ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Approximation of laws - Restrictions on the marketing and use of dangerous substances and preparations - Directives 76/769, 91/388 and 1999/51 - Adaption to technical progress - Legal basis - Restrictions on the use of cadmium in Austria and Sweden - Provision authorising those States to continue to apply more far-reaching restrictions - Invalid

(Council Directives 76/769, Art. 2a and Annex I, and 91/338; Commission Directive 1999/51, Annex)

Summary

$$Section 3 of the Annex to Directive 1999/51 adapting to technical progress for the fifth time Annex I to Council Directive 76/769, which adds to Section 24 of Annex I to Directive 76/769, as amended by Directive 91/338, a Section 4 which provisionally authorises the Republic of Austria and the Kingdom of Sweden to continue to apply restrictions on cadmium going further than those prescribed in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the abovementioned Section 24 cannot be regarded as an adaption to technical progress within the meaning of Article 2a of Directive 76/769, on the approximation of the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations, of Annex I to that directive and should therefore be annulled.

By granting the Commission the power to adopt the amendments required to adapt Annex I of that directive to technical progress on the basis of Article 2a of Directive 76/769, the Community legislature intended to make possible, at Community level, immediate amendments to Annex I when new risks to human heath and the environment were detected, requiring new restrictions on the use of certain dangerous substances and preparations. In order for the Commis\ion to have recourse to that procedure, it must have in its possession sufficiently reliable scientific date demonstrating that it is necessary to introduce such restrictions on the use of the substance or preparation concerned. However, Section 3 of the Annex to Directive 1999/51 does not include any new restriction on the use of cadmium at Community level. It is limited to permitting those two Member States to maintain existing restrictions on the use of that substance.

( see paras 24-27, 29-30, operative part )
Case C-182/99 P





Salzgitter AG, formerly Preussag Stahl AG

v

Commission of the European Communities





«(Appeal – Agreements and concerted practices – European producers of beams)»

Opinion of Advocate General Stix-Hackl delivered on 26 September 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 2 October 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Court of First Instance – Organisation – Composition of the Chambers – Chamber composed of five judges – Reduction in the number of judges taking part in the deliberations to three because two judges were unable to attend – Volume of the case-file – Not relevant

( ECSC Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 18 and 44; Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Arts 32 and 33(1) and (5))

2.. Procedure – Measures of inquiry – Request for production of a document – Discretion of the Court of First Instance

(Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Arts 49 and 65(b))

3.. Appeals – Grounds – Erroneous assessment of the facts – Assessment of the probative value of a document – Inadmissible – Appeal dismissed

( Art. 32d(1) CS; ECSC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51)

4.. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision imposing fines for infringement of the competition rules – Merely desirable that the method of calculating the fine be disclosed

( ECSC Treaty, Arts 15, first para., and 65(5))

1.

2.

3.

4.
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

21 January 2003

((Approximation of laws – Directive 97/69/EC – Dangerous substances – More stringent national provisions – Application ratione temporis of Article 95 EC – Duty of cooperation – Conditions for the approval of new national provisions))

applicant,

v

defendant,

intervener,

THE COURT,,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 30 May 2002,
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Tax provisions - Harmonisation of laws - Turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax - Basis of assessment - Supply of goods and services - Subsidies directly linked to the price of those operations - Meaning

(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 11A(1)(a))

Summary

$$For the purposes of Article 11A(1)(a) of the Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, subsidies directly linked to the price must be interpreted as covering only subsidies which constitute the whole or part of the consideration for a supply of goods or services and which are paid by a third party to the seller or supplier. It is for the national court to determine, on the basis of the facts before it, whether or not the subsidy constitutes such consideration.

( see para 18 and operative part )
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Summary



Keywords

Social policy - Protection of safety and health of workers - Directive 93/104 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time - Scope - Workers employed in the road transport sector - Exclusion - Scope

(Council Directive 93/104, Art. 1(3))

Summary

$$On a proper construction of Article 1(3) of Directive 93/104 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time, all workers employed in the road transport sector, including office staff, are excluded from the scope of that Directive.

( see para. 44 and operative part )
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Summary



Keywords

1. Social policy - Men and women - Equal pay - Pay - Meaning - Retirement scheme for civil servants paying pensions by reason of the employment relationship - Included

(EC Treaty, Art. 119 (Articles 117 to 120 of the EC Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143 EC))

2. Social policy - Men and women - Equal pay - Article 119 of the Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143 EC) - Retirement with immediate effect for women civil servants only - Not permissible

(Art. 119 of the EC Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the EC Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 to 143 EC))

Summary

1. Pensions provided under a scheme such as the French retirement scheme for civil servants fall within the scope of Article 119 of the Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143 EC).

( see para. 23 and operative part )

2. The principle of equal pay for men and women enshrined in Article 119 of the Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143 EC) is infringed by a provision of national law which, in providing that only female civil servants whose husbands suffer from a disability or incurable illness making it impossible for them to undertake any form of employment are entitled to a retirement pension with immediate effect, deprives male civil servants in the same situation of that right.

( see para. 31 and operative part )
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Summary



Keywords

Transport - Maritime transport - Freedom to provide services - Restrictions - National legislation providing for an embarkation/disembarkation tax for passengers - Tax applicable only to passengers arriving from or travelling to ports in another Member State or a third country, excluding transport between two ports situated on the national territory of the Member State concerned - Not permissible

(Art. 59 EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC); Art. 1 Council Regulation No 4055/86)

Summary

$$National legislation which imposes a tax on passengers embarking and disembarking in three ports in the Member State concerned when arriving from or travelling to ports in another Member State or a third country, but not in the case of carriage between two ports located on the national territory of the first Member State, must be regarded as a restriction on the freedom to provide maritime transport services prohibited under the combined provisions of Article 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and Article 1 of Regulation No 4055/86 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport between Member States and third countries. The freedom laid down by Article 59 of the Treaty precludes the application of any national legislation which has the effect of making the provision of services between Member States more difficult than the provision of services purely within one Member State.

( see paras 10, 14, operative part )
Keywords



Keywords

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

(Art. 226 EC)

2. Environment - Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - Directive 92/43 - Strict protection of the species listed in Annex IV(a) - Measures necessary to establish a system of protection

(Council Directive 92/43, Art. 12(1)(b) and (d) and Annex IV(a))
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Summary



Keywords

1. Preliminary rulings - Reference to the Court - Obligation to refer - None - Conditions - Decisions of a national court or tribunal appealable to a supreme court subject to a condition of admissibility

(Art. 234 EC, third para.)

2. Common Customs Tariff - Duty-free allowances for goods contained in travellers' personal luggage - Non-commercial nature of goods imported - Assessment criteria

(Council Regulation No 918/83, Art. 45(2)(b), as amended by Regulation No 355/94)

3. Common Customs Tariff - Duty-free allowances for goods contained in travellers' personal luggage - Non-commercial nature of goods imported - National administrative instructions imposing binding quantitative limits on relief from customs duties - Not permissible

(Council Regulation No 918/83, Art. 45, as amended by Regulation No 355/94)

Summary

$$1. Where its decisions may be appealed to a supreme court, a national court or tribunal is not under the obligation referred to in the third paragraph of Article 234 EC to refer a question to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling even if examination of the merits by the supreme court is subject to a prior declaration of admissibility.

( see paras 16, 19, operative part 1 )

2. The question whether an importation of goods is non-commercial, within the meaning of Article 45(2)(b) of Regulation No 918/83 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty, as amended by Regulation No 355/94, must be examined case by case on the basis of an overall assessment of the circumstances, taking into account the nature of the importation and the quantity of goods involved, the frequency with which the same goods are imported by the traveller concerned, but also, where appropriate, taking into account that traveller's lifestyle and habits or his family environment.

( see para. 27, operative part 2 )

3. Article 45 of Regulation No 918/83 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty, as amended by Regulation No 355/94, precludes national administrative instructions or practices which impose binding quantitative limits on relief from customs duties or which would have the effect of creating an irrebuttable presumption that the importation concerned is commercial by reason of the quantity of goods imported.

( see para. 33, operative part 3 )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Preliminary rulings — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — Questions submitted in a context precluding a useful answer — Question based on a hypothetical interpretation of a national law other than the national court's own law — Question inadmissible unless there is a specific statement of reasons — (Art. 234 EC)

Summary

In the context of the cooperation between the Court of Justice and the national courts established by Article 234 EC, 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 and the relevance of the questions which it submits to the Court. Consequently, where the questions submitted by the national court concern the interpretation of Community law, the Court of Justice is, in principle, bound to give a ruling.

However, in exceptional circumstances, the court can examine the conditions in which the case was referred to it by the national court, in order to assess whether it has jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Court can decline to give a ruling where, for example, the problem is hypothetical, or where the Court does not have before it the factual or legal material necessary to give a helpful answer to the questions submitted to it. Moreover, in order to enable the Court to give a useful interpretation of Community law, it is essential for the national court to explain why it considers that an answer to its questions is necessary for resolving the dispute.

Where the relevance of questions referred for a preliminary ruling rests on a particular interpretation of a national law other than the national court's own law, in relation to which the interpretation chosen by it is hypothetical, it is particularly necessary to state the grounds for the order for reference on that point. Accordingly such questions are inadmissible in so far as the national court does not explain why it considers the interpretation on which it relies to be the only one possible.

see paras 31-34, 37-40
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Summary



Keywords

Approximation of laws — Copyright and related rights — Rental right and lending right of protected works — Directive 92/100 — Broadcasting and transmission to the public — Equitable renumeration — Concept — Uniform interpretation — Implementation by Member States — Criteria — Limits — (Council Directive 92/100, Art. 8(2))

Summary

Article 8(2) of Directive 92/100 on rental right and lending right and on certain rights related to copyright in the field of intellectual property requires the Member States to lay down rules ensuring that users pay an equitable remuneration when a phonogram is used for broadcasting or any form of communication to the public. The concept of equitable remuneration in that provision must be interpreted uniformly in all the Member States and applied by each Member State; it is for each Member State to determine, in its own territory, the most appropriate criteria for assuring, within the limits imposed by Community law and Directive 92/100 in particular, adherence to that Community concept.

