Case C-64/03: Action brought on 14 February 2003 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Federal Republic of Germany
Date: 2003-04-26
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Germany, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, energy supply, energy transport, national implementing measure, natural gas, single market, storage

C 101/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

26.4.2003

Action brought on 14 February 2003 by the Commission
of the European Communities against the Federal Repub-
lic of Germany

(Case C-64/03)

(2003/C 101/33)

An action against the Federal Republic of Germany was
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-
ties on 14 February 2003 by the Commission of the European
Communities, represented by Jürgen Grunwald, Legal Adviser
to the Commission of the European Communities, and Hans
Støvlbæk, of the Legal Service of the Commission of the
European Communities, acting as Agents, with an address for
service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la
Cruz, of the European Commission’s Legal Service, Wagner
Centre C 254, Kirchberg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

1.

declare that, by failing to bring into force the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to
comply with Directive 98/30/EC (1) of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 concern-
ing common rules for the internal market in natural gas,
the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its
obligations under Article 29 of that directive;

2.

order the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs
of the proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Although the period for transposition of Directive 98/30/EC
expired on 10 August 2000, the Federal Republic of Germany
has thus far failed to transpose at all or failed to transpose
adequately a number of provisions of that directive.

— The Federal Republic of Germany has failed totally to

transpose:

— Article 5 in conjunction with Articles 7(3) and 10(3):
it is clear that there have been no notifiable and
technically verifiable ‘technical rules establishing
the minimum technical design and operational
requirements’ for the ‘connection to the system of
LNG facilities, storage facilities, other transmission
or distribution systems, and direct lines’. At any rate,
no such technical rules have been notified to the
Commission, nor is the Commission aware of any
such rules;

— Articles 14 to 16: there are no provisions dealing
with access to the system. The reference to prohib-
itions under competition law is not sufficient as
these do not contain any rules on access;

— Articles 12 and 13: there are no rules under the laws
specifically governing natural gas which deal with
the unbundling of the accounts of integrated natural
gas undertakings;

— The Federal Republic of Germany has failed adequately to

transpose:

— Article 2: defining provisions contained in a measure
of Community law must, inasmuch as they are —
as here — necessary for the proper application of
the Community provisions by national bodies, be
correctly transposed in national law;

— Articles 7(2) and 10(2): the general competition
rules under national law apply only to undertakings
in a dominant market position and for that reason
do not constitute an adequate transposition of the
prohibition of discrimination;

— Article 15(1)

in conjunction with Article 17(1):
unlike the position in the electricity sector, German
law does not provide for an obligation to state
reasons in the event of refusal to grant access to the
system;

— Article 18: no criteria governing the designation of
eligible customers have been published or notified
to the Commission;

— Article 21(2): the arbitration authority provided for

in Article 21(2) has not been designated.

(1) OJ L 204 of 21.7.1998, p. 1.

Action brought on 19 February 2003 by the Kingdom of
Spain against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties

(Case C-73/03)

(2003/C 101/34)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of Justice of the European
Communities on 19 February 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain,
represented by S. Ortiz Vaamonde, Abogado del Estado, with
an address for service in Luxembourg.