Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 24 June 2004 in Case C-350/02: Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of the Netherlands (Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector — Articles 6 and 9 of Directive 97/66/EC — Requirement for specific statement of grounds of complaint in the reasoned opinion)
Date: 2004-08-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Netherlands, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, data processing, disclosure of information, national implementing measure, personal data, protection of privacy, telecommunications

C 201/4

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Official Journal of the European Union

7.8.2004

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

24 June 2004

(First Chamber)

of 24 June 2004

in Case C-278/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Berufungssenat I der Region Linz bei der Finanzlandes-
für Oberösterreich): Herbert Handlbauer
direktion

GmbH (1)

in Case C-350/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Kingdom of the Netherlands (1)

(Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Beef
and veal — Export refunds — Repayment of amounts
wrongly paid — Proceedings relating to irregularities —
Article 3 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 — Direct
effect — Limitation period — Interruption of the limitation)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Proces-
sing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the
electronic communications sector — Articles 6 and 9 of
Directive 97/66/EC — Requirement for specific statement of
grounds of complaint in the reasoned opinion)

(2004/C 201/06)

(Language of the case: German)

(2004/C 201/07)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

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

In Case C-278/02: Reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
from the Berufungssenat I der Region Linz bei der Finanzlan-
desdirektion für Oberösterreich (Austria)
for a preliminary
ruling in the proceedings pending before that court by Herbert
Handlbauer GmbH — on the interpretation of Article 3(1) of
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December
1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial
interests (OJ 1995 L 312, p. 1) — the Court, composed of:
C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber, J.N. Cunha
Rodrigues, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen (Rapporteur) and N.
Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; M. Múgica
Colneric,
Arzamendi, Principal Administrator,
the Registrar, has
given a judgment on 24 June 2004, in which it has ruled:

for

1. Article 3(1) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95
of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Commu-
interests is directly applicable in the Member
nities financial
States,
including in the field of export refunds on agricultural
products, in the absence of sectoral Community rules providing for
a shorter limitation period which may not be less than three years
or of national rules providing for a longer limitation period.

2. The

third subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation No
2988/95 must be interpreted as meaning that notification of a
customs inspection made to the undertaking involved does not
constitute an act relating to investigation or legal proceedings
which interrupts the limitation period of four years under Article
3(1) of the said regulation unless the transactions to which the
suspicion of the existence of irregularities are sufficiently precisely
defined by the act.

(1) OJ C 289, 23.11.2002.

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

In Case C-350/02: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: M. Shotter and W. Wils) v Kingdom of the Netherlands
(Agent: S. Terstal ) — application for a declaration that, by
failing to adopt all the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions necessary to transpose into national law Articles 6
and 9 of Directive 97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing
of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecom-
munications sector (OJ 1998 L 24, p. 1) or, at least, by not
the
communicating those provisions
Kingdom of the Netherlands has failed to fulfil its obligations
under the EC Treaty — the Court (First Chamber), composed
of: P. Jann, President of the Chamber, A. La Pergola, S. von
Bahr, R. Silva de Lapuerta and K. Lenaerts (Rapporteur), Judges;
J. Kokott, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal Adminis-
trator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 24 June
2004, in which it:

to the Commission,

1. Declares that, by incompletely transposing Article 6 of Directive
97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15
December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and
the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector, in that,
first, Article 11(5)(1) of the Wet houdende regels inzake de tele-
communicatie (Telecommunicatiewet) refers to a general adminis-
trative measure which was not communicated to the Commission
of the European Communities and in that, second, the imple-
menting provisions mentioned in Article 11(5)(3) of the Telecom-
municatiewet were not communicated to the Commission, and by
incompletely transposing Article 9 of that directive, the Kingdom
of the Netherlands has failed to fulfil its obligations under that
directive;

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 201/5

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

3. Orders the Kingdom of the Netherlands to bear, in addition to its

own costs, three quarters of the Commission's costs;

by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997, in relation to
projects listed in Annex II, paragraph 1(c), to the Directive and by
failing to notify the measures taken to implement that provision in
England and Wales, the United Kingdom has failed to fulfil its
obligations under that directive;

4. Orders the Commission, as to the remainder of the action to bear

its own costs.

2. Orders the United Kingdom to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 323, 21.12.2002.

(1) OJ C 7, 11.1.2002.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 24 June 2004

(Fifth Chamber)

of 22 June 2004

in Case C-421/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (1)

in Case C-439/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v French Republic (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
85/337/EEC — Incomplete transposition)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Mari-
time Transport — Directive 95/21/EC — Maritime safety —
Port State control of vessels — Insufficient number of inspec-
tions)

(2004/C 201/08)

(Language of the case: English)

(2004/C 201/09)

(Language of the case: French)

In Case C-421/02: Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: X. Lewis) v United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland (Agent: P. Ormond) — application for a
declaration that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with Article 4(2)
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), as amended by
Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (OJ 1997 L 73,
p. 5), in relation to projects listed in Annex II, paragraph 1(b)
and 1(c), to that directive, or, in any event, by failing to notify
such provisions to the Commission, the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland has failed to fulfil its obliga-
tions under that directive — the Court
(Third Chamber),
composed of: A. Rosas, President of the Chamber, R. Schintgen
and N. Colneric (Rapporteur), Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer,
Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on
24 June 2004, in which it:

1. Declares that, by failing to adopt

in Scotland and Northern
Ireland the laws, regulations and administrative provisions neces-
sary
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, as amended

comply with Article 4(2)

to

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

least 25 % of

inspections corresponding to at

In Case C-439/02: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: K. Simonsson and W. Wils ) v French Republic
(Agents: G. de Bergues and P. Boussaroque ) — application for
a declaration that, by failing to carry out a total number of
the
annual
number of individual vessels which entered its ports in 1999
and 2000, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
under Article 5(1) of Council Directive 95/21/EC of 19 June
1995 concerning the enforcement, in respect of shipping using
Community ports and sailing in the waters under the jurisdic-
tion of the Member States, of international standards for ship
safety, pollution prevention and shipboard living and working
conditions (port State control) (OJ 1995 L 157, p. 1), — the
Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: C. Gulmann, President of
the Chamber, S. von Bahr and R. Silva de Lapuerta (Rappor-
teur), Judges; F.G. Jacobs, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar,
has given a judgment on 22 June 2004, in which it: