Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 14 April 2005 in Case C-441/03: Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of the Netherlands (Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC — Conservation of wild birds — Conservation of natural habitats — Failure to transpose within the prescribed periods)
Date: 2005-06-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Netherlands, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, biotope, bird, environmental protection, protection of animal life

11.6.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 143/11

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

of 14 April 2005

(Third Chamber)

of 14 April 2005

in Case C-441/03: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Kingdom of the Netherlands (1)

(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Direc-
tives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC — Conservation of wild
birds — Conservation of natural habitats — Failure to trans-
pose within the prescribed periods)

in Case C-519/03: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (1)

(Framework agreement on parental leave — Substitution of
maternity leave for parental leave — Date from which an
individual right to parental leave is granted)

(2005/C 143/12)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

(2005/C 143/13)

(Language of the case: French)

In Case C-441/03: Action under Article 226 EC for failure to
fulfil obligations, brought on 16 October 2003, Commission of
the European Communities (Agent: M. van Beek) v Kingdom of
the Netherlands (Agents: H.G. Sevenster and N.A.J. Bel) — the
Court (Second Chamber), composed of C.W.A. Timmermans,
President of the Chamber, R. Silva de Lapuerta (Rapporteur), R.
Schintgen, P. Kūris and G. Arestis, Judges; J. Kokott, Advocate
General; R. Grass, Registrar, gave a judgment on 14 April
2005, in which it:

1. Declares that, by failing to bring into force within the prescribed
periods all
the laws, regulations and administrative provisions
necessary to comply with the requirements of Article 4(1) and (2)
of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conser-
vation of wild birds and of Article 6(1) of Council Directive
92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural
habitats and of wild fauna and flora, in conjunction with Articles
2(2), 1(a), (e) and (i), 6(2) to (4), 7, 11 and 15 thereof and by
maintaining in force Article 13(4) of the Nature Conservancy Law
(Natuurbeschermingswet), which is incompatible with Article 6(4)
of Directive 92/43, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has failed to
fulfil its obligations under those directives;

2. Dismisses the remainder of the application;

(Third Chamber),

In Case C-519/03 Commission of the European Commu-
nities (Agent: D. Martin) v Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
(Agent: S. Schreiner) — action under Article 226 EC for failure
to fulfil obligations, brought on 12 December 2003 — the
composed of A. Borg Barthet
Court
(Rapporteur), acting for the President of the Third Chamber, J.-
P. Puissochet, S. von Bahr, U. Lõhmus and A. Ó Caoimh,
Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal
Administrator, for the Registrar, gave a judgment on 14 April
2005, in which it:

1. Declares that, by providing that the right to maternity leave or
adoption leave arising during parental
leave replaces the latter
which must then come to an end, without its being possible for
the parent to defer the portion of the parental leave which he or
she was unable to take and by limiting the grant of the right to
leave to parents of children born after 31 December
parental
1998, or in respect of whom adoption proceedings were initiated
after that date, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has failed to
fulfil its obligations under Council Directive 96/34/EC of 3 June
1996 on the framework agreement on parental leave concluded by
UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC;

3. Orders the Kingdom of the Netherlands to pay the costs.

2. Orders the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 304 of 13.12.2003.

(1) OJ C 35 of 07.02.2004, p. 5.