific act of national legislation - Not covered

(Council Directive 85/337, Art. 1(5))

Summary

1. A national court, called on to examine the legality of a procedure for the expropriation in the public interest, in connection with the construction of a motorway, of immovable property belonging to a private individual, may review whether the national legislature kept within the limits of the discretion set by Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, in particular where prior assessment of the environmental impact of the project has not been carried out, the information gathered in accordance with Article 5 has not been made available to the public and the members of the public concerned have not had an opportunity to express an opinion before the project is initiated, contrary to the requirements of Article 6(2) of Directive 85/337.

( see para. 39 and operative part 1 )

2. The need for uniform application of Community law and the principle of equality require that the terms of a provision of Community law which makes no express reference to the law of the Member States for the purpose of determining its meaning and scope must normally be given a uniform and autonomous interpretation throughout the Community; that interpretation must take into account the context of the provision and the purpose of the legislation in question.

( see para. 43 )

3. On a proper construction of Article 1(5) of Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment - which excludes from the directive's scope projects whose details are adopted by a specific act of national legislation - a measure adopted by a parliament after public parliamentary debate constitutes a specific act of national legislation within the meaning of that provision where the legislative process has enabled the objectives pursued by Directive 85/337, including that of supplying information, to be achieved, and the information available to the parliament at the time when the details of the project were adopted was equivalent to that which would have been submitted to the competent authority in an ordinary procedure for granting consent for a project.

( see para. 59 and operative part 3 )
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Approximation of laws Public procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors Directive 93/38 Scope Contract for pecuniary interest concluded in writing between a contracting authority and a private undertaking for the provision of public telecommunication services Included Consideration consisting in an exploitation right Excluded Obligations of the contracting entities

(Council Directive 93/38)

Summary

$$Directive 93/38 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors covers a contract for pecuniary interest concluded in writing between, on the one hand, an undertaking which is specifically responsible under the legislation of a Member State for operating a telecommunications service and whose capital is wholly held by the public authorities of that State and, on the other, a private undertaking, where under that contract the first undertaking entrusts the second with the production and publication, for the purpose of distribution to the public, of printed and electronically accessible lists of telephone subscribers (telephone directories).

However, although it is covered by Directive 93/38, such a contract is excluded, under Community law as it stands at present, from the scope of that directive by reason of the fact, in particular, that the consideration provided by the first undertaking to the second consists in the second obtaining the right to exploit for payment its own service.

Notwithstanding the fact that, as Community law stands at present, such contracts are excluded from the scope of Directive 93/38, the contracting entities concluding them are, none the less, bound to comply with the fundamental rules of the Treaty, in general, and the principle of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality, in particular, that principle implying, in particular, an obligation of transparency in order to enable the contracting authority to satisfy itself that the principle has been complied with.

That obligation of transparency which is imposed on the contracting authority consists in ensuring, for the benefit of any potential tenderer, a degree of advertising sufficient to enable the services market to be opened up to competition and the impartiality of procurement procedures to be reviewed.

It is for the national court to rule on the question whether that obligation was complied with in the case in the main proceedings and also to assess the materiality of the evidence produced to that effect.

( see paras 58, 60-63, and operative parts 1-4 )
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1. Preliminary rulings Reference to the Court Questions of interpretation Obligation on the courts of a Member State to make a reference Commission discontinuing infringement proceedings against that Member State Not relevant

(EC Treaty, Art. 177, third para. (now Art. 234, third para., EC))

2. Tax provisions Internal taxation Registration tax for second-hand vehicles Calculation of the actual depreciation of imported vehicles on the basis of fixed criteria or scales Whether permissible Condition Amount of the tax not exceeding the residual tax incorporated in similar vehicles in the national market

(EC Treaty, Art. 95, first para. (now, after amendment, Art. 90, first para., EC)

Summary

1. The fact that the Commission discontinues infringement proceedings against a Member State concerning a piece of legislation has no effect on the obligation upon a court of last instance of that Member State to refer to the Court of Justice, pursuant to the third paragraph of Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now the third paragraph of Article 234 EC), a question of Community law in relation to the legislation concerned.

( see para 19, operative part 1 )

2. The first paragraph of Article 95 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, the first paragraph of Article 90 EC) does not permit a Member State to apply to second-hand vehicles imported from other Member States a system of taxation in which the depreciation in the actual value of those vehicles is calculated in a general and abstract manner, on the basis of fixed criteria or scales determined by a legislative provision, a regulation or an administrative provision, unless those criteria or scales are capable of guaranteeing that the amount of the tax due does not exceed, even in a few cases, the amount of the residual tax incorporated in the value of similar vehicles already registered in the national territory.

( see para. 44, operative part 2 )
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1. Free movement of capital Restrictions Prohibition by a Member State of registration of a mortgage in the currency of another Member State Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 73b (now Art. 56 EC))

2. Free movement of capital Treaty provisions Article 73b (now Article 56 EC) Application in Austria as at the date of its accession to the European Union Effect of entry into force of the Treaty Remedying of a mortgage registration which is null and void under national law Not possible

(EC Treaty, Art. 73b (now Art. 56 EC); Act of Accession of 1994)

Summary

1. Article 73b of the Treaty (now Article 56 EC) is to be construed as precluding the application of legislation of a Member State requiring a mortgage securing a debt payable in the currency of another Member State to be registered in the national currency.

( see para. 19 and operative part 1 )

2. In accordance with Article 73a of the Treaty (repealed by the Treaty of Amsterdam), Article 73b (now Article 56 EC) entered into force on 1 January 1994 in the States which then formed the European Union. Since the Republic of Austria did not accede to the Union until 1 January 1995, and in the absence of any contrary provision in the 1994 Act of Accession, it was only from that date that Article 73b started to take effect in that Member State.

Consequently, Article 73b of the Treaty is to be construed as meaning that it did not apply in Austria prior to the date of accession of the Republic of Austria to the European Union. It is incapable of remedying, with effect from the entry into force of the Treaty in Austria, a mortgage registration which, under the relevant national law, is vitiated from the outset by absolute and incurable nullity such as to render that registration non-existent.

( see paras 21-22, 25 and operative part 2-3 )