Order of the Court (Third Chamber) of 27 September 2004 in Case C-470/02 P: Union européenne de radio-télévision (UER) against Commission of the European Communities (Appeal — Competition — Agreements — Joint acquisition of television rights for international sporting events — Access of third parties to those rights — Article 81(3) EC — Appeal manifestly unfounded)
Date: 2004-12-18
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Broadcasting Union, General Court (EU), action for annulment (EU), cable distribution, free movement of programmes, restriction on competition, sport, television

C 314/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

18.12.2004

ORDER OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

of 23 September 2004

in Joined Cases C-435/02 and C-103/03 (references for
preliminary rulings from the Landgericht Essen and the
Landgericht Hagen): Axel Springer AG v Zeitungsverlag
Niederrhein GmbH & Co. Essen KG and Hans-Jürgen
Weske (1)

(Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure — Partnership law
and company law — Directive 90/605/EEC amending the
scope of Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC — Article
54(3)(g) of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article
44(2)(g) EC) — Partnerships in the form of limited partner-
ships all of the fully liable partners of which are constituted
as private limited liability companies GmbH and Co. KG —
Publication of annual accounts — Right of third parties to
consult those documents — Concept of a third party — Inclu-
sion, inter alia, of competitors — Validity — Legal basis —
freedom to pursue a trade or profession,
Principles of

freedom of the press and equal treatment)

(2004/C 314/03)

(Language of the cases: German)

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

In Joined Cases C-435/02 and C-103/03: references for preli-
minary rulings under Article 234 EC from the Landgericht
(Regional Court) Essen (Germany) and the Landgericht Hagen
(Germany), by orders of 25 November 2002 and 11 February
2003, registered at the Court on 2 December 2002 and 5
March 2003 respectively, in the proceedings brought by Axel
Springer AG against Zeitungsverlag Niederrhein GmbH & Co.
Essen KG (C-435/02) and Axel Springer AG against Hans-
Jürgen Weske (C-103/03),
(Second Chamber),
composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans (Rapporteur), President of
the Chamber, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen, F. Macken and N.
Colneric, Judges; F.G. Jacobs, Advocate General; R. Grass, Regis-
trar, has made an order on 23 September 2004, the operative
part of which is as follows:

the Court

-

1. To the extent it follows from Council Directive 90/605/EEC of 8
November 1990 amending Directive 78/660/EEC on annual
accounts and Directive 83/349/EEC on consolidated accounts as
regards the scope of those Directives that any person may inspect
the annual accounts and annual report of the types of partnerships
referred to in it, without having to establish a right or an interest
requiring to be protected, that directive could validly be adopted on
the basis of Article 54(3)(g) of the EC Treaty (now, after amend-
ment, Article 44(2)(g) EC).

2. Consideration of the first two questions referred in Case C-435/02
and the second and third questions referred in Case C-103/03 in

the light of the general Community-law principles of freedom to
pursue a trade or profession and of freedom of expression has not
disclosed anything that is capable of affecting the validity of Direc-
tive 90/605.

3. Consideration of the third question in Case C-435/02 and the
fourth question in Case C-103/03 in the light of the principle of
treatment has not disclosed anything that is capable of
equal
affecting the validity of Directive 90/605.

(1) OJ C 44 of 22.2.2003.
OJ C 12 of 10.5.2003.

ORDER OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 27 September 2004

in Case C-470/02 P: Union européenne de radio-télévision
(UER) against Commission of
the European Commu-
nities (1)

(Appeal — Competition — Agreements — Joint acquisition
television rights for international sporting events —
of
Access of third parties to those rights — Article 81(3) EC —
Appeal manifestly unfounded)

(2004/C 314/04)

(Language of the case: French)

In Case C-470/02 P, Union européenne de radio-télévision
(UER), established in Grand-Saconnex (Switzerland) (lawyers: D.
Waelbroeck and M. Johnsson) — appeal against the judgment
of 8 October 2002 of the Court of First Instance of the Euro-
pean Communities (Second Chamber, Extended Composition)
in Joined Cases T-185/00, T-216/00, T-299/00 and T-300/00
M6 and Others v Commission, asking for that judgment to be
set aside, the other parties to the proceedings being: Commis-
sion of the European Communities, Métropole télévision SA
(M6), established in Neuilly-sur-Seine (France) (lawyers: P. Dian
and J.-C. André) Antena 3 de Televisión SA, established in
(lawyers: S. Muñoz Machado and M. López-
Madrid (Spain)
Contreras González), Gestevisión Telecinco SA, established in
Madrid (Spain)
(lawyers: S. Muñoz Machado and M. López-
Contreras González), Sociedade Independente de Comunicação
SA (SIC), established in Linda-a-Velha (Portugal)
(lawyers:
C. Botelho Moniz and E. Maia Cadete), Radiotelevisión Española
(RTVE), Deutsches SportFernsehen GmbH (DSF), established in
Ismaning (Germany) (lawyer: K. Metzlaff) and Reti Televisive
(lawyers:
Italiane SpA (RTI), established in Rome (Italy),

