Case C-257/01: Action brought on 3 July 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Council of the European Union
Date: 2001-09-01
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Council of the European Union, EU visa policy, European Commission, Schengen Agreement, action for annulment (EU), admission of aliens

C 245/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

1.9.2001

Action brought on 3 July 2001 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Council of the
European Union

Action brought on 3 July 2001 by Commission of the
European Communities against Portuguese Republic

(Case C-257/01)

(2001/C 245/21)

An action against the Council of the European Union was
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-
ties on 3 July 2001 by the Commission of the European
Communities, represented by Ms Dominique Maidani and
Ms Carmel O’Reilly, acting as agents, with an address for
service in Luxembourg.

The Applicant requests that the Court should:

1. Annul Council Regulation (EC) No 789/2001 of 24 April
2001 reserving to the Council
implementing powers
with regard to certain detailed provisions and practical
procedures for examining visa applications (1).

2. Annul Council Regulation (EC) No 790/2001 of 24 April
2001 reserving to the Council
implementing powers
with regard to certain detailed provisions and practical
procedures for examining carrying out border checks and
surveillance (2).

3. Order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

and

irregularly

improperly

The Commission submits that the Council has, contrary to
the Treaty and to Article 1 of Decision
Article 202 of
1999/468/CE (3),
reserved
implementing powers to itself and that, in any event, the
Council has neither adequately nor properly motivated the
said reservation of implementing powers to itself. The Com-
mission is, furthermore, of the view that the procedure set up
respectively by Article 2 of Regulation (CE) 789/2001 and by
Article 2 of Regulation (CE ) 790/2001 whereby, in essence, the
Member States themselves amend certain factual information
respectively contained in the Common Consular Instructions
on Visas for the Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts, in
Executive Committee decisions
(98) 56,
SCH/Com-ex (99) 14 and SCH/Com-ex (94) 15, and in the
Common Manual is irregular and contrary to Article 202 of
the Treaty.

SCH/Com-ex

(1) OJ L 116, 26.4.2001, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 116, 26.4.2001, p. 5.
(3) Council Decision of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
implementing powers conferred on the

for the exercise of
Commission, OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(Case C-258/01)

(2001/C 245/22)

An action against the Portuguese Republic was brought before
the Court of Justice on 3 July 2001 by the Commission of the
European Communities, represented by Bernard Mongin and
Francisco Miguel França, acting as Agents, with an address for
service in Luxembourg at the office of Luis Escobar Guerrero,
also of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.

The applicant claims that the Court of Justice should:

— Declare that, by failing to transpose Article 6(1) and (4)
of Directive 94/57/EC (1) on common rules and standards
for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the
relevant activities of maritime administrations and in
particular by not establishing a working relationship
regulated by a formalised written and non-discriminatory
agreement or equivalent legal arrangements with the
classification societies and by not providing the Com-
mission with precise information on that working
relationship, the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil
its obligations under Article 6(1) and (4) of Directive
94/57/EC;

— Order the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.

Contentions and principal arguments

Directive 94/57/EC was transposed into Portuguese law by
Decree-Law No 115/96 of 6 August 1996.

According to the information received by the Commission
through the committee established by Article 7 of Direc-
tive 94/57/EC,
the Portuguese Republic delegates certain
responsibilities to a number of classification societies (Ame-
rican Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer
Lloyd, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, Nippon Kaiiji Kyokai). The
Commission considers that the formalised written and non-
discriminatory agreements or equivalent legal arrangements
(Article 6(2) of Directive 94/57/EC), which determine the tasks
and specific functions to be undertaken by the organisations
and which should have been concluded or adopted and
forwarded to the Commission immediately after the said
delegation of responsibilities, have not yet been entered into,
a fact which, moreover, the Portuguese authorities admit.
Furthermore, Article 6(4) of Directive 94/57/EC provides that
each Member State is to provide the Commission with precise
information on the working relationship established with the
classification societies. However, the Portuguese authorities
have not yet sent that information to the Commission, which
is under an obligation then to pass it to the other Member
States.

(1) OJ L 319 of 12.12.1994, p. 20.