In that regard, Article 8(2) does not preclude a model for calculating what constitutes equitable remuneration that operates by reference to variable and fixed factors, such as the number of hours of phonograms broadcast, the viewing and listening densities achieved by the radio and television broadcasters represented by the broadcast organisation, the tariffs fixed by agreement in the field of performance rights and broadcast rights in respect of musical works protected by copyright, the tariffs set by the public broadcast organisations in the Member States bordering on the Member State concerned, and the amounts paid by commercial stations, provided that that model is such as to enable a proper balance to be achieved between the interests of performing artists and producers in obtaining remuneration for the broadcast of a particular phonogram, and the interests of third parties in being able to broadcast the phonogram on terms that are reasonable, and that it does not contravene any principle of Community law.

see paras 33, 38, 46, operative part 1-2
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Approximation of laws — Medicinal products — Directive 89/105 — Medicinal products for human use — Positive list of medicinal products covered by a national sickness insurance scheme — Obligation of the Member States to apply the procedure laid down in Article 6 to decisions establishing categories of medicinal products qualifying for higher-rate cover — (Council Directive 89/105, sixth recital, Arts 1 and 6(1))

2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Proof of failure — Burden on Commission — Submission of evidence that the obligation has not been fulfilled — (Art. 226 EC; Council Directive 89/105)

Summary

1. The purpose of Directive 89/105 relating to the transparency of measures regulating the prices of medicinal products for human use and their inclusion in the scope of national health insurance systems, according to Article 1 thereof, is to ensure that any national measure to control the prices of medicinal products for human use or to restrict the range of medicinal products covered by their national sickness insurance systems complies with the requirements of that directive. The decisions pursuant to which certain medicinal products qualify for higher-rate cover constitute a means of determining the extent of the range of medicinal products covered by the sickness insurance scheme and likely to be used in the treatment of such or such an illness. Moreover, according to the sixth recital in the preamble to the directive, ensuring the effectiveness of the directive also requires that the persons concerned can verify that the official entry of medicinal products on the list corresponds to objective criteria and that there is no discrimination between national medicinal products and those from other Member States. Thus, national legislation which exempts decisions establishing the categories of medicinal products subject to higher-rate cover from the obligations under Article 6(1) which applies where a medicinal product is only covered by the sickness insurance scheme after the competent authorities have decided to include it in a positive list of medicinal products covered by that scheme, does not satisfy the requirements of that directive.

see paras 37-40, operative part

2. In proceedings under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil an obligation, it is incumbent upon the Commission to prove the allegation that the obligation has not been fulfilled and to place before the Court the information needed to enable it to determine whether the obligation has not been fulfilled. However, generalised failure on the part of the administrative authorities to comply with Directive 89/105 relating to the transparency of measures regulating the prices of medicinal products for human use and their inclusion in the scope of national health insurance systems. cannot be inferred from a few defective cases in practice.

see paras 53, 55
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Summary



Keywords

Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax — Deduction of input tax — Private use by the taxable person of part of a building forming, in its entirety, part of the assets of his business — Right to deduct the tax paid for all expenses and duty to pay tax on the expenses that relate to the private use — National law which deems private use to be an exempt supply — Not permissible — (Council Directive 77/388, Arts 6(2)(a), 11A(1) and 13B(b))

Summary

Articles 6(2)(a) and 11A(1)(c) of the Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes must be interpreted as meaning that where a taxable person chooses to treat an entire building as forming part of the assets of his business and subsequently uses part of that building for private purposes, on the one hand, he is entitled to deduct the input value added tax paid on all construction costs relating to that building and, on the other, he is subject to the corresponding obligation to pay the tax on the amount of expenditure incurred to effect such use.

However Articles 6(2)(a) and 13B(b) of the Sixth Directive preclude national legislation which treats such use as an exempt supply of services, on the basis that it constitutes a leasing or letting of immovable property within the meaning of Article 13B(b), since such use, a feature of which is not only that no rent is paid but also that there is no genuine agreement on the duration of the right of enjoyment or the right of occupation of the dwelling, or to exclude third parties, is not covered by that provision.

see paras 42-43, 51-52, 56, operative part
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Summary



Keywords

Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Sugar – Price system – Method of computing consumption of sugar – Sugar incorporated into processed products – Taking into account of products imported into the national territory – Exclusion of products exported to another Member State – Whether permissible

(Council Regulation No 1361/98)

Summary

The Commission did not make a manifest error of assessment when it adopted, through Regulation No 1361/98 fixing, for the marketing year 1998/99, the derived intervention prices for white sugar, the intervention price for raw sugar, the minimum prices for A and B beet, and the amount of compensation for storage costs, a method of computing estimated consumption of sugar that did not regard as consumed in the Member State concerned sugar incorporated into processed products and exported to other States, since, according to that method, sugar contained in processed products imported from other States is as a matter of fact taken into account in the computation of that consumption.

(see para. 40, operative part)