Case C-285/05: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Simvoulio tis Epikratias by decision of that court of 10 May 2005 in Enosi Efopliston Aktoploias, ANEK, Minoikes Grammes, N.E. Lesvou and Blue Star Ferries v Minister for Merchant Shipping and Minister for the Aegean
Date: 2005-10-01
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Greece, freedom to provide services, interpretation of the law, maritime cabotage, restriction on competition

C 243/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

1.10.2005

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Simvoulio tis
Epikratias by decision of that court of 10 May 2005 in
Enosi Efopliston Aktoploias, ANEK, Minoikes Grammes,
N.E. Lesvou and Blue Star Ferries v Minister for Merchant
Shipping and Minister for the Aegean

(Case C-285/05)

(2005/C 243/11)

(Language of the case: Greek)

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the Euro-
pean Communities by decision of the Simvoulio tis Epikratias
(Council of State, Greece) of 10 May 2005, received at the
Court Registry on 15 July 2005, for a preliminary ruling in the
proceedings between Enosi Efopliston Aktoploias, ANEK,
Minoikes Grammes, N.E. Lesvou and Blue Star Ferries and the
the
for Merchant Shipping and the Minister
Minister
Aegean on the following questions:

for

(a) In accordance with Article 6(3) of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 3577/92 of 7 December 1992 applying the principle of
freedom to provide services to maritime transport within
Member States (maritime cabotage) (OJ 1992 L 364), are
individuals entitled to rely on that regulation to contest the
validity of provisions adopted by the Greek legislature
before 1 January 2004?

(b) If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, do
Articles 1, 2, and 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92
permit the adoption of national rules under which ship-
owners may provide maritime cabotage services only on
routes determined each year by a
specific operational
national authority competent for that purpose and after
first obtaining an administrative licence granted under an
authorisation scheme having the following characteristics:
(i) it relates to all operational routes, without exception,
which serve islands, and (ii) the competent national authori-
ties may approve an application submitted for the grant of
a licence to operate a service by unilaterally amending, in
the exercise of their discretion and without prior definition
of
the application
which relate to the frequency and the period of interrup-
tion of the service and to the fare tariff?

the criteria applied,

the elements of

(c) If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, is a
restriction on the freedom to provide services that is imper-
missible for the purposes of Article 49 of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Community introduced by national

legislation which provides that a shipowner to whom the
administration has granted a licence to operate a ship on a
specified route (either after his application in that regard
has been approved as it stands, or after it has been
approved with amendments to certain of
its elements,
which he accepts) is in principle obliged to work the par-
ticular operational route continuously for the entire dura-
tion of the annual operational period, and that to secure
compliance with this obligation imposed on him he must
deposit, before the operational service commences, a letter
of guarantee all or part of whose amount will be forfeited if
the obligation in question is not complied with or not
complied with precisely?

(d) Do Article 5(2) and Article 6(3)(a), (b), (c), (f) and (g) of
Council Directive 98/18/EC of 17 March 1998 on safety
rules and standards for passenger ships (OJ 1998 L 144) in
the version in force at the material time, before its amend-
ment by Directive 2003/24/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 14 April 2003 (OJ 2003 L 123),
permit a national rule which prohibits absolutely the opera-
tion on domestic voyages of ships which have reached a
specified age?

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Efetio Patron
by order of that court of 8 June 2005 in Irini Lekhoritou,
V. Karkoulias, G. Pavlopoulos, P. Bratsikas, D. Sotiropoulos
and G. Dimopoulos v the State of the Federal Republic of
Germany

(Case C-292/05)

(2005/C 243/12)

(Language of the case: Greek)

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the Euro-
pean Communities by order of the Efetio Patron (Court of
Appeal, Patras) of 8 June 2005, received at the Court Registry
on 20 July 2005, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings
between Irini Lekhoritou, V. Karkoulias, G. Pavlopoulos, P.
Bratsikas, D. Sotiropoulos and G. Dimopoulos and the State of
the Federal Republic of Germany on the following questions: