ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
17

Article 1582 of that Code provides as follows: ‘1. As of 1 August 2010, within the National Tax Administration Office, a register of intra-Community operators shall be established and organised which shall identify all the taxable persons and the non-taxable legal persons carrying out intra-Community transactions, namely: (a) intra-Community supplies of goods carried out in Romania in accordance with Article 132(1)(a) and exempt from tax in accordance with Article 143(2)(a) and (d); (b) subsequent supplies of goods carried out in connection with triangular transactions referred to in Article 1321(5), carried out in the Member State in which dispatch or transport of the goods ends and declared as intra-Community supplies classified under Code T in Romania; (c) intra-Community supplies of services — namely services falling under Article 133(2) — carried out by taxable persons established in Romania for the benefit of taxable persons not established in Romania but established in the Community, with the exception of supplies which, in the Member State in which the latter are taxable persons, are exempt from VAT; (d) taxed intra-Community acquisitions of goods carried out in Romania in accordance with Article 1321; (e) intra-Community acquisitions of services — namely services falling under Article 133(2) — carried out for the benefit of taxable persons established in Romania, including non-taxable legal persons registered for VAT purposes in accordance with Article 153 or Article 1531, by taxable persons not established in Romania but established in the Community, the beneficiary of which is liable for the tax in accordance with Article 150(2). … 3. The persons registered for VAT purposes in accordance with Article 153 and Article 1531 must apply for their inclusion on the register of intra-Community operators if they intend to carry out one or more of the intra-Community transactions covered under paragraph 1, prior to carrying out those transactions. … 10. The competent tax authority shall automatically remove from the register of intra-Community operators: (a) taxable persons and non-taxable legal persons included on the list of taxpayers who have been declared inactive in accordance with the law; …’
3

Recitals 8, 11 to 13 and 15 of Directive 2000/78 state: ‘(8) The Employment Guidelines for 2000 agreed by the European Council at Helsinki on 10 and 11 December 1999 stress the need to foster a labour market favourable to social integration by formulating a coherent set of policies aimed at combating discrimination against groups such as persons with disability. They also emphasise the need to pay particular attention to supporting older workers, in order to increase their participation in the labour force. … (11) Discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation may undermine the achievement of the objectives of the EC Treaty, in particular the attainment of a high level of employment and social protection, raising the standard of living and the quality of life, economic and social cohesion and solidarity, and the free movement of persons. (12) To this end, any direct or indirect discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation as regards the areas covered by this Directive should be prohibited throughout the Community. This prohibition of discrimination should also apply to nationals of third countries but does not cover differences of treatment based on nationality and is without prejudice to provisions governing the entry and residence of third-country nationals and their access to employment and occupation. (13) This Directive does not apply to social security and social protection schemes whose benefits are not treated as income within the meaning given to that term for the purpose of applying Article 141 of the EC Treaty, nor to any kind of payment by the State aimed at providing access to employment or maintaining employment. … (15) The appreciation of the facts from which it may be inferred that there has been direct or indirect discrimination is a matter for national judicial or other competent bodies, in accordance with rules of national law or practice. Such rules may provide, in particular, for indirect discrimination to be established by any means including on the basis of statistical evidence.’
6

Article 42 of the directive, entitled ‘Technical specifications’, provides: ‘1. The technical specifications as defined in point 1 of Annex VII shall be set out in the procurement documents. The technical specifications shall lay down the characteristics required of a works, service or supply. Those characteristics may also refer to the specific process or method of production or provision of the requested works, supplies or services or to a specific process for another stage of its life cycle even where such factors do not form part of their material substance, provided that they are linked to the subject-matter of the contract and proportionate to its value and its objectives. … 2. Technical specifications shall afford equal access of economic operators to the procurement procedure and shall not have the effect of creating unjustified obstacles to the opening up of public procurement to competition. 3. Without prejudice to mandatory national technical rules, to the extent that they are compatible with Union law, the technical specifications shall be formulated in one of the following ways: (a) in terms of performance or functional requirements, including environmental characteristics, provided that the parameters are sufficiently precise to allow tenderers to determine the subject-matter of the contract and to allow contracting authorities to award the contract; (b) by reference to technical specifications and, in order of preference, to national standards transposing European standards, European Technical Assessments, common technical specifications, international standards, other technical reference systems established by the European standardisation bodies or — when any of those do not exist — national standards, national technical approvals or national technical specifications relating to the design, calculation and execution of the works and use of the supplies; each reference shall be accompanied by the words “or equivalent”; (c) in terms of performance or functional requirements referred to in point (a), with reference to the technical specifications referred to in point (b) as a means of presuming conformity with such performance or functional requirements; (d) by reference to the technical specifications referred to in point (b) for certain characteristics, and by reference to the performance or functional requirements referred to in point (a) for other characteristics. 4. Unless justified by the subject-matter of the contract, technical specifications shall not refer to a specific make or source, or a particular process which characterises the products or services provided by a specific economic operator, or to trade marks, patents, types or a specific origin or production with the effect of favouring or eliminating certain undertakings or certain products. Such reference shall be permitted on an exceptional basis, where a sufficiently precise and intelligible description of the subject-matter of the contract pursuant to paragraph 3 is not possible. Such reference shall be accompanied by the words “or equivalent”. …’
21

In those circumstances, the Varhoven kasatsionen sad (Supreme Court of Cassation) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: ‘(1) Is Article 3(1) of [Regulation No 1346/2000] to be interpreted as meaning that the jurisdiction of the courts of the Member State within the territory of which insolvency proceedings have been opened to hear and determine an action to set a transaction aside by virtue of the debtor’s insolvency which has been brought against a defendant whose registered office or habitual residence is in another Member State is exclusive, or, in the case of Article 18(2) of that regulation, is the liquidator empowered to bring an action to set aside before a court in the Member State within the territory of which the defendant has his registered office or habitual residence, where the action to set aside brought by the liquidator is based on a disposal of moveable assets carried out in the other Member State? (2) Is an obligation which was honoured for the benefit of the debtor in one Member State, via the managing director of an establishment of the debtor company registered in that Member State, deemed to have been discharged, in accordance with Article 24(2) in conjunction with Article 24(1) of Regulation No 1346/2000, where, at the time when that obligation was honoured, a request for the opening of insolvency proceedings in respect of the debtor’s assets had been made and a provisional liquidator had been appointed in another Member State, but no judgment opening insolvency proceedings had been delivered? (3) Does Article 24(1) of Regulation No 1346/2000, on the honouring of an obligation, apply to the payment of a sum of money to the debtor, where the original transfer of that sum from the debtor to the person honouring the obligation is regarded as being invalid under the national law of the insolvency court and that invalidity follows from the opening of the insolvency proceedings? (4) Does the presumption of a lack of awareness provided for in Article 24(2) of Regulation No 1346/2000 apply where the authorities referred to in the second sentence of Article 21(2) have not taken all necessary measures to ensure that the decisions by which the insolvency court appointed a provisional liquidator and ordered that disposals of assets effected by the company are to be valid only with the consent of the provisional liquidator are published in the register of the Member State within the territory of which the debtor has an establishment, where the Member State in which the establishment has its registered office provides for the mandatory publication of those decisions, even though it recognises them in accordance with Article 25 in conjunction with Article 16 of that regulation?’
7

Article 6 of that directive provides: ‘1. For special areas of conservation, Member States shall establish the necessary conservation measures involving, if need be, appropriate management plans specifically designed for the sites or integrated into other development plans, and appropriate statutory, administrative or contractual measures which correspond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II present on the sites. 2. Member States shall take appropriate steps to avoid, in the special areas of conservation, the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species as well as disturbance of the species for which the areas have been designated, in so far as such disturbance could be significant in relation to the objectives of this Directive. 3. Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, shall be subject to appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site’s conservation objectives. In the light of the conclusions of the assessment of the implications for the site and subject to the provisions of paragraph 4, the competent national authorities shall agree to the plan or project only after having ascertained that it will not adversely affect the integrity of the site concerned and, if appropriate, after having obtained the opinion of the general public. 4. If, in spite of a negative assessment of the implications for the site and in the absence of alternative solutions, a plan or project must nevertheless be carried out for imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including those of a social or economic nature, the Member State shall take all compensatory measures necessary to ensure that the overall coherence of Natura 2000 is protected. It shall inform the Commission of the compensatory measures adopted. Where the site concerned hosts a priority natural habitat type and/or a priority species, the only considerations which may be raised are those relating to human health or public safety, to beneficial consequences of primary importance for the environment or, further to an opinion from the Commission, to other imperative reasons of overriding public interest.’
3

Recital 5 of Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (OJ 2002 L 108, p. 33), as amended by Directive 2009/140/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 (OJ 2009 L 337, p. 37) (‘the Framework Directive’), is worded as follows: ‘The convergence of the telecommunications, media and information technology sectors means all transmission networks and services should be covered by a single regulatory framework. That regulatory framework consists of this Directive and four specific Directives: Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) [(OJ 2002 L 108, p. 21)], Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) [(OJ 2002 L 108, p. 7)], the [‘Universal Service’ Directive] and Directive 97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector [(OJ 1998 L 24, p. 1)], (hereinafter referred to as “the Specific Directives”). It is necessary to separate the regulation of transmission from the regulation of content. This framework does not therefore cover the content of services delivered over electronic communications networks using electronic communications services, such as broadcasting content, financial services and certain information society services, and is therefore without prejudice to measures taken at Community or national level in respect of such services, in compliance with Community law, in order to promote cultural and linguistic diversity and to ensure the defence of media pluralism. The content of television programmes is covered by Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities [(OJ 1989 L 298, p. 23)]. The separation between the regulation of transmission and the regulation of content does not prejudice the taking into account of the links existing between them, in particular in order to guarantee media pluralism, cultural diversity and consumer protection.’
11

