Judgment of the Court (Full Court) of 13 July 2004 in Case C-27/04: Commission of the European Communities v Council of the European Union (Action for annulment — Article 104 EC — Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 — Stability and Growth Pact — Excessive government deficits — Council decisions under Article 104(8) and (9) EC — Required majority not achieved — Decisions not adopted — Action challenging ‘decisions not to adopt the formal instruments contained in the Commission's recommendations’ — Inadmissible — Action challenging ‘Council conclusions’)
Date: 2004-09-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Council of the European Union, European Commission, France, Germany, action for failure to act, budget deficit

C 228/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

11.9.2004

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fourth Chamber)

of 15 July 2004

(Full Court)

of 13 July 2004

in Case C-420/03: Commission of the European Commu-
nities against Federal Republic of Germany (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Failure
to transpose — Directive 2001/18/EC)

(2004/C 228/30)

(Language of the case: German)

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

In Case C-420/03 — Commission of the European Commu-
nities (Agent: U. Wölker) against Federal Republic of Germany
(Agents: W.-D. Plessing and M. Lumma) — application for a
declaration that by failing to bring into force the laws, regula-
tions and administrative provisions necessary to implement
Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the
environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing
Council Directive 90/220/EEC (OJ 2001 L 106, p. 1) or, in any
event, by failing to inform the Commission thereof, the Federal
Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under
that directive — the Court (Fourth Chamber), composed of: J.N.
Cunha Rodrigues, President of the Chamber, K. Lenaerts and K.
Schiemann (Rapporteur),
Judges; C. Stix-Hackl, Advocate
General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on 15 July
2004, the operative part of which is as follows:

1. By failing to adopt within the prescribed period the laws, regula-
tions and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the
environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing
Council Directive 90/220/EEC, the Federal Republic of Germany
has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.

2. The Federal Republic of Germany is ordered to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 275 of 15.11.2003.

in Case C-27/04: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Council of the European Union (1)

(Action for annulment — Article 104 EC — Regulation (EC)
No 1467/97 — Stability and Growth Pact — Excessive
government deficits — Council decisions under Article
104(8) and (9) EC — Required majority not achieved —
Decisions not adopted — Action challenging ‘decisions not to
adopt the formal instruments contained in the Commission's
recommendations’ — Inadmissible — Action challenging
‘Council conclusions’)

(2004/C 228/31)

(Language of the case: French)

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

In Case C-27/04: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: M. Petite, A. van Solinge and P. Aalto) v Council of
the European Union (Agents:
J.-C. Piris, T. Middleton and
J. Monteiro) — application for annulment of Council measures
of 25 November 2003, namely:

— decisions not to adopt, in respect of the French Republic
and the Federal Republic of Germany, the formal instru-
ments
recommendations
Commission
pursuant to Article 104(8) and (9) EC;

contained

in

— conclusions adopted in respect of each of

those two
Member States, entitled ‘Council conclusions on assessing
the actions taken by [the French Republic and the Federal
Republic of Germany respectively] in response to recom-
mendations of the Council according to Article 104(7) of
the Treaty establishing the European Community and
considering further measures for deficit reduction in order
in so far as
to remedy the situation of excessive deficit’,
those conclusions involve holding the excessive deficit
procedure in abeyance, recourse to an instrument not envi-
saged by the Treaty and modification of the recommenda-
tions decided on by the Council under Article 104(7) EC,

the Court (Full Court), composed of: V. Skouris, President, P.
Jann, C.W.A. Timmermans, A. Rosas, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur),
J.-P. Puissochet and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Presidents of Cham-
bers, R. Schintgen, F. Macken, N. Colneric, S. von Bahr, R. Silva
de Lapuerta and K. Lenaerts,
Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate
General; M.-F. Contet, Principal Administrator, for the Regis-
trar, has given a judgment on 13 July 2004, in which it:

