Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 8 July 2004 in Case C-214/03: Commission of the European Communities v Republic of Austria (Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directive 88/609/EEC — Air pollution — Large combustion plants)
Date: 2004-08-28
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Austria, European Commission, air quality, environmental standard, industrial pollution, interpretation of the law, pollution control measures

28.8.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 217/7

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(First Chamber)

of 1 July 2004

(First Chamber)

of 8 July 2004

in Case C-169/03 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Regeringsrätten): Florian W. Wallentin v Riksskatte-
verket (1)

in Case C-214/03: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Republic of Austria (1)

(Free movement of persons — Workers — Income tax —
Restricted liability of a taxpayer receiving a small part of his
income in one Member State and residing in another Member
State)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Direc-
tive 88/609/EEC — Air pollution — Large combustion
plants)

(2004/C 217/12)

(Language of the case: Swedish)

(2004/C 217/13)

(Language of the case: German)

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

In Case C-169/03: Reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
from the Regeringsrätten (Sweden) for a preliminary ruling in
the proceedings pending before that court between Florian W.
Wallentin and Riksskatteverket — on the interpretation of
Article 39 EC — the Court (First Chamber), composed of:
P. Jann (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, A. La Pergola,
S. von Bahr, R. Silva de Lapuerta and K. Lenaerts, Judges; P.
Léger, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judg-
ment on 1 July 2004, in which it has ruled:

Article 39 EC precludes a Member State's legislation from providing
that

— natural persons who are not regarded as being resident for tax
purposes in that Member State, but who receive income there
from employment, are subject to taxation levied at source such
that the basic allowance or any other allowance or deduction
linked to the taxpayer's personal circumstances is not granted,

— whereas taxpayers resident in that State are entitled to such allow-
ances or deductions at the time of ordinary assessment to tax on
their income received in that State and abroad,

— when the persons not resident in the State of taxation have had,
in their own State of residence, only income which, by its nature,
is not subject to income tax.

(1) OJ C 158 of 5.7.2003.

In Case C-214/03: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: J.C. Schieferer and G. Valero Jordana) v Republic of
Austria (Agents: H. Dossi and E. Riedl) — application for a
declaration that, by failing to transpose correctly Council Direc-
tive 88/609/EEC of 24 November 1988 on the limitation of
emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combus-
tion plants (OJ 1988 L 336, p. 1), in the version resulting from
Council Directive 94/66/EC of 15 December 1994 (OJ 1994 L
337, p. 83), the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obli-
gations under
(First
Chamber), composed of: P. Jann, President of the Chamber, A.
Rosas, A. La Pergola, R. Silva de Lapuerta (Rapporteur) and K.
Judges; M. Poiares Maduro, Advocate General; R.
Lenaerts,
in
Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on 8 July 2004,
which it:

that amended directive — the Court

1. Declares that the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obliga-
in
tions under Article 2(6),
(8),
conjunction with Annexes III to VII, and Article 9(2) and (3) of
Council Directive 88/609/EEC of 24 November 1988 on the
limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large
combustion plants, in the version resulting from Council Directive
94/66/EC of 15 December 1994,

(9) and (10), Article 4(1)

— by having adopted, in Paragraph 22(1) of the Luftreinhalte-
verordnung für Kesselanlagen (regulation on the abatement of
air pollution from steam boiler installations), on the conserva-
tion of air quality in the presence of boiler installations, a defi-
nition of ‘multi-fuel firing unit’ which departs from that set
out in Article 2(8) of the Directive,

— by failing to transpose in the relevant national

legal provi-
sions, the Luftreinhaltegesetz für Kesselanlagen (law on the
abatement of air pollution from steam boiler installations) and
the Luftreinhalteverordnung für Kesselanlagen, the definitions
of ‘new plant’ and ‘existing plant’ as set out in Article 2(9)
and (10) of the Directive,

C 217/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.8.2004

— by failing fully to incorporate in the relevant legislation on the
conservation of air quality the emission limit values
for
sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and dust laid down in
Article 4(1) and in Annexes III to VII, in particular by diver-
ging from the definition of ‘fuel’ laid down in Article 2(6) of
the Directive, and

— by failing correctly to transpose Article 9(2) and (3) of the
Directive in the Luftreinhaltegesetz für Kesselanlagen and the
Luftreinhalteverordnung für Kesselanlagen, concerning methods
for calculating emission limit values for combustion plants
equipped with multi-firing units using distillation and conver-
sion residues from crude-oil refining for own consumption,
alone or with other fuels;

2. Orders the Republic of Austria to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 158 of 5.7.2003.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fourth Chamber)

of 8 July 2004

2. Orders the Republic of Finland to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 213 of 6.9.2003.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 1 July 2004

in Case C-311/03: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v French Republic (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
1999/44/EC — Failure to transpose within the prescribed
period)

(2004/C 217/15)

(Language of the case: French)

Case C-292/03: Commission of the European Communities
v Republic of Finland (1)

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

(Member State's failure to fulfil obligations — Environment
— End-of-life vehicles — Directive 2000/53/EC)

(2004/C 217/14)

(Language of the case: Finnish)

In Case C-292/03: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: M. Konstantinidis and P. Aalto) v Republic of Finland
(Agent: A. Guimaraes-Purokoski) — application for a declara-
tion that, by having failed to adopt the laws, regulations or
administrative provisions necessary in order to comply with
Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles (OJ No
L 269, p. 34) or, in any event, by having failed to inform the
Commission thereof, the Republic of Finland has failed to fulfil
its obligations under
(Fourth
Chamber), composed of: J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, President of the
Chamber, F. Macken (Rapporteur) and K. Lenaerts, Judges; M.
Poiares Maduro, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has
given a judgment on 8 July 2004 in which it:

that directive — the Court

1. Declares that, by having failed to adopt the laws, regulations or
administrative provisions necessary in order to comply with Direc-
tive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles, the Republic of
Finland has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.

In Case C-311/03: Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: D. Martin) v French Republic (Agents: G. de Bergues
and R. Loosli-Surrans) — application for a declaration that, by
failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provi-
sions necessary to comply with Directive 1999/44/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on
certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated
guarantees (OJ 1999 L 171, p. 12), the French Republic has
failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive — the Court
(Third Chamber), composed of: A. Rosas (Rapporteur), Presi-
dent of the Chamber, R. Schintgen and K. Schiemann, Judges;
F. G. Jacobs, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a
judgment on 1 July 2004, in which it:

necessary

provisions

1. Declares that by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and admin-
istrative
comply with Directive
1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods
and associated guarantees within the prescribed period, the French
Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.

to

2. Orders the French Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 213 of 6.9.2003.