Article 25 of that law, headed ‘Taxation of travel services’ is worded as follows: ‘1. The following provisions shall apply to travel services supplied by a trader that are not intended for the purposes of the customer’s business, where the trader deals with customers in his own name and makes use of travel-related inputs. The service supplied by the trader is deemed to fall within the category of other services. If the trader provides several services of this nature to a customer in the context of one journey, those services will be deemed to be the supply of a single service falling within the other services category. The place at which the other service is provided shall be determined in accordance with Paragraph 3a(1). Travel-related inputs are supplies and other services provided by third parties which are for the direct benefit of the traveller. 2. Other services are exempt where the travel-related inputs attributed to them are provided on the territory of a third country. The trader shall establish that the condition for the exemption is met. The Bundesministerium der Finanzen (Federal Ministry of Finance) may, with the consent of the Bundesrat (Upper Chamber of the Parliament), determine by order the manner in which the trader must prove [that requirement]. 3. The taxable value of other services shall be the difference between the amount paid by the customer for the service and the amount paid by the trader for travel-related inputs. Value added tax shall not form part of the taxable amount. Instead of calculating the taxable amount for each individual service supplied, the trader may calculate it either for groups of services or for all the services provided within the taxation period. 4. By way of exception to Paragraph 15(1), the trader may not deduct as input tax tax charged to that trader, separately, for travel-related inputs, as well as the amount of tax payable pursuant to Article 13b. Otherwise Paragraph 15 shall apply in full. …’
10

Article 8 of Directive 2011/83, entitled ‘Formal requirements for distance contracts’, is worded as follows: ‘1. With respect to distance contracts, the trader shall give the information provided for in Article 6(1) or make that information available to the consumer in a way appropriate to the means of distance communication used in plain and intelligible language. In so far as that information is provided on a durable medium, it shall be legible. … 4. If the contract is concluded through a means of distance communication which allows limited space or time to display the information, the trader shall provide, on that particular means prior to the conclusion of such a contract, at least the pre-contractual information regarding the main characteristics of the goods or services, the identity of the trader, the total price, the right of withdrawal, the duration of the contract and, if the contract is of indeterminate duration, the conditions for terminating the contract, as referred to in points (a), (b), (e), (h) and (o) of Article 6(1). The other information referred to in Article 6(1) shall be provided by the trader to the consumer in an appropriate way in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article. … 7. The trader shall provide the consumer with the confirmation of the contract concluded, on a durable medium within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the distance contract, and at the latest at the time of the delivery of the goods or before the performance of the service begins. That confirmation shall include: (a) all the information referred to in Article 6(1) unless the trader has already provided that information to the consumer on a durable medium prior to the conclusion of the distance contract; …’
44

In those circumstances the Tallinna Ringkonnakohus (Court of Appeal, Tallinn, Estonia) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: ‘[(1)] Is Article 8(2) of [Regulation No 800/2008] to be interpreted as meaning that, in the context of that provision, where the activity to be supported is, for example, the acquisition of equipment, “work on the project or activity” has started when the agreement for the purchase of that equipment has been entered into? Are the Member State authorities authorised to assess an infringement of the criterion mentioned in that provision in light of the costs of withdrawal from an agreement which contravenes the requirement of an incentive effect? If the Member State authorities have such authority, what level of costs (in percentage terms) incurred by withdrawal from the agreement may be deemed to be sufficiently marginal from the aspect of meeting the requirement of the incentive effect? [(2)] Is a Member State authority obliged to recover an unlawful aid granted by it even if the … Commission has not adopted a corresponding decision? [(3)] Can a Member State authority which decides to grant aid — under the misconception that it is aid that accords with the requirements [of Regulation No 800/2008], but which is in fact unlawful aid — engender a legitimate expectation on the part of the aid recipient? Is, in particular, the fact that the Member State authority is aware, on granting the unlawful aid, of the circumstances causing the aid not to be covered by the block exemption sufficient to give rise to a legitimate expectation on the part of the recipients of that aid? If the preceding question is answered in the affirmative, must the public interest and the interest of the individual be weighed against one another? In the context of that weighing-up of interests, is it significant whether, in relation to the aid at issue, the Commission has adopted a decision declaring it incompatible with the common market? [(4)] Which limitation period applies to the recovery of unlawful aid by a Member State authority? Is that period 10 years, corresponding to the period after which, under Articles 1 and 15 of [Regulation No 659/1999] the aid becomes existing aid and can no longer be recovered, or 4 years, in accordance with Article 3(1) of [Regulation No 2988/95]? What is the legal basis for such recovery where the aid was granted from a structural fund: Article 108(3) TFEU, or [Regulation No 2988/95]? [(5)] If a Member State authority recovers unlawful aid, is it then obliged to demand from the recipient the payment of interest on the unlawful aid? If so, which rules will then apply to the calculation of the interest, inter alia, as regards the rate of interest and the calculation period?’