18.12.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 314/3

G. Amorelli and D. Ciano) — the Court (Third Chamber),
composed of A. Rosas (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber,
J.-P. Puissochet, A. Borg Barthet, J. Malenovský, U. Lõhmus,
Judges, Advocate General: F. G. Jacobs, Registrar: R. Grass, has
given a judgment on 27 September 2004, in which it:

1) Dismisses the appeal.

2) Orders the Union européenne de radio-télévision (UER) to pay the

costs.

(1) OJ C 55 of 8.3.2003.

ORDER OF THE COURT

(Sixth Chamber)

of 28 September 2004

Appeal brought on 23 September 2004 (Fax: 16.9.04) by
the Commission of the European Communities against the
judgment delivered on 1 July 2004 by the Court of First
Instance of the European Communities (Fourth Chamber,
Extended Composition)
in Case T-308/00 between
Salzgitter AG, supported by the Federal Republic of
the Commission of
European
Germany,
Communities

and

the

(Case C-408/04 P)

(2004/C 314/06)

Instance of

An appeal against the judgment delivered on 1 July 2004 by
the European Communities
the Court of First
(Fourth Chamber, Extended Composition)
in Case T-308/00
between Salzgitter AG, supported by the Federal Republic of
Germany, and Commission of the European Communities was
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Commu-
nities on 23 September 2004 (Fax: 16.9.04) by the Commis-
sion of
the European Communities, represented by Viktor
Kreuschitz and Michael Niejahr, with an address for service in
Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

in Case C-115/03 (request for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunale Civile di Genova [Genoa District Court]):
Eco Eridiana S.r.l. v Presidenza del Consiglio di Ministri
and Ministero dell'Ambiente

1. Set aside the judgment of the Court of First Instance of 1
July 2004 in Case T-308/00 (1) between Salzgitter AG and
the Commission of the European Communities;

(Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure — Management of
waste — Hazardous waste — Directive 91/689/EEC —
Article 4 — Meaning of ‘producer of waste’ — Whether or
not natural persons are included)

2. Refer the case back to the Court of First Instance;

3. Order Salzgitter AG to pay the costs.

(2004/C 314/05)

(Language of the case: Italian)

In Case C-115/03: request
for a preliminary ruling under
Article 234 EC from the Tribunale Civile di Genova (Italy),
made by decision of 10 March 2003, received at the Court on
17 Mar 2003, in proceedings between Eco Eridiana S.r.l. and
Presidenza del Consiglio di Ministri and Ministero dell'Am-
biente, the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of J.-P. Puissochet,
President of the Chamber, S. von Bahr (Rapporteur), and A.
Borg Barthet,
Judges; Advocate General: M. Poiares Maduro;
Registrar: R. Grass, made an order on 28 September 2004, the
operative part of which is as follows:

The obligation to keep a record of hazardous waste pursuant
to
Article 4 of Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991
on hazardous waste applies to all producers of such waste, including
dental surgeons' practices, and not only to producers of hazardous
waste which carry on their business in the form of an undertaking or
institution.

Pleas on appeal and main arguments:

By the judgment under appeal, the Court of First Instance
annulled Articles 2 and 3 of Decision 2000/797/ECSC on State
aid granted by the Federal Republic of Germany to Salzgitter
AG, Preussag Stahl AG and the group's steel-industry subsidi-
aries. By means of the repealed provisions, the Commission
ordered the Federal Republic of Germany to recover illegal and
incompatible aid from the beneficiary.

Pursuant to Article 1 of that decision, the special depreciation
allowances and the tax-free reserves, which the applicant was
the Zonenrandförderungsgesetz
granted under Article 3 of
(German law on the development of the border zone between
the former German Democratic Republic and the former
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the ‘ZRFG’) and of which the
applicant had been the recipient in respect of eligible bases of
DEM 484 million and DEM 367 million respectively, were
declared by the Commission as incompatible with the common
market, but were not annulled. The Zonenrandförderungsgesetz
was approved by the Commission under Article 92(2)(c) of the
EC Treaty — now Article 87(2)(c) EC. The ECSC Treaty does
not contain a comparable provision. Thus although the aid
granted to Salzgitter AG is incompatible with the common
market, it cannot be recovered.