Case C-140/03: Action brought on 27 March 2003 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
Date: 2003-06-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Greece, action for failure to act, establishment, optics, share capital

C 135/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.6.2003

— order the Commission of the European Communities to

pay the costs.

sale of optician’s goods,
the Hellenic Republic is
restricting the conditions of establishment of natural
persons working as opticians in breach of Article 43 EC.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant claims that the contested memoranda do not
appear to have been issued as a result of one of the procedures
for making decisions exhaustively provided for by the Com-
mission’s internal rules, C(2000) 3614 of 29 November 2000,
which renders null and void the contested measures, not least
in view of their content which is of external effect.

It further claims that the contested measures were adopted by
the Commission in manifest breach of Article 32 of Regulation
EC No 1260/99 (1) and of and of Rule 1.1 and 1.2 in the annex
to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000 (2).

Finally, it claims that the decisions adopted by way of the
contested measures are invalid inasmuch as the statement of
reasons is defective and contradictory and because they
infringe the legitimate expectations of the applicant.

( 1) OJ 1999 L 161, p. 1.
( 2) OJ 2000 L 193, p. 39.

— Declare that, by enacting and maintaining in force Law
No 91/119 and Law No 2646/98 under which the
establishment by a legal person of a shop for the sale of
optician’s goods is subject to the following conditions:

— authorisation of the establishment and operation of
the shop for the sale of optician’s goods must
have been granted to a recognised optician/natural
person, the person holding the authorisation to
operate the shop must hold at least 50 % of the
company’s share capital, and must participate at
least to that extent in the profits and losses of the
company, and the company must be in the form of
a collective or limited partnership,

— the optician in question may participate at most in
one other company owning a shop for the sale of
optical articles, subject to the conditions that the
authorisation for the establishment and operation
of that shop is in the name of another authorised
optician,

the Hellenic Republic has restricted the conditions of
establishment of legal persons operating as opticians in
Greece in a manner inconsistent with Article 43 EC and
has infringed Article 48 in conjunction with Article 43 EC
by imposing on legal persons conditions not applicable to
natural persons,

Action brought on 27 March 2003 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic

— order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.

(Case C-140/03)

(2003/C 135/20)

An action against the European Communities was brought
before the Court of Justice on 27 March 2003 by the
Commission of the European Communities, represented by
Maria Patakia, of the legal service.

The Commission claims that the Court should:

— Declare that by enacting and maintaining in force Law
No 971/79, which does not permit a qualified optician as
a natural person to operate more than one shop for the

Pleas in Law and Main Arguments

1.

2.

3.

Restrictions on freedom of establishment for natural
persons.

Restrictions on freedom of establishment for legal per-
sons.

The abovementioned restrictions are not justified by the
grounds put forward.