Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 26 June 2003 in Case C-233/00: Commission of the European Communities v French Republic (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 90/313/EEC — Freedom of access to information on the environment — Incomplete or incorrect transposition)
Date: 2003-08-02
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, France, access to information, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, environmental protection

C 184/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

2.8.2003

provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 89/105/
EEC of 21 December 1988 relating to the transparency of
measures regulating the prices of medicinal products for human
use and their inclusion in the scope of national health insurance
systems (OJ 1989 L 40, p. 8), in particular by not applying the
prescribed procedure to decisions determining a category of
special cover and, with regard to the prescribed obligations, by
not providing the applicant with a sufficient statement of
reasons based on objective and verifiable criteria in the case of
negative decisions, the Republic of Finland has failed to fulfil its
obligations under that directive and in particular Article 6
thereof,
of:
(Sixth
J.-P. Puissochet, President of
the Chamber, C. Gulmann,
V. Skouris, F. Macken (Rapporteur) and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues,
Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; H. von Holstein, Deputy
Registrar, has given a judgment on 12 June 2003, in which it:

Chamber),

composed

Court

the

1. Declares

laws,

that, by not adopting the

regulations and
administrative provisions necessary
to comply with Council
Directive 89/105/EEC of 21 December 1988 relating to the
transparency of measures
regulating the prices of medicinal
products for human use and their inclusion in the scope of
the decisions
national health insurance
establishing the categories of medicinal products subject
to a
higher rate of health insurance cover, the Republic of Finland
has failed to fulfil
its obligations under the first and second
subparagraphs of Article 6 of that directive;

systems as

regards

(Agents: initially J.-F. Dobelle and D. Colas, and, subsequently,
the latter and G. de Bergues): Application for a declaration
that, by failing correctly to transpose Articles 2(a) and 3(2), (3)
and (4) of Council Directive 90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on
the freedom of access to information on the environment (OJ
1990 L 158, p. 56), the French Republic has failed to fulfil its
obligations under that directive and under the third paragraph
of Article 189 of the EC Treaty (now the third paragraph of
(Sixth Chamber), composed of:
Article 249 EC),
J.-P. Puissochet, President of
the Chamber, R. Schintgen
(Rapporteur), V. Skouris, F. Macken and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues,
Judges; C. Stix-Hackl, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal
Administrator,
the Registrar, has given a judgment on
26 June 2003, in which it:

the Court

for

1. Declares that:

to

environment

by restricting the obligation to supply information relating to
‘administrative documents’ within the
the
meaning of Law No 78-753 of 17 July 1978 establishing
various measures to improve relations between the administrative
authorities and the public and various administrative, social and
fiscal provisions;

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

3. Orders each party to bear its own costs.

(1) OJ C 247, 26.8.2000.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Sixth Chamber)

of 26 June 2003

by providing, as one of the grounds for refusing to supply such
information, that the consultation or provision of the document
would prejudice, ‘generally, secrets protected by legislation’;

by failing to include in the national
legislation a provision
under which information relating to the environment is to be
supplied in part where it is possible to separate out information
on items concerning the interests referred to in Article 3(2) of
Council Directive 90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on the freedom
environment, which may
of access
accordingly justify a refusal, and

to information on the

in Case C-233/00: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v French Republic (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
90/313/EEC — Freedom of access to information on the
environment — Incomplete or incorrect transposition)

in the case of an implied refusal of a
by failing to provide,
request
the
for information relating to the environment,
public authorities are required to provide the reasons for that
refusal automatically and at the latest within two months of the
submission of the initial request, the French Republic has failed
its obligations under Articles 2(a) and 3(1), (2) and
to fulfil
(4) of that directive;

that

(2003/C 184/03)

(Language of the case: French)

2. Dismisses the remainder of the application;

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

3. Orders the French Republic to pay the costs.

In Case C-233/00, Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: G. zur Hausen and J.-F. Pasquier) v French Republic

(1) OJ C 233, 12.8.2000.