Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) 18 April 2002 in Case C-290/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Johann Franz Duchon v Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der Angestellten, (Social security for migrant workers — Article 48 and Article 51 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 39 and Article 42 EC) — Article 9a and 94 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 — Accident at work occurring in another Member State before the entry into force of the regulation in the worker's home State — Incapacity for work)
Date: 2002-06-15
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Austria, accession to the European Union, interpretation of the law, national law, occupational accident insurance, social security

15.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 144/7

Rantou, G. Alexaki and S. Vodina): Application for a declar-
ation that, by not providing in the national legislation transpos-
ing Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the
approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions of
the Member States concerning liability for
defective products (OJ 1985 L 210, p. 29) for the threshold of
EUR 500 laid down in Article 9(b) of that directive, the
Hellenic Republic has transposed that provision only partially,
the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: P. Jann (Rapporteur),
President of the Chamber, S. von Bahr, D. A. O. Edward, A. La
Pergola and C. W. A. Timmermans, Judges; L. A. Geelhoed,
Advocate General; Lynn Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for
the Registrar, has given a judgment on 25 April 2002, in
which it:

ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
Johann Franz Duchon and Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der
Angestellten, on the interpretation of Article 48 and Article 51
EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 39 and Article 42
EC), and on the interpretation and validity of Article 9a and
Article 94 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of
14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to
employed workers, to self-employed workers and to members
of their families moving within the Community, as amended
and updated by Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of the Council of
2 December 1996 (OJ 1997 L 28, p. 1), the Court (Fifth
Chamber), composed of: P. Jann, President of the Chamber,
S. von Bahr, and M. Wathelet (Rapporteur), Judges; F. G. Jacobs,
Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment
on 18 April 2002, in which it has ruled:

1. Declares that, by not making provision in the national
legislation transposing Council Directive 85/374/EEC of
25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning
liability for defective products for the threshold of EUR 500
referred to in Article 9(b) of the Directive, the Hellenic Republic
has failed to fulfil its obligations under that provision;

1.

2. Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 176 of 24.6.2000.

The situation of a person who is a national of a Member State,
who, before the accession of that State to the European Union,
was employed in another Member State where he was the victim
of an accident at work, and who, after the accession of his home
State, applies to the authorities in that State for a pension for
incapacity for work as a result of that accident falls within the
scope of application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71
of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes
to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members
of their families moving within the Community, as amended
and updated by Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of
2 December 1996.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

18 April 2002

in Case C-290/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling
from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Johann Franz Duchon v
Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der Angestellten (1)

(Social security for migrant workers — Article 48 and
Article 51 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Article 39 and Article 42 EC) — Article 9a and 94 of
Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 — Accident at work occurring
in another Member State before the entry into force of the
regulation in the worker’s home State — Incapacity for
work)

(2002/C 144/10)

(Language of the case: German)

2. Article 94(3) of Regulation No 1408/71, as amended and
updated by Regulation No 118/97, read in conjunction with
the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Article 48(2) of
Article 39(2) EC), must be interpreted as precluding a national
provision such as Paragraph 235(3)(a) of the Allgemeines
Sozialversicherungsgesetz, which provides an exception to the
requirement of a qualifying period as a condition for the
acquisition of the right to an occupational disability pension
where that disability is the result of an accident at work —
which occurred, in the case in point, before the date of entry
into force of that regulation in the Member State concerned —
only in the event that the victim had been insured compulsorily
or privately at the time of the accident under the legislation of
that State, to the exclusion of the legislation of all other
Member States.

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

In Case C-290/00: Reference to the Court under Article 234
EC by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria) for a preliminary

3. Articles 48(2) and 51 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Articles 39(2) and 42 EC) must be interpreted as meaning that
they preclude a provision such as Paragraph 234(1)(2)(b) of
the Allgemeines Sozialversicherungsgesetz, read in conjunction
with Paragraph 236(3) of that law, which takes into account,
for the purposes of prolongation of the reference period during
which the qualifying period for the acquisition of the right to a
pension must have been completed, only those periods during

C 144/8

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Official Journal of the European Communities

15.6.2002

which the insured person received a disability pension under a
national accident insurance scheme, without providing for the
possibility of a prolongation of that period where a benefit of
such a kind was paid under the legislation of another Member
State.

4. Article 9a of Regulation No 1408/71, as amended and
updated by Regulation No 118/97, a provision which is
incompatible with Articles 48(2) and 51 of the EC Treaty in
so far as it excludes the possibility of taking into account, for
the purposes of the prolongation of the reference period under
the legislation of a Member State, the periods during which
industrial accident benefits were paid under the legislation of
another Member State, is invalid.

(1) OJ C 285 of 7.10.2000.

concentrated butter intended for the manufacture of pastry
products, ice-cream and other foodstuffs and, second, partial
annulment of Commission Decision 2000/449/EC of 5 July
2000 excluding from Community financing certain expendi-
ture incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee
Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund (EAGGF) (OJ 2000 L 180, p. 49) in so far as it excludes
from Community financing expenditure in the amount of
EUR 160 225 645 and EUR 3 188 322 respectively incurred
by the Kingdom of Belgium in the context of aid for the sale at
a reduced price of butter and the grant of aid for concentrated
butter intended for the manufacture of pastry products, ice-
(Sixth Chamber),
cream and other foodstuffs,
composed of: F. Macken, President of the Chamber, C. Gul-
mann, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen and J. N. Cunha Rodrigues
(Rapporteur), Judges; C. Stix-Hackl, Advocate General; L. Hew-
lett, Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
18 April 2002, in which it:

the Court

1. Dismisses the application;

2. Orders the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(1) OJ C 355 of 9.12.2000.

(Sixth Chamber)

18 April 2002

in Case C-332/00: Kingdom of Belgium v Commission of
the European Communities (1)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Action for annulment — Clearance of EAGGF accounts —
Non-recognition of expenditure — Financial years 1995 to
1997)

(Fourth Chamber)

7 May 2002

(2002/C 144/11)

(Language of the case: French)

in Case C-364/00: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Kingdom of the Netherlands (1)

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

(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
Directive 97/70/EC — Failure to implement within the
prescribed period)

In Case C-332/00, Kingdom of Belgium (Agent: A. Snoecx) v
Commission of the European Communities (Agents: A. Bordes
and M. Niejahr): Application for, first, annulment of Com-
mission Decision 2000/448/EC of 5 July 2000 amending
Decision 1999/187/EC on the clearance of
the accounts
presented by the Member States in respect of the expenditure
for 1995 of the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (OJ 2000 L 180,
p. 46) in so far as it excludes from Community financing
expenditure in the amount of BEF 50 763 827 incurred by the
Kingdom of Belgium in the context of aid for the sale at a
reduced price of butter and the grant of aid for butter and

(2002/C 144/12)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

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

In Case C-364/00, Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: T. van Rijn) v Kingdom of the Netherlands (Agent:
J. van Bakel): Application for a declaration that, by failing to