Case C-85/07: Action brought on 15 February 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic
Date: 2007-04-28
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Italy, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, exchange of information, hydrology, pollution control measures, report, water

28.4.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 95/21

in the alternative:

declare that by failing to communicate to the Commission
the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary
to comply with Commission Directive 2005/28/EC of
8 April 2005 laying down principles and detailed guidelines
for good clinical practice as regards investigational medicinal
products for human use, as well as the requirements for
authorisation of the manufacturing or importation of such
products, the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg has failed to
fulfil its obligations under Article 31 of that directive;

— order the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The period for transposing Directive 2005/28/EC expired on
29 January 2006.

(1) OJ 2005 L 91, p. 13.

basis of a franchise agreement is not relevant for the purposes
of
its recognition by the Greek authorities. Directive 92/51
makes no such distinction. The Commission also states that the
present dispute does not concern Articles 149 and 150 EC, or
Article 16 of the Greek Constitution, in that the diplomas have
been lawfully issued by Italian educational establishments, not
by Greek establishments with which the former have concluded
franchise agreements for the award of qualifications.

the refusal of

the Greek authorities to
On those grounds,
consider and to recognise those Italian diplomas constitutes an
infringement of Articles 3 and 12 of Directive 92/51. Further-
in the Commission's submission, and as is clear from
more,
the Greek authorities required the
substantiated complaints,
the optical
complainants who applied for
diploma obtained in Italy to undergo a conversion course. The
Commission maintains that such a course infringes Article 4(1)
(b) of Directive 92/51, pursuant to which the Greek authorities
must allow foreign applicants to choose between the conversion
course and an aptitude test.

recognition of

(1) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, p. 25.

Action brought on 15 February 2007 — Commission of
the European Communities v Hellenic Republic

(Case C-84/07)

(2007/C 95/37)

Language of the case: Greek

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: G. Zavvos and H. Støvlbæk, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Hellenic Republic

Form of order sought

Action brought on 15 February 2007 — Commission of
the European Communities v Italian Republic

(Case C-85/07)

(2007/C 95/38)

Language of the case: Italian

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: S. Pardo Quintillán and D. Recchia, acting as Agents)

The applicant claims that the Court should:

Defendant: Italian Republic

— declare that, by the acts specified hereunder, the Hellenic
Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 3,
4(1)(b) and 12 of Council Directive 92/51/EEC of 18 June
1992 on a second general system for the recognition of
professional education and training to supplement Directive
89/48/EEC (1);

— order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

According to the Commission, the Hellenic Republic refuses to
consider and to recognise certain optical diplomas issued by an
Italian educational establishment on the basis of a franchise
agreement concluded with a Greek educational establishment.

The Commission states that
the Greek
authorities can determine is whether or not the diploma gives
the question
access to the profession concerned and that
whether or not the diploma in question has been issued on the

the basic issue that

Forms of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— declare that, in respect of the pilot river basin district of the
River Serchio and the river basin districts of the Eastern
Alps and the Northern, Central and Southern Appennines,
the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Articles 5(1) and 15(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC of
the
European Parliament and of
the Council of 23 October
2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the
field of water policy (1), in so far as it has failed:

— to submit summary reports of

the analyses required
under Article 5, as provided for in Article 15(2) of
Directive 2000/60/EC, and

— to undertake the analyses and the review provided for in

Article 5(1) of that Directive;

C 95/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.4.2007

— order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

Action brought on 15 February 2007 — Commission of
the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain

Pleas in law and main arguments

Directive 2000/60/EC was received into Italian law by means of
Legislative Decree No 152 of 3 April 2006. Article 64 of that
Decree identifies eight river basin districts, namely, the river
basin district of the Eastern Alps, the river basin district of the
Po Valley, the river basin district of the Northern Appennines,
the pilot river basin district of the River Serchio, the river basin
district of the Central Appennines, the river basin district of the
Southern Appennines, the river basin district of Sardinia and
the river basin district of Sicily.

The Directive entered into force on 22 December 2000.
In
consequence, the analyses and the review provided for in Article
5(1) of the Directive should have been completed, in respect of
all eight river basin districts, by 22 December 2004.

In addition, the summary report of the analyses required under
Article 5 for every river basin district, provided for in Article 15
(2) of the Directive, should have been submitted to the Commis-
sion by 22 March 2005.

However,
it is clear from an analysis of the communications
from the Italian authorities that, in the case of five out of the
eight river basin districts, the required information is either
incomplete or missing altogether.

The Italian Republic has not submitted a summary report
concerning the analyses and the review required under Article 5
for the pilot river basin district of the River Serchio or for the
river basin districts of the Eastern Alps, the Northern Appen-
nines, the Central Appennines and the Southern Appennines.
Accordingly, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obliga-
tions under Article 15(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC.

Lastly, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Commis-
sion submits that the Italian Republic has also failed to fulfil its
obligation to undertake, by the deadline fixed, the analyses and
the review required under Article 5(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC,
in
in accordance with the technical specifications set out
Annexes II and III to that Directive, in respect of the river basin
districts referred to in the preceding paragraph.

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.

(Case C-88/07)

(2007/C 95/39)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: S. Pardo Quintillán and A. Alcover San Pedro,
Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of Spain

Form of order sought

— Declare that,

— by withdrawing from the market a significant number of
products based on vegetable matter,
lawfully produced
and/or marketed in another Member State, under an
administrative practice consisting in withdrawing from
the market any product containing vegetable matter not
included in the annex to the Ministerial Order of
3 October 1873 on the ground that it is regarded as a
medicinal product marketed without
requisite
authorisation,

the

— and also by not having communicated that measure to

the Commission,

its obligations
the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil
under Articles 28 EC and 30 EC and also Articles 1 and 4
of Decision No 3052/95/EC (1);

— order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The Commission maintains that by withdrawing from the
market products manufactured on the basis of bananas, lawfully
produced or marketed in other Member States, under an admin-
istrative practice which characterises as a medicinal product (and
as such subject
to the requisite authorisation) any product
containing vegetable matter not included in the annex to the
Ministerial Order of 3 October 1973, and by not having notified
to the Commission the measures
taken to withdraw the
products concerned from the market within 45 days of the date
on which such measures were taken, the Kingdom of Spain has
failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 28 and 30 of the
Treaty and Articles 1 and 4 of Decision No 3052/95/EC.

(1) Decision No 3052/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 13 December 1995 establishing a procedure for the
exchange of information on national measures derogating from the
principle of the free movement of goods within the Community (OJ
1995 L 321, p. 1).