11.9.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 228/17

1. Declares the action of the Commission of the European Commu-
nities inadmissible in so far as it seeks annulment of the failure of
the Council of the European Union to adopt the formal instru-
ments contained in the Commission's recommendations pursuant
to Article 104(8) and (9) EC;

2. Annuls the Council's conclusions of 25 November 2003 adopted
in respect of the French Republic and the Federal Republic of
Germany respectively, in so far as they contain a decision to hold
the excessive deficit procedure in abeyance and a decision modi-
fying the recommendations previously adopted by the Council
under Article 104(7) EC;

Registrar: R. Grass, made an order on 8 June 2004, the opera-
tive part of which is as follows:

The provisions of Directive 97/13/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 10 April 1997 on a common framework for
general authorisations and individual licences in the field of telecom-
munications services, and in particular Article 11 thereof, prohibit
Member States from requiring undertakings which hold individual
licences in the area of
telecommunications services, solely on the
ground that they hold such licences, to pay charges such as those at
issue in the main proceedings which are different from, and additional
to, those authorised by that directive.

3. Orders the parties to bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 35 of 7.2.2004.

(1) OJ C 219 of 14.9.2002.

ORDER OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 8 June 2004

ORDER OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 28 June 2004

in Case C-445/02 P: Glaverbel SA v OHIM (1)

in Joined Cases C-250/02 to C-253/02 and C-256/02 (refer-
ence for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale amminis-
trativo regionale del Lazio): Telecom Italia Mobile SpA v
Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze (1)

(Appeal — Regulation (EC) No 40/94 — Community trade
mark — Design applied to the surface of goods — Absolute
ground for refusal — Lack of distinctive character)

(Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure — Questions iden-
tical with questions on which the Court has already ruled)

(2004/C 228/33)

(Language of the case: English)

(2004/C 228/32)

(Language of the case: Italian)

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

(Italy)

In Joined Cases C-250/02 to C-253/02 and C-256/02: reference
to the Court under Article 234 EC from the Tribunale ammi-
nistrativo regionale del Lazio (Regional Administrative Court,
Lazio)
for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings
pending before that court between Telecom Italia Mobile SpA
(C-250/02), Blu SpA (C-251/02), Telecom Italia SpA (C-252/
02), Vodafone Omnitel SpA, formerly Omnitel Pronto Italia
SpA (C-253/02), WIND Telecomunicazioni SpA (C-256/02)
and Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Ministero delle
Comunicazioni, other parties to the procedure being Albacom
SpA (C-251/02) and Telemar SpA (C-252/02), on the interpre-
tation of Directive 97/13/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 10 April 1997 on a common framework for
general authorisations and individual
licences in the field of
telecommunications services (OJ 1997 L 117, p. 15), the Court
of Justice (Fifth Chamber), composed of C. Gulmann, President
of the Chamber, S. von Bahr (Rapporteur) and R. Silva de
Lapuerta, Judges; Advocate General: D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer;

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

In Case C-445/02 P: Glaverbel SA, established in Brussels
(Belgium), (Lawyer: S. Möbus) — appeal against the judgment
of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities
(Second Chamber) of 9 October 2002 in Case T-36/01
Glaverbel v OHIM (glass-sheet surface) [2002] ECR II-3887,
seeking to have that judgment set aside in so far as the Court
of First Instance held that the First Board of Appeal of the
Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks
and Designs) did not infringe Article 7(1)(b) of Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community
trade mark (OJ 1994 L 11, p. 1) by adopting its decision of 30
November 2000 refusing to register a design applied to the
surface of glass products as a Community trade mark (Case R
137/2000-1), the other party to the proceedings being: Office
for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and
Designs) (OHIM) (Agents: G. Schneider and R. Thewlis), defen-
dant at first instance — the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed
of C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, R. Silva
de Lapuerta and J. Makarczyk, Judges; F.G. Jacobs, Advocate
General; R. Grass, Registrar, made an order on 28 June 2004,
the operative part of which is as follows: