Case C-160/03: Action brought on 8 April 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain against Eurojust
Date: 2003-05-24
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Eurojust, European official, Spain, action for annulment (EU), candidate, linguistic discrimination, recruitment

24.5.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 124/15

The Applicant claims that the Court should:

1)

declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
Council Directive 1999/36/EC of 29 April 1999 on
transportable pressure equipment (1) and Commission
Directive 2001/2/EC of 4 January 2001 adapting the
latter directive to technical progress (2), or in any event
by failing to notify those provisions to it, Ireland has
failed to fulfil its obligations under the Directives;

2)

order Ireland to pay the costs of this action.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Article 249 EC, under which a directive shall be binding, as to
the result to be achieved, upon each Member State, carries by
implication an obligation on the Member States to observe the
period for compliance laid down in the directive. That period
expired on 1 December 2000 and 1 July 2001 respectively
without Ireland having enacted the provisions necessary to
comply with the directives referred to in the conclusions of
the Commission.

( 1) OJ L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 20.
( 2) OJ L 005, 10.1.2001, p. 4.

Action brought on 8 April 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain
against Eurojust

(Case C-160/03)

(2003/C 124/25)

An action against Eurojust was brought before the Court of
Justice of the European Communities on 8 April 2003 by the
Kingdom of Spain, represented by L. Fraguas Gadea, with an
address for service in Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

1.

annul, in the following calls for applications:

— call

for applications for the position of Data-
protection officer. Ref.: 03/EJ/07 (2003/C 34 A/01)
OJ C 34 A of 13.2.2003;

— call for applications for the position of Legal officer.
Ref.: 03/EJ/11 (2003/C 34 A/05) OJ C 34 A of
13.2.2003;

— call for applications for the position of Press officer.
Ref.: 03/EJ/13 (2003/C 34 A/07) OJ C 34 A of
13.2.2003;

— call for applications for the position of Secretary to
the General Administration. Ref.: 03/EJ/14 (2003/
C 34 A/08) OJ C 34 A of 13.2.2003;

— call for applications for the position of Librarian/
Archivist. Ref.: 03/EJ/12 (2003/C 34 A/06) OJ C 34
A of 13.2.2003;

— call for applications for the position of Accounting
officer. Ref.: 03/EJ/08 (2003/C 34 A/02) OJ C 34 A
of 13.2.2003;

— call for applications for the position of IT-informa-
tics expert (webmaster) of the European judicial
network. Ref.: 03/EJ/09 (2003/C 34 A/03) OJ C 34
A of 13.2.2003,

the paragraph referring to the documents to be submitted
in English by applicants submitting their application in
another language; and the paragraphs relating to the
linguistic knowledge required of candidates, from each of
the calls for applications set out below:

— in the call for applications for the position of Data-
‘Excellent
protection officer, as condition No 17:
knowledge of English and French. Ability to work in
other European Union languages would be an asset’.

— in the call for applications for the position of Law
officer, as condition No 19: ‘Excellent knowledge of
English and French. Ability to work in other Euro-
pean Union languages would be an asset’.

— in the call for applications for the position of Press
officer, as condition No 12: ‘Ability to speak at least
English and French. Knowledge of other official
European Union languages would be an asset’.

— in the call

for applications for the position of
Secretary to the General Administration, as con-
dition No 9: ‘Thorough knowledge of English and
French would be an asset, as well as a satisfactory
knowledge of other Community languages’.

— in the call for applications for the position of IT-
informatics expert (webmaster) of the European
judicial network, as condition No 6: ‘Good know-
ledge of English is essential; in particular, the ability
to speak at least two additional official European
Community languages, including French, would be
an asset’.

2.

order the defendant body to pay the costs.

C 124/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

24.5.2003

Pleas in law and main arguments

— Breach of the Staff Regulations and of the Conditions
the European

of Employment of Other Servants of
Communities

represented by Dr Ulrich Wölker, Commission Legal Adviser,
and Florence Simonetti, a national civil servant available to the
Commission Legal Service under an exchange scheme, with an
address for service in Luxembourg.

According to Article 30 of Council Decision 2002/
187/JHA of 28 February 2002 establishing Eurojust to
strengthen the fight against serious forms of crime (1),
Eurojust staff are to be subject to the rules and regulations
applicable to the officials and other servants of the
European Communities.

Under Article 12 of the Conditions of Employment,
candidates are only required to have a thorough know-
ledge of one language and a satisfactory knowledge of
another.

The Commission claims that the Court should:

1.

declare that, by failing to adopt, or to communicate to
the Commission, the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions necessary in order to implement Council
Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive
85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain
public and private projects on the environment (1) in the
provinces of Burgenland and Salzburg, the Republic of
Austria has failed to fulfil
its obligations under that
directive;

— Breach of the linguistic rules of Eurojust

2.

order the Republic of Austria to pay the costs.

Article 31 of Council Decision 2002/187/JHA provides
that the official linguistic arrangements of the Union are
to apply to Eurojust proceedings. No provision of the
decision expressly states that the working languages of
Eurojust are to be English and French.

— Breach of the principle of non-discrimination

The requirement that part of
the documents to be
submitted should be drawn up in English and, most of
all, the requirement of excellent knowledge of English
and French amounts to clear discrimination grounds of
nationality, prohibited by Article 12 EC.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In accordance with the third paragraph of Article 249 EC,
which provides that a directive is binding as to the result to be
achieved upon each Member State, the Member States are
obliged to comply with the time-limit for implementation laid
down in directives. The period for implementation laid down
in Article 3(1) of Directive 97/11/EC expired on 14 March
1999 without the Republic of Austria having adopted the
necessary provisions for the provinces of Burgenland and
Salzburg.

( 1) OJ 2002 L 63, p. 1.

(1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997, p. 5.

Action brought on 9 April 2003 by the Commission
of the European Communities against the Republic of
Austria

Removal from the register of Case C-107/02 (1)

(2003/C 124/27)

(Case C-164/03)

(2003/C 124/26)

An action against the Republic of Austria was brought before
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 9 April
2003 by the Commission of the European Communities,

By order of 4 March 2003 the President of the Court of Justice
of the European Communities ordered the removal from the
register of Case C-107/02: Commission of the European
Communities v Federal Republic of Germany.

(1) OJ C 191 of 10.08.2002.