Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 22 November 2001 in Case C-53/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Créteil): Ferring SA v Agence centrale des organismes de sécurité sociale (ACOSS) (State aid — Tax benefit granted to certain undertakings — Wholesale distributors)
Date: 2002-01-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: France, State aid, interpretation of the law, social security

C 17/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19.1.2002

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

1. Declares that,

(Fifth Chamber)

of 15 November 2001

in Case C-49/00: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Italian Republic (1)

(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
Incomplete transposition of Directive 89/391/EEC — Safety
and health of workers)

(2002/C 17/08)

(Language of the case: Italian)

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

— by failing to require employers to evaluate all health and

safety risks in the work place;

— by allowing employers to decide whether or not to enlist
external
the adoption of protective and
preventive measures when the skills available within the
undertaking are insufficient, and

services

for

— by failing to define the capabilities and aptitudes which
the persons responsible for protective and preventive
measures against occupational risks to workers’ health
and safety must possess,

the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Articles 6(3) (a) and 7(3), (5) and (8) of Council Directive
89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures
to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers
at work.

2. Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 135 of 13.5.2000.

In Case C-49/00: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: E. Traversa and N. Yerrell) v Italian Republic (Agent:
U. Leanza, assisted by D. Del Gaizo) — application for a
declaration that:

— by failing to require employers to evaluate all health and

safety risks in the work place,

— by allowing employers to decide whether or not to enlist
external services for the adoption of protective and
preventive measures when the skills available within the
undertaking are insufficient, and

— by failing to define the capabilities and aptitudes which
the persons responsible for protective and preventive
measures against occupational risks to workers’ health
and safety must possess,

the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Articles 6(3)(a) and 7(3),
(5) and (8) of Council Directive
89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures
to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers
at work (OJ 1989 L 183, p. 1) — the Court (Fifth Chamber),
composed of: S. von Bahr (Rapporteur), President of the Fourth
Chamber, acting for the President of the Fifth Chamber,
D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola, L. Sevo´ n and M. Wathelet,
Judges; C. Stix-Hackl, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar,
has given a judgment on 15 November 2001, in which it:

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Sixth Chamber)

of 22 November 2001

in Case C-53/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Créteil):
Ferring SA v Agence centrale des organismes de sécurité
sociale (ACOSS) (1)

(State aid — Tax benefit granted to certain undertakings —
Wholesale distributors)

(2002/C 17/09)

(Language of the case: French)

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

In Case C-53/00: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
from the Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Créteil
(France) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
before that court between Ferring SA and Agence centrale des
organismes de sécurité sociale (ACOSS) — on the interpret-
ation of Article 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Article 49 EC), Article 90(2) of the EC Treaty (now Article 86(2)
EC) and Article 92 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,

19.1.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 17/7

Article 87 EC) — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of:
F. Macken, President of the Chamber, N. Colneric, C. Gulmann
(Rapporteur), J.-P. Puissochet and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges;
A. Tizzano, Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Administrator, for
the Registrar, has given a judgment on 22 November 2001, in
which it has ruled:

1. Article 92 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 87
EC) is to be interpreted as meaning that, because it is charged
only on direct sales of medicines by pharmaceutical laboratories,
a measure such as the tax introduced by Article 12 of Law
No 97-1164 of 19 December 1997 on social security funding
for 1998 amounts to State aid to wholesale distributors only
to the extent that the advantage in not being assessed to the tax
on direct sales of medicines exceeds the additional costs that
they bear in discharging the public service obligations imposed
on them by national law.

2. Article 90(2) of the EC Treaty (now Article 86(2) EC) is to be
interpreted as meaning that it does not cover a tax advantage
enjoyed by undertakings entrusted with the operation of a public
service such as those concerned in the main proceedings in so
far as that advantage exceeds the additional costs of performing
the public service.

3. Article 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49
EC) must be interpreted as meaning that it does not apply to a
situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, where
there is no connection with the provision of services.

(1) OJ C 122 of 29.4.2000.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 22 November 2001

in Case C-184/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunal de premiere instance de Charleroi): Office
des produits wallons ASBL v Belgian State (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive — Article 11A(1)(a) — Taxable
amount — Subsidies directly linked to the price)

(2002/C 17/10)

(Language of the case: French)

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

(Belgium), for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
before that court between Office des produits wallons ASBL
and Belgian State — on the interpretation of Article 11A(1)(a)
of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on
the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating
to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax:
uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — the
Court (Third Chamber), composed of: C. Gulmann (Rappor-
teur), acting for the President of the Chamber, J.-P. Puissochet
and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate
General; D. Louterman-Hubeau, Head of Division, for the
Registrar, has given a judgment on 22 November 2001, in
which it has ruled:

For the purposes of Article 11A(1)(a) of Sixth Council Directive
77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of
the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of
value added tax: uniform basis of assessment ‘subsidies directly linked
to the price’ must be interpreted as covering only subsidies which
constitute the whole or part of the consideration for a supply of goods
or services and which are paid by a third party to the seller or supplier.
It is for the national court to determine, on the basis of the facts
before it, whether or not the subsidy constitutes such consideration.

(1) OJ C 192 of 8.7.2000.

ORDER OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 13 September 2001

in Case C-467/00 P: Staff Committee of the European
Central Bank and Others v European Central Bank (1)

(Appeal — Application for annulment of an administrative
circular concerning Internet usage within the European
Central Bank — Application for directions to be issued to
the European Central Bank — Inadmissibility — Appeal in
part clearly inadmissible and in part clearly unfounded)

(2002/C 17/11)

(Language of the case: English)

In Case C-184/00: reference to the Court under Article 234
EC from the Tribunal de première instance de Charleroi

In Case C-467/00 P: Staff Committee of the European Central
Bank, established in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Johannes
Priesemann, member of staff of the European Central Bank,