Case C-207/05: Action brought on 11 May 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Italian Republic
Date: 2005-07-23
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Italy, State aid, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, aid to undertakings, control of State aid, public service, redemption

C 182/30

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

23.7.2005

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal des
affaires de sécurité sociale de Longwy by order of that
court of 14 April 2005 in Fabien Nemec v Caisse Régio-
nale d'Assurance Maladie du Nord-Est

Action brought on 11 May 2005 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Italian Republic

(Case C-205/05)

(2005/C 182/52)

(Language of the case: French)

(Case C-207/05)

(2005/C 182/53)

(Language of the case: Italian)

An action against the Italian Republic was brought before the
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 11 May
2005 by the Commission of the European Communities, repre-
sented by V. Di Bucci and L. Pignataro, acting as Agents.

The Commission claims that the Court should:

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the Euro-
pean Communities by order of the Tribunal des affaires de
sécurité sociale de Longwy (Social Security Tribunal, Longwy)
of 14 April 2005, received at the Court Registry on 11 May
2005, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings between
Fabien Nemec and Caisse Régionale d'Assurance Maladie du
Nord-Est (Regional Health Insurance Fund of the North East)
on the following question:

In refusing to take the pay earned by Mr Nemec in Belgium
into account when calculating the amount of the allowance for
asbestos workers awarded to him pursuant to Article 41 of
Law No 98-1194 of 23 December 1998, on the basis of Article
2 of the Decree implementing Law No 99-247 of 29 March
1999 and Circular 2SS/4B/99 No 332 of 9 June 1999, because
that pay did not give rise to the payment of social security
contributions in accordance with Article L 242-1 of the French
Social Security Code, did the C.R.A.M. take, in his regard, a
wrongful decision constituting an impediment to freedom of
movement as laid down in Article 39 EC, an infringement of
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 (1) or an infringement of Article
15 of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 (2)?

(1) Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security
systems (OJ 2004 L 166, p. 1).

(2) Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 of the Council of 21 March 1972
fixing the procedure
implementing Regulation (EEC) No
1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed
persons and their families moving within the Community (OJ,
English Special Edition 1972(I), p. 159).

for

common market

1. declare that, by not adopting within the prescribed time-
limits all measures necessary to recover from the benefici-
aries the aid adjudged to be unlawful and incompatible with
the
Decision
by
2003/193/EC (1) of 5 June 2002 on State aid granted by
Italy in the form of tax exemptions and subsidised loans to
public utilities with a majority public capital holding, C
27/99 (ex NN 69/98), or in any event by not informing the
Commission of those provisions, the Italian Republic has
failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 3 and 4 of that
decision and the EC Treaty;

Commission

2. order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The decision obliges Italy to take all measures necessary to
recover from the beneficiaries the aid granted and unlawfully
made available to the beneficiaries under the schemes examined
in that decision, and to inform the Commission within two
months of notification of the measures taken to comply with
it.

Italy has not taken the necessary measures and in any event has
not informed the Commission or submitted that it is absolutely
legislation has
impossible to enforce the decision. Recent
allowed the subsequent extension of
for
recovery which do not in any case result in the immediate
enforcement of the decision. Moreover, the Commission has
always given Italy its full cooperation.

the time-limits

(1) OJ 2003 L 77, p. 21 of 24.03.2003.