Case C-177/01: Action brought on 24 April 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities against the French Republic
Date: 2001-06-16
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, France, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, chemical product, decontamination, waste disposal

16.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 173/31

Pleas in law and main arguments

— Order the French Republic to pay the costs.

The provisions of the Grand-Ducal Regulation of 24 February
1988, put forward by the Grand Duchy as its disposal plan,
cannot be considered fully to meet
the requirements of
Article 11(1) of
the directive in so far as concerns the
equipment included in the inventory provided for by Article 4
thereof. Member States are to determine, on the basis of the
inventory provided for under Article 4(1) of the directive, the
dates on which it is possible, in view of the quantities of spent
PCB and of the number of contaminated pieces of equipment
involved and of the available processing capacity, to require
that the elimination and decontamination required by the
directive be carried out; the Luxembourg authorities, however,
have taken no steps to satisfy themselves that what they
termed the ‘filière de décontamination ou d’élimination’ is able
to process the equipment and PCB involved within the period
prescribed since, other than the laying down of a final deadline
of 31 December 2010, no indication is given as to plans
regarding the decontamination and elimination of spent
equipment and PCB in such a case.

(1) OJ 1996 L 243, p. 31.

Action brought on 24 April 2001 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the French Republic

(Case C-177/01)

(2001/C 173/53)

An action against the French Republic was brought before the
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 24 April
2001 by the Commission of the European Communities,
represented by H. Støvlbæk and J. Adda, acting as Agents, with
an address for service in Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— Declare that, by failing to send it a summary of inventories
compiled of equipment with PCB volumes of more than
5 dm3, plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of
inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein
and plans for the separate removal and collection of
equipment containing PCBs which is not subject
to
inventory in accordance with Article 4(1) and as referred
to in Article 6(3) of Council Directive 96/59/EC (1) of
16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated
biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT), the
French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Articles 4 and 11 of the abovementioned directive;

Pleas in law and main arguments

Decree No 2001/63 of 18 January 2001 which the French
authorities forwarded to the Commission provides for the
drawing-up of a national inventory of equipment with a PCB
volume of more than 5 dm3 which is to be the basis for a
national plan for decontamination or disposal of inventoried
equipment which must subsequently be adopted in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 7(5) et seq of the
aforementioned decree. The Order of 13 February 2001 has as
its sole purpose to request those who hold equipment contain-
ing PCB to make a declaration before the Prefect. The
Commission therefore remains of the view, first, that the
implementation of a procedure for drawing up a national
inventory does not remedy the complaint regarding failure to
communicate to it a summary of inventories pursuant to
Article 4(1) of the directive.

Secondly, the adoption of that decree is not sufficient to
remedy the complaint that that Member State had not drawn
up either a plan for decontamination and/or disposal of
contaminated equipment or plans for the collection and
subsequent disposal of equipment not subject to inventory.

(1) OJ 1996 L 243, p. 31.

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van
Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven, by judgment of that court
of 26 April 2001 in the case of
(2)
Afdeling Groningen van de Nederlandse Vereniging tot
Bescherming van Dieren and (3) Afdeling Assen en
omstreken van de Nederlandse Vereniging tot Bescherm-
ing van Dieren against the Minister van Landbouw,
Natuurbeheer en Visserij

Jippes,

(1) H.

(Case C-189/01)

(2001/C 173/54)

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
European Communities by judgment of the College van Beroep
voor het bedrijfsleven (Administrative Court for Trade and
Industry) of 26 April 2001, received at the Court Registry on
27 April 2001,
for a preliminary ruling in the case of
(1) H. Jippes, (2) Afdeling Groningen van de Nederlandse
Vereniging tot Bescherming van Dieren and (3) Afdeling Assen
en omstreken van de Nederlandse Vereniging tot Bescherming
van Dieren against the Minister van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer
en Visserij on the following questions: