EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/179

(2004/C 88 E/0187)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0382/04

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 February 2004)

Subject: Free movement between Greece and the rest of the EU

Articles 14 and 18 of the EC Treaty safeguard free movement within the single market. As is clear from the remarks of the Advocate General Mr G. Cosmas in case C-378/97, the provisions of these two articles of the Treaty are not identical at the semantic level, but mutually complementary.

In view of this, it is difficult to understand why Greece continues to view as smuggling the circulation in Greece of a car driven by an EU citizen who is a permanent resident of another EU Member State, where he has lawfully bought a car for private use with number-plates of the Member State in which he has chosen to live. In international law the car is a piece of moveable property whose legal status is subject to the laws of the place where it has been registered by being entered in the records, as is also the case with other categories of means of transport. In spite of this, very often vehicles with Community number-plates are held in Greece, their owners are imprisoned and fines are also imposed on them. The owners of cars with Community number-plates argue that the immediate seizure of a vehicle in Greece is inconsistent with the wording of Article 129(5) of the new Greek Customs Code, which stipulates that Community vehicles may — before the registration tax owed has been ascertained — be sent back to the other Member States of the European Union or imported into non-EU countries. In this case, a motorist may not take his private car to another Member State outside Greece, since the Greek public authority will already have taken steps to confiscate it.

In the Commission's opinion, is Greece is contravening Articles 14 and 18 of the Treaty, with the result that private cars with Community number-plates are being seized and Community citizens who use them inside Greece are being imprisoned? Could these citizens perhaps claim damages, on the basis of Community legislation, since they have very clearly suffered injury as a result of this practice by the Greek authorities? Can an EU citizen have different residences in different EU Member States and be able to travel freely from one to the other, without continually having to make calculations concerning how many days he has been in one EU Member State and how many in the other? What is the view of the Commission on the creation of a Community licence-plate which would be mutually recognised by all the Member States, as is already the case, for example, with the Community driving licence, which (under Directive 91/439/EEC (1)) is valid in all the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(26 April 2004)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to his previous Written Question No E-3819/03 (2) concerning the importation into Greece of motor vehicles by EU citizens, in particular Greek nationals, residing in another Member State.

In its judgments, the European Court of Justice has recognised the principle that a State is liable where there is a breach of Community law and must provide reparation irrespective of the state agency whose act or omission has led to the infringement (see, for example, the judgments of 19 November 1991 in Joined Cases C-6/90 and C-9/90 Francovich and of 5 March 1996 in Joined Cases C-46/93 and C-48/93 Brasserie du Pêcheur).

Citizens of the European Union who respect the conditions laid down by Community law may move freely in Member States and are free to choose a residence there. Community law does not prevent them having several residences in different Member States.

Although, in principle, it is possible to introduce a single European number plate, a number of conditions would have to be met first, e.g. harmonisation of the different rules on tax and vehicle inspections and the establishment of the necessary links between the registration authorities and the police with a view to combating crime and enforcing road-traffic rules. These conditions have not been met and the Commission does not intend to introduce a proposal to that effect. However, at the end of 2003 it presented a proposal for a regulation (3) intended to provide access to certain data in the Schengen Information System for the authorities responsible for registering vehicles. This proposal continues the policy that was developed by Council Directive 1999/37/EC of 29 April on the registration documents for vehicles (4).

Moreover, having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-262/99 and to the Greek authorities' maintenance of their practices, on 25 March 2004 the Commission initiated proceedings against Greece before the Court for continuing to impose disproportionate sanctions, e.g. in cases where persons presumed to be permanently resident in Greece are alleged to be smuggling, so that it is infringing Article 90 of the EC Treaty and Council Directive 83/182/EEC of 28 March 1983 on tax exemptions within the Community for certain means of transport temporarily imported into one Member State from another (5), which rule out the imposition of additional registration charges on temporarily imported vehicles.

(1) OJ L 237, 24.8.1991, p. 1.

(2) See page 156.

(3) COM(2003) 510 final.

(4) OJ L 138, 1.6.1999.

(5) OJ L 105, 23.4.1983.