Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 1 July 2004 in Case C-295/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Niedersächsisches Oberverwaltungsgericht): Gisela Gerken v Amt für Agrarstruktur Verden (Common agricultural policy — Integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes — Regulations (EEC) No 3887/92 and (EC) No 2419/2001 — Applications for ‘livestock’ aid — Irregularities — Reduction in the amount of aid — Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 — Retroactive application of a less stringent provision)
Date: 2004-08-28
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: aid system, cattle, farmer, interpretation of the law, management information system

28.8.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 217/3

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 24 June 2004

(Second Chamber)

of 1 July 2004

in Case C-269/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v French Republic (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Failure to
implement Directive 98/24/EC within the prescribed period
— Protection of the health and safety of workers — Risks
linked to chemical agents at work)

in Case C-295/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Niedersächsisches Oberverwaltungsgericht): Gisela
Gerken v Amt für Agrarstruktur Verden (1)

(Common agricultural policy — Integrated administration
and control system for certain Community aid schemes —
Regulations (EEC) No 3887/92 and (EC) No 2419/2001 —
Applications for ‘livestock’ aid — Irregularities — Reduction
in the amount of aid — Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 2988/95 — Retroactive application of a less
stringent provision)

(2004/C 217/04)

(2004/C 217/05)

(Language of the case: French)

(Language of the case: German)

In Case C-269/02: Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: D. Martin) v French Republic (Agents: G. de Bergues
and C. Lemaire, assisted by C. Bergeot-Nunes) — application
for a declaration that, by not bringing into force the laws, regu-
lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection
of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to
chemical agents at work (fourteenth individual Directive within
the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) or, in
any event, by not giving notice of
those measures to the
Commission, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obliga-
(Third Chamber),
tions under that directive — the Court
the Third
composed of: A. Rosas, acting as President of
Chamber, R. Schintgen and K. Schiemann (Rapporteur), Judges;
A. Tizzano, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a
judgment on 24 June 2004, in which it:

1. Declares that, by not bringing into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Direc-
tive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health
and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at
work (fourteenth individual Directive within the meaning of
Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC), the French Republic has
failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;

2. Orders the French Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 219 of 14.9.2002.

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

In Case C-295/02: Reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
from the Niedersächsisches Oberverwaltungsgericht (Germany)
for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
für Agrarstruktur
court between Gisela Gerken and Amt
Verden — on the interpretation of Article 10(2)(a) of Commis-
sion Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 of 23 December 1992
laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated adminis-
tration and control system for certain Community aid schemes
(OJ 1992 L 391, p. 36), Articles 44, 53 and 54 of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001 of 11 December 2001 laying
down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration
and control system for certain Community aid schemes estab-
lished by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (OJ 1992 L
327, p. 11), and Article 2(2) of Council Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection
of the financial
interests of the European Communities (OJ
1995 L 312, p. 1) — the Court (Second Chamber), composed
of: C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber, J.-P. Puisso-
chet, R. Schintgen, F. Macken (Rapporteur) and N. Colneric,
Judges; P. Léger, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal
Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 1
July 2004, in which it has ruled:

Article 2(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of
18 December 1995 on the protection of the financial interests of the
European Communities is to be interpreted as meaning that where, in
an application for ‘livestock’ aid covered ratione temporis by Commis-
sion Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 of 23 December 1992 laying
integrated administration
down detailed rules

for applying the

C 217/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.8.2004

and control system for certain Community aid schemes, there is an
irregularity giving rise to a penalty under Article 10(2)(a) of that
regulation,
the competent authorities must apply retroactively the
provisions of Article 44(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
2419/2001 of 11 December 2001 laying down detailed rules for
applying the integrated administration and control system for certain
Community aid schemes established by Council Regulation (EEC) No
3508/92, on the ground that those provisions are less severe as
regards the conduct in question.

(1) OJ C 261 of 26.10.2002.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 1 July 2004

in Joined Cases C-361/02 and C-362/02 (references for a
preliminary ruling from the the Diikitiko Efetio Piraeus):
Elliniko Dimosio v Nikolaos Tsapalos and Konstantinos
Diamantakis (1)

(Directive 76/308/EEC — Mutual assistance for the recovery
of customs duties — Application to claims which arose prior
to the entry into force of the Directive)

(2004/C 217/06)

(Language of the case: Greek)

trator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 1 July 2004,
in which it has ruled:

Council Directive 76/308/EEC of 15 March 1976 on mutual assis-
tance for the recovery of claims resulting from operations forming part
of the system of financing the European Agricultural Guidance and
Guarantee Fund, and of the agricultural levies and customs duties,
and in respect of value added tax and certain excise duties as amended
by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of
Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the
adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded,
is to be interpreted as applying to customs claims which arose in one
Member State under an instrument issued by that State before that
directive entered into force in the other Member State, where the
requested authority is situated.

(1) OJ C 305 of 7.12.2002.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fourth Chamber)

of 8 July 2004

Case C-27/03: Commission of the European Communities
v Kingdom of Belgium (1)

(Member State's failure to fulfil obligations — Environment
— Directive 91/271/EEC — Decision 93/481/EEC — Collec-
tion and treatment of urban waste water — Failure to trans-
pose within the period prescribed)

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

(2004/C 217/07)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

that

court

Elliniko

between

Dimosio

In Joined Cases C-361/02 and C-362/02: references to the
Court under Article 234 EC from the Diikitiko Efetio Piraeus
(Greece) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
before
and
Nikolaos Tsapalos (C-361/02), Konstantinos Diamantakis (C-
362/02) — on the interpretation of Article 1 of Council Direc-
tive 76/308/EEC of 15 March 1976 on mutual assistance for
the recovery of claims resulting from operations forming part
of the system of financing the European Agricultural Guidance
and Guarantee Fund, and of the agricultural levies and customs
duties, and in respect of value added tax and certain excise
duties (OJ 1976 L 73, p. 18), as amended by the Act
concerning the conditions of accession of
the Republic of
Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden
and the adjustment to the Treaties on which the European
Union is founded (OJ 1994 C 241, p. 21) — the Court (Third
Chamber), composed of: A. Rosas, President of the Chamber,
R. Schintgen (Rapporteur) and N. Colneric, Judges; J. Kokott,
Advocate General; M. Múgica Arzamendi, Principal Adminis-

In Case C-27/03: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: G. Valero Jordana and M. van Beek) v Kingdom of
Belgium (Agent: A. Snoecx, assisted by A. Cornet) — applica-
tion for a declaration that, by failing to adopt the laws, regula-
tions or administrative provisions necessary to the full imple-
menting of Articles 3, 5 and 17 — the last being read in
conjunction with Articles 3 and 4 — of Directive 91/271/EEC
of the Council of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water
treatment (OJ 1991 L 135, p. 40), and of Commission Decision
93/481/EEC of 28 July 1993 concerning formats for the
presentation of national programmes as foreseen by Article 17
of Directive 91/271/EEC (OJ 1993 L 226, p. 23), the Kingdom
of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive
and that decision — the Court (Fourth Chamber), composed of:
J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, President of the Chamber, J.-P. Puisso-
chet and F. Macken (Rapporteur), Judges; F.G. Jacobs, Advocate
General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on 8 July
2004 in which it: