Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 9 December 2004 in Case C-19/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Viktor Hlozek v Roche Austria Gesellschaft mbH ((Social policy — Male and female workers — Equal pay — Pay — Concept — Bridging allowance (‘Überbrückungsgeld’) provided for by a works agreement — Social plan drawn up as part of an operation to restructure an undertaking — Benefit granted to workers having reached a certain age at the time of their dismissal — Benefit granted from a different age according to the sex of the dismissed workers — Account taken of national statutory retirement age, different according to sex))
Date: 2005-02-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: approximation of laws, dismissal, equal pay, gender equality, interpretation of the law

19.2.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 45/1

I

(Information)

COURT OF JUSTICE

COURT OF JUSTICE

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Grand Chamber)

has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of European
Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December
1994 on packaging and packaging waste in conjunction with
Article 28 EC;

of 14 December 2004

2. Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs;

in Case C-463/01: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Federal Republic of Germany (1)

3. Orders the French Republic and the United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland to bear their own costs.

(Environment — Free movement of goods — Packaging and
packaging waste — Directive 94/62/EC — Exploitation and
natural mineral waters — Directive
marketing
80/777/EEC — Deposit and return obligations for non-
reusable packaging that depend on the overall percentage of
reusable packaging)

of

(1) OJ C 56 of 02.03.2002.

(2005/C 45/01)

(Language of the case: German)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(First Chamber)

of 9 December 2004

In Case C-463/01: action under Article 226 EC for failure to
fulfil obligations, brought on 3 December 2001, Commission
the European Communities (Agent: G. zur Hausen)
of
supported by French Republic (Agents: G. de Bergues,
E. Puisais and D. Petrausch) and by United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland (Agent: initially P. Ormond and
subsequently C.
Jackson) v Federal Republic of Germany
(Agents: W.-D. Plessing and T. Rummler, assisted by D. Sellner)
– the Court (Grand Chamber), composed of V. Skouris, Presi-
dent, P. Jann and K. Lenaerts (Rapporteur), Presidents of Cham-
bers, C. Gulmann, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen, N. Colneric,
S. von Bahr and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo
Colomer, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal Adminis-
trator, for the Registrar, gave a judgment on 14 December
2004, in which it:

1. Declares that, by establishing, through Paragraphs 8(1) and 9(2)
of
the Verordnung über die Vermeidung und Verwertung von
Verpackungsabfällen (Regulation on the Avoidance and Recovery
of Packaging Waste), a system seeking the re-use of packaging for
products which, under Council Directive 80/777/EEC of 15 July
1980 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
relating to the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral
waters, must be bottled at source, the Federal Republic of Germany

in Case C-19/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Oberster Gerichtshof): Viktor Hlozek v Roche Austria
Gesellschaft mbH (1)

((Social policy — Male and female workers — Equal pay —
Pay — Concept — Bridging allowance (‘Überbrückungsgeld’)
provided for by a works agreement — Social plan drawn up
as part of an operation to restructure an undertaking —
Benefit granted to workers having reached a certain age at
their dismissal — Benefit granted from a
the time of
different age according to the sex of the dismissed workers —
Account taken of national statutory retirement age, different
according to sex))

(2005/C 45/02)

(Language of the case: German)

In Case C-19/02: reference for a preliminary ruling under
Article 234 EC from the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria), made

C 45/2

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Official Journal of the European Union

19.2.2005

by decision of 20 December 2001, received at the Court on
29 January 2002, in the proceedings between Viktor Hlozek
and Roche Austria Gesellschaft mbH Ä the Court
(First
Chamber), composed of P. Jann, President of the Chamber, A.
Rosas (Rapporteur), R. Silva de Lapuerta, K. Lenaerts and
S. von Bahr, Judges; J. Kokott, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet,
Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment
on 9 December 2004, in which it has ruled:

— to adopt

the appropriate implementing measures for using
availabilities allocated to it and to proceed with the inspections
and other control measures required by the applicable Com-
munity rules,

— to adopt all effective measures to prevent availabilities' being

exceeded,

the laws of

A bridging allowance such as that at issue in the main proceedings
falls under the concept of ‘pay’ within the meaning of Article 141 EC
and Article 1 of Council Directive 75/117/EEC of 10 February
1975 on the approximation of
the Member States
relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and
women. In circumstances such as those of the main proceedings, those
provisions do not preclude the application of a social plan providing
for a difference in the treatment of male and female workers in terms
of the age at which they are entitled to a bridging allowance, since,
under
statutory scheme governing early retirement
pensions, they are in different situations with regard to the factors
relevant to the grant of that allowance.

the national

— to take all administrative or penal measures which it was
required to impose against captains of vessels having violated
those rules or against any other person responsible for such a
violation,

the Kingdom of Sweden has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Article 9(2) of Council Regulation No 3760/92 of 20 December
1992 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquacul-
ture, and Articles 2, 21(1) and (2) and 31 of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control
system applicable to the common fisheries policy.

(1) OJ C 109 of 04.05.2002.

2. Orders the Kingdom of Sweden to pay the costs.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE

(1) OJ C 289 of 23.11.2002.

(Third Chamber)

of 16 December 2004

in Case C-271/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Kingdom of Sweden (1)

(Failure to fulfil obligations — Fishing — Conservation and
management of resources — Measures to control fishing
activity)

(2005/C 45/03)

(Language of the case: Swedish)

In Case C-271/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities (Agents: T. van Rijn and C. Tufvesson) against Kingdom
of Sweden (Agents: A. Kruse and A. Falk) – action for failure
to fulfil obligations under Article 226 EC, brought on 24 July
2002 – the Court of Justice (Third Chamber), composed of A.
Rosas, President of the Chamber, J.-P. Puissochet (Rapporteur),
S. von Bahr, U. Lõhmus and A. Ó Caoimh, Judges; D. Ruiz-
Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General, R. Grass, Registrar, has
given a judgment on 16 December 2004, in which it:

1. Declares that, by failing, for the years 1995 and 1996:

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(First Chamber)

of 16 December 2004

in Case C-277/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Oberverwaltungsgericht): EU-Wood-Trading GmbH v
Rheinland-Pfalz
Sonderabfall-Management-Gesellschaft

mbH (1)

(Environment — Waste — Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 on
shipments of waste — Waste intended for recovery — Objec-
tions — Powers of the authority of dispatch — Recovery
contravening the requirements of Article 4 of Directive
75/442/EEC or those of national provisions — Power of the
authority of dispatch to raise such objections)

(2005/C 45/04)

(Language of the case: German)

In Case C-277/02:
ruling
under Article 234 EC from the Oberverwaltungsgericht

a preliminary

reference

for