Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 29 April 2004 in Case C-117/02: Commission of the European Communities v Portuguese Republic (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 85/337/EEC — Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment — Construction of holiday villages and hotel complexes — Failure to make a project to construct a hotel complex subject to such an assessment)
Date: 2004-04-30
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Portugal, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, environmental impact, project evaluation, tourist infrastructure

C 118/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.4.2004

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 29 April 2004

(Fifth Chamber)

of 29 April 2004

in Case C-117/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Portuguese Republic (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
85/337/EEC — Assessment of the effects of certain projects
on the environment — Construction of holiday villages and
hotel complexes — Failure to make a project to construct a
hotel complex subject to such an assessment)

(2004/C 118/34)

(Language of the case: Portuguese)

in Case C-137/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Bundesfinanzhof): Finanzamt Offenbach am Main-Land
v Faxworld Vorgründungsgesellschaft Peter Hünning-
hausen und Wolfgang Klein GbR (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Interpretation of the
Sixth VAT Directive — Right of a Vorgründungsgesellschaft
(civil-law partnership the object of which is to prepare the
means necessary for the activities of a capital company yet to
be formed) to deduct input VAT — Transfer for considera-
tion of the totality of those means upon formation of the
capital company — Transfer not subject to VAT in conse-
quence of the exercise by the Member State concerned of the
the Sixth VAT
option provided for

in Article 5(8) of

Directive)

(2004/C 118/35)

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

(Language of the case: German)

In Case C-117/02: Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: A. Caeiros), with an address for service in Luxembourg,
v Portuguese Republic (Agents: L. Fernandes, M. Telles Romão
and J. Lois) acting as Agents, with an address for service in
Luxembourg — application for a declaration that, by allowing
consent to be given to a planned tourism complex including
residential units, hotels and golf courses, located in the area of
Ponta do Abano, without an assessment of the effects of that
project on the environment, the Portuguese Republic has failed
to fulfil its obligations under Article 2(1) of Council Directive
85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects
of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ
1985 L 175, p. 40) — the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of:
A. Rosas (Rapporteur), acting for the President of the Fifth
Chamber, A. La Pergola and S. von Bahr, Judges; A. Tizzano,
Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on
29 April 2004, in which it:

1. Dismisses the application;

2. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to pay the

costs.

(1) OJ C 156, 29.6.2002.

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

In Case C-137/02: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
from the Bundesfinanzhof (Germany) for a preliminary ruling
in the proceedings pending before that court between Finan-
zamt Offenbach am Main-Land and Faxworld Vorgründungsge-
sellschaft Peter Hünninghausen und Wolfgang Klein GbR — on
the interpretation of Article 17(2) of Sixth Council Directive
77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws
of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common
system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ
1977 L 145, p. 1), as amended by Council Directive 95/7/EC
of 10 April 1995 (OJ 1995 L 102, p. 18) — the Court (Fifth
Chamber), composed of: P. Jann, acting for the President of the
Fifth Chamber, A. Rosas and S. von Bahr (Rapporteur), Judges;
F.G. Jacobs, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal Adminis-
trator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 29 April
2004, in which it has ruled:

A partnership established for the sole purpose of founding a capital
company is entitled to deduct the input tax paid on supplies of goods
and services where its only output transaction in the performance of
its object was to effect by formal act the transfer for consideration of
the supplies obtained to that company once founded and where,
exercised the options
because

the Member State

concerned has