Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) 4 March 2004 In Case C-264/02 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal d'instance de Vienne): Cofinoga Mérignac SA v Sylvain Sachithanathan
Date: 2004-04-17
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: consumer credit, consumer information, consumer protection, contract, cost of borrowing, interpretation of the law

17.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 94/7

1. The presentation to customs of goods introduced into the
Community, in terms of Article 4(19) of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the
Community Customs Code concerns all goods,
including
those hidden in a secret compartment specially made for
that purpose. The obligation to present goods as set out in
Article 38 of that Code rests, as provided by Article 40 of
the Code, with the driver and co-driver of a lorry who intro-
duced the goods, even though the goods were hidden in the
vehicle without their knowledge.

2. The person who has introduced goods into the customs
territory of the Community without mentioning them in the
notification of presentation to customs is a customs debtor
within the meaning of the first indent of Article 202(3) of
the Community Customs Code.

(1) OJ C 202 of 24.08.2002.

services and the improvement of quality of service, read in the light
of recital 21 thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that it does
not permit self-provision to be subject to the following conditions:

— the receiver must be the same person as the sender;

— the services must not be provided to third parties in the
course of commercial or business activity of the service
provider;

— the services must not be provided by the mailbag system

or other similar methods; and

— such operations must not disrupt the services reserved

to the universal service provider.

2. Money order services, which consist in making payments through
the public postal network to natural or legal persons on behalf of
and on the order of others, are not within the scope of Directive
97/67.

(1) OJ C 202 of 24.08.2002.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

11 March 2004

In Case C-240/02 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunal Supremo): PARTIE 1 v PARTIE 2 (1)

(Postal Services — Directive 97/67/EC — Services reserved
for the providers of the universal postal service — Defini-
self-provision — Inclusion of money order
tion of

services)

(2004/C 94/12)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

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

In Case C-240/02: References to the Court under Article 234
EC by the Tribunal Supremo (Spain) for a preliminary ruling in
the proceedings pending before that court between Asociación
Profesional de Empresas de Reparto y Manipulado de Corre-
spondencia (Asempre), Asociación Nacional de Empresas de
Externalización y Gestión de Envíos y Pequeña Paquetería and
Entidad Pública Empresarial Correos y Telégrafos, Administra-
ción General del Estado, on the interpretation of Directive
97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 15
December 1997, on the common rules for the development of
the internal market of Community postal services and the
improvement of quality of service (OJ 1998 L 15, p. 14), the
Court
Jann (Rapporteur),
acting for the President of the Fifth Chamber, C.W.A. Timmer-
mans and S. von Bahr, Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General;
M. Múgica Arzamendi, Principal Administrator, for the Regis-
trar, has given a judgment on 11 March 2004, in which it has
ruled:

(Fifth Chamber), composed of: P.

1. Article 7 of Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council, of 15 December 1997, on the common rules for
the internal market of Community postal
the development of

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

4 March 2004

In Case C-264/02 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunal d'instance de Vienne): Cofinoga Mérignac SA
v Sylvain Sachithanathan (1)

(Directives 87/102/EEC and 90/88/EEC — Consumer credit
— Consumer information — Annual percentage rate of
charge — Variable interest rate — Renewal of an agree-
ment)

(2004/C 94/13)

(Language of the case: French)

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

In Case C-264/02: References to the Court under Article 234
EC by the Tribunal d'instance de Vienne (France) for a preli-
minary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court
between Cofinoga Mérignac SA and Sylvain Sachithanathan, on
the interpretation of Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22
December 1986 for the approximation of the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning
consumer credit (OJ 1987 L 42, p. 48), as amended by Council
Directive 90/88/EEC of 22 February 1990 (OJ 1990 L 61, p.
14), the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: P. Jann (Rappor-
teur), acting for the President of the Fifth Chamber, C.W.A.
Timmermans and S. von Bahr, Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate
General; M. Múgica Arzamendi, Principal Administrator, for the
Registrar, has given a judgment on 4 March 2004, in which it
has ruled:

C 94/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

17.4.2004

the laws,

Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the
approximation of
regulations and administrative
provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit,
as amended by Council Directive 90/88/EEC of 22 February
1990, does not require, before each renewal, on the existing
terms and conditions, of a credit agreement for a specified
period entered into in the form of a credit facility that may be
drawn down in instalments and is linked to a credit card, that
is repayable in monthly instalments and bears an interest rate
that is expressed to be variable, that the lender inform the
borrower in writing of the current annual percentage rate of
charge and of the conditions under which the latter may be
amended.

regarded, within the meaning of that provision, as a conse-
quence which may follow from the enactment in national legis-
lation of a different age condition by reference to sex for the
granting of old-age pensions.

(1) OJ No C 289, 23. 11. 2002

(1) OJ C 233 of 28.09.2002.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

4 March 2004

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

In Case C-334/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v French Republic (1)

(Fifth Chamber)

of 4 March 2004

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil
its obligations —
Freedom to provide services — Free movement of capital
— Tax on income arising from investments — Debtor not
resident or established in France — Exclusion of the fixed
legislation contrary to the
levy as the rate — National

terms of the Treaty)

in Case C-303/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Oberster Gerichtshof): Peter Haackert v Pensionsversi-
cherungsanstalt der Angestellten (1)

(Equality of treatment between men and women — Social
security — Early old-age pension for the unemployed —
Different pension age according to sex)

(2004/C 94/14)

(Language of the case: German)

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

In Case C-303/02: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria) for a preliminary ruling
in the proceedings pending before that court between Peter
Haackert and the Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der Angestellten
on the interpretation of Article 7(1)(a) of Council Directive
79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive implemen-
tation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women
in matters of social security (OJ 1979 L 6, p. 24), the Court
(Fifth Chamber), composed of P. Jann, acting for the President
of the Fifth Chamber, C.W.A. Timmermans, A. Rosas, A. La
Pergola (Rapporteur) and S. von Bahr, Judges; S. Alber, Advo-
cate-General; R. Grass, Registrar, gave a judgment on 4 March
2004, the operative part of which is as follows:

The derogation provided for in Article 7(1)(a) of Council Direc-
tive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive imple-
mentation of the principle of equal treatment for men and
women in matters of social security must be interpreted as
applying to a benefit such as early old-age pension on account
of unemployment, for which a different age condition by refer-
ence to sex has been established, since such a condition may be

(2004/C 94/15)

(Language of the case: French)

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

In Case C-334/02: Commission of the European Communities,
(Agents: R. Lyal and C. Giolito), with an address for service in
Luxembourg, against French Republic, (Agents: G. de Bergues
and P. Boussaroque): Application for a declaration that by
excluding altogether application of the rate of the fixed levy to
income arising from the investments and contracts referred to
in Articles 125-0 A and 125 A of the Code général des impôts
where the debtor is not resident or established in France, the
French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles
49 and 56 EC, the Court (Third Chamber), composed of: P.
Jann (Rapporteur), acting for
the Fifth
Chamber, C.W.A. Timmermans and S. von Bahr, Judges; D.
Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General;. Múgica Arzamendi,
Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment
on 4 March 2003, in which it:

the President of

1. Declares that by excluding altogether application of the rate
of the fixed levy to income arising from the investments
and contracts referred to in Articles 125-0 A and 125 A of
the Code général des impôts where the debtor is not resi-
dent or established in France, the French Republic has failed
to fulfil its obligations under Articles 49 and 56 EC;

2. Orders the French Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 261 of 26.10.2002.