Case C-385/05: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 18 January 2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'Etat (France)) — Confédération générale du travail, CFDT — Confédération française démocratique du travail, Confédération française de l'encadrement (CGC), Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens (CFTC), Confédération générale du travail — Force ouvrière v Premier ministre, Ministre de l'Emploi, de la Cohésion sociale et du Logement (Social policy — Directives 98/59/EC and 2002/14/EC — Collective redundancies — Information and consultation of employees — Method for calculating the thresholds of workers employed — Member States' powers — Exclusion of employees belonging to a certain age group)
Date: 2007-03-10
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: interpretation of the law, labour law, size of business, worker consultation, worker information, workers' representation

10.3.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 56/9

Operative part of the judgment

Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on certain
provisions relating to the introduction of the euro and Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the
euro must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which, on
effecting the conversion into euros of an amount of a tax on flour,
meal and groats of common wheat supplied or used for human
consumption, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, raised it to
an amount higher than that which would have resulted from applica-
tion of the rules of conversion provided for in those regulations, unless
such an increase meets the requirements of legal certainty and transpar-
ency guaranteed by those regulations, which presupposes that the legis-
lative texts at issue make it possible to distinguish clearly the decision
of the authorities of a Member State to increase that amount from the
operation of conversion of that amount into euros. It is for the referring
court to determine whether that is so in the proceedings before it.

(1) OJ C 315, 10.12.2005.

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 25 January
2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Vestre
Landsret — Denmark) — Criminal proceedings against
Uwe Kay Festersen

(Case C-370/05) (1)

(Freedom of establishment — Free movement of capital —
Articles 43 EC and 56 EC — Restrictions on the acquisition
of agricultural property — Requirement that the acquirer take
up fixed residence on the agricultural property)

(2007/C 56/14)

Language of the case: Danish

Referring court

Vestre Landsret

Party to the main criminal proceedings

Uwe Kay Festersen

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Vestre Landsret — Inter-
pretation of Articles 43 EC and 56 EC — National legislation
under which the acquisition of an agricultural holding is condi-
tional on taking up residence there

Operative part of the judgment

1) Article 56 EC precludes national legislation such as that at issue in
the main proceedings from laying down as a condition for acquiring
an agricultural property the requirement that the acquirer take up
fixed residence on that property.

2) That interpretation of Article 56 EC would not be different where
the agricultural property acquired did not constitute a viable farm
and the residential building was situated in an urban zone.

(1) OJ C 315, 10.12.2005.

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 18 January
2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil
d'Etat (France)) — Confédération générale du travail, CFDT
— Confédération française démocratique du travail,
Confédération française de l'encadrement (CGC), Conféd-
ération française des travailleurs chrétiens (CFTC), Conféd-
ération générale du travail — Force ouvrière v Premier
ministre, Ministre de l'Emploi, de la Cohésion sociale et du
Logement

(Case C-385/05) (1)

(Social policy — Directives 98/59/EC and 2002/14/EC —
Collective redundancies — Information and consultation of
employees — Method for calculating the thresholds of workers
employed — Member States' powers — Exclusion of
employees belonging to a certain age group)

(2007/C 56/15)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Conseil d'Etat

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Confédération générale du travail, CFDT — Conféd-
ération française démocratique du travail, Confédération fran-
çaise de l'encadrement
(CGC), Confédération française des
travailleurs chrétiens (CFTC), Confédération générale du travail
— Force ouvrière

Defendants: Premier ministre, Ministre de l'Emploi, de la Cohé-
sion sociale et du Logement

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Conseil d'Etat (France) —
Interpretation of Article 3(1) of Directive 2002/14/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002
establishing a general framework for informing and consulting
employees in the European Community (OJ 2002 L 80, p. 29),
and of Article 1 of Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating
to collective redundancies (OJ 1998 L 225, p. 16) — Obligation
on undertakings to inform and consult employees where the
number of
their employees exceeds a certain threshold —
legislation excluding from the calculation of staff
National
numbers employees aged under 26

C 56/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.3.2007

Operative part of the judgment

1. Article 3(1) of Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament
and of
the Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a general
framework for informing and consulting employees in the European
Community must be interpreted as precluding national legislation
which excludes, even temporarily, a specific category of workers
from the calculation of staff numbers within the meaning of that
provision.

2. Article 1(1)(a) of Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
collective redundancies must be interpreted as precluding national
legislation which excludes, even temporarily, a specific category of
workers from the calculation of staff numbers set out in that provi-
sion.

(1) OJ C 330, 24.12.2005.

1. Declares that, by failing to take the measures necessary to ensure
that adequate treatment was provided for urban waste waters from
the agglomerations of Bangor, Brighton, Broadstairs, Carrickfergus,
Coleraine, Donaghadee, Larne, Lerwick, Londonderry, Margate,
Newtownabbey, Omagh and Portrush by 31 December 2000 at
the latest, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4(1) and (3)
of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning
urban waste-water treatment;

2. Orders the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 48, 25.2.2006.

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 25 January 2007
— Commission of the European Communities v United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(Case C-405/05) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
91/271/EEC — Pollution and nuisance — Treatment of urban
waste water — Lack of measures to ensure the adequate treat-
ment of urban waste water from a number of agglomerations)

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 18 January
a preliminary ruling from the
2007 (reference for
Rechtbank van Koophandel te Brussel, Belgium) — City
Motors Groep NV v Citroën Belux NV

(Case C-421/05) (1)

(Competition — Distribution agreement relating to motor
vehicles — Block exemption — Regulation (EC) No 1400/
2002 — Article 3(4) and (6) — Termination by the supplier
— Right to refer the dispute to an expert or arbitrator or to
apply to a national court — Express termination clause —
Compatibility with the block exemption — Validity of the
grounds for the termination — Effective review)

(2007/C 56/16)

Language of the case: English

(2007/C 56/17)

Language of the case: Dutch

Parties

Referring court

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: S. Pardo Quintillán, X. Lewis and H. van Vliet, acting
as Agents)

Defendant: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (represented by: C. White, acting as Agent)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement
of Article 4(1) and (3) of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of
21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment
(OJ
1991 L 135, p. 40) — Failure to ensure adequate treatment of
urban waste water from a number of agglomerations

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Rechtbank van Koophandel te Brussel

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: City Motors Groep NV

Defendant: Citroën Belux NV

Re:

for

a preliminary

ruling — Rechtbank

van
Reference
te Brussel — Interpretation of Article 3(6) of
koophandel
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1400/2002 of 31 July 2002
on the application of Article 81(3) of the Treaty to categories of
vertical agreements and concerted practices in the motor vehicle
sector (OJ 2002 L 203, p. 30) — Prohibition on inserting an
express termination clause in a motor vehicle concession agree-
ment intended to benefit from the exemption