Case C-302/01: Action brought on 27 July 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
Date: 2001-09-15
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Greece, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, environmental protection, public health, waste management

15.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 259/3

— since the French authorities have intended to implement
the requirements flowing from Article 19(4) of
the
directive by means of a ‘public information sheet’, it is
imperative for the sheet
the matters
mentioned in that provision as incapable of being kept
confidential.

to include all

The Commission also considers that the enactment of a
transitional period after the date of expiry of the time-limit for
transposition of the directive is contrary to the obligations
under that directive.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.

(1) OJ L 117, 8.5.1990, p. 15.

Action brought on 27 July 2001 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic

(Case C-301/01)

(2001/C 259/03)

An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 27 July
2001 by the Commission of the European Communities,
represented by Gotz zur Hausen, Legal Adviser, and Panos
Panagiotopoulos, a national civil servant on secondment to its
Legal Service.

The Commission claims that the Court should:

— declare that, by restricting the extent of public infor-
mation to the environmental impact study, laying down
a period for public consultation which cannot exceed
15 days and providing for a transitional period which
expired in October 1994, the Hellenic Republic has failed
to fulfil its obligations under Articles 6 (2) and 12 of
Council Directive 85/337/EEC (1) of 27 June 1985 on the
assessment of the effects of certain public and private
projects on the environment;

— order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Article 6 (2) of Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the
effects of certain public and private projects on the environ-
ment provides that all
the information gathered by the
developer is to be made available to the public. Article 2 (2) of
Joint Ministerial Decision 75308/5512/90 provides for public
access to the environmental impact study only and to no other
information. The directive also provides that the Member
States are to ensure that the public concerned is given the
opportunity to express an opinion before works begin. The
Commission takes the view that the period of 15 days set by
the joint ministerial decision is not in practice a reasonable
period for the public to express its opinion.

Action brought on 27 July 2001 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic

(Case C-302/01)

(2001/C 259/04)

An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 27 July
2001 by the Commission of the European Communities,
represented by Gotz zur Hausen, Legal Adviser, and Panos
Panagiotopoulos, a national civil servant on secondment to its
Legal Service.

The Commission claims that the Court should:

— declare that, by failing to take the necessary measures to
ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of in the
commune of Epitalio without endangering human health,
without risk to water, air, soil and plants and animals and
without causing a nuisance through noise or odours, by
granting a permit for the operation of a waste disposal
(landfill) site which does not contain the necessary
information and by allowing that facility to operate
without prior approval of an environmental impact study,
the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
under Articles 4 and 9 of Council Directive
75/442/EEC (1) on waste, as amended by Directive
91/156/EEC, and Article 4 (2) of Council Directive
85/337/EEC (2) of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the
effects of certain public and private projects on the
environment;

— order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC, as amended, provides that
the Member States are to take the necessary measures to
protect human health and the environment from the harmful
effects of the collection, transport, treatment, storage and
deposit of waste. Article 9 requires in addition that a permit
be granted by the competent authorities for every waste
disposal installation.

C 259/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

15.9.2001

The Commission considers that the waste disposal (landfill) site
in Epitalio in the Prefecture of Ilia constitutes a danger to human
health and the environment in breach of the directive. The Greek
authorities acknowledge the unsuitability of the site. The site
operates without a permit, with the exception only of the
decision of the Prefect of Ilia of 18 March 1987 which grants
temporary permission for the installation to operate for six
months but contains no mention of the types and quantities of
waste or of the conditions of the site’s operation.

an environmental impact study where Member States consider
that their characteristics so require. However, while Joint
Ministerial Decision 69269/5387/90 which transposed this
directive into Greek law provides that an environmental impact
study is required before works of that type can be carried out,
no study was drawn up for the installation at issue.

Under Article 4(2) of Directive 85/337/EEC, projects concern-
ing installations for the disposal of waste are to be subject to

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39.
(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.