Judgment of the Court of 20 February 2001 in Case C-205/99 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo, Spain): Asociación Profesional de Empresas Navieras de Líneas Regulares (Analir) and Others v Administración General del Estado (Freedom to provide services — Maritime cabotage — Conditions for the grant and continuation of prior administrative authorisation — Concurrent application of the methods of imposing public service obligations and of concluding public service contracts)
Date: 2001-06-16
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: freedom to provide services, interpretation of the law, island, maritime cabotage, maritime transport, public service

16.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 173/9

In order to determine whether a person is a national of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the purposes of
Community law, it is necessary to refer to the 1982 Declaration by
the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland on the definition of the term ‘nationals’ which
replaced the 1972 Declaration by the Government of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the definition of
the term ‘nationals’, annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty concerning
the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the European
Communities.

(1) OJ C 226 of 7.8.1999.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

of 20 February 2001

1.

The combined provisions of Article 1 and Article 4 of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 December 1992 applying
the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport
within Member States (maritime cabotage) permit the provision
of regular maritime cabotage services to, from and between
islands to be made subject to prior administrative authorisation
only if:

— a real public service need arising from the inadequacy of
the regular transport services under conditions of free
competition can be demonstrated;

— it is also demonstrated that that prior administrative
authorisation scheme is necessary and proportionate to
the aim pursued;

— such a scheme is based on objective, non-discriminatory
criteria which are known in advance to the undertakings
concerned.

in Case C-205/99 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunal Supremo, Spain): Asociacio´ n Profesional de
Empresas Navieras de Lı´neas Regulares (Analir) and
Others v Administracio´ n General del Estado (1)

2.

(Freedom to provide services — Maritime cabotage —
Conditions for the grant and continuation of prior adminis-
trative authorisation — Concurrent application of the
methods of imposing public service obligations and of
concluding public service contracts)

Community law permits a Member State to include in the
conditions for granting and maintaining prior administrative
authorisation as a means of imposing public service obligations
on a Community shipowner a condition enabling account to be
taken of his solvency, such as the requirement that he have no
outstanding tax or social security debts, thus giving the Member
State the opportunity to check the shipowner’s ‘capacity to
provide the service’, provided that such a condition is applied on
a non-discriminatory basis.

(2001/C 173/14)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-205/99: reference to the Court under Article 234
EC from the Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court), Spain, for a
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
court between Asociacio´ n Profesional de Empresas Navieras
de Lı´neas Regulares (Analir) and Others and Administracio´ n
General del Estado — on the interpretation of Articles 1, 2
and 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 December
1992 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to
maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage)
(OJ 1992 L 364, p. 7) — the Court, composed of: G.C. Rodrı´-
guez Iglesias, President, C. Gulmann and M. Wathelet (Presi-
dents of Chambers), D.A.O. Edward, P.
Jann, L. Sevo´ n,
R. Schintgen, F. Macken, N. Colneric, S. von Bahr and
C.W.A. Timmermans (Rapporteur), Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate
General; D. Louterman-Hubeau, Head of Division, for the
Registrar, has given a judgment on 20 February 2001,
in
which it has ruled:

3. Article 4(1) of Regulation No 3577/92 is to be interpreted as
permitting a Member State to impose public service obligations
on some shipping companies and, at the same time, to conclude
public service contracts within the meaning of Article 2(3) of
the regulation with others for the same line or route in order to
ensure the same regular traffic to, from or between islands,
provided that a real public service need can be demonstrated
and in so far as that application of the two methods concurrently
is on a non-discriminatory basis and is justified in relation to
the public-interest objective pursued.

(1) OJ C 204 of 17.7.1999.