Case C-150/07: Action brought on 15 March 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Portuguese Republic
Date: 2007-05-26
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Community budget, European Commission, Portugal, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, budgetary control, customs debt, fraud against the EU

26.5.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 117/17

Action brought on 15 March 2007 — Commission of the
European Communities v Portuguese Republic

(Case C-150/07)

(2007/C 117/27)

Language of the case: Portuguese

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Simvoulio tis
Epikratias
lodged on 19 March 2007 —
Theologos-Grigorios Khatzithanasis v Ipourgos Igias kai
and Organismos Epangelmatikis
Kinonikis Allilengiis

(Greece)

Ekpaidefsis kai Katartisis (Ο.Ε.Ε.Κ.)

(Case C-151/07)

(2007/C 117/28)

Language of the case: Greek

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: G. Wilms and M. Afonso, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Portuguese Republic

Referring court

Form of order sought

Simvoulio tis Epikratias (Council of State)

— A declaration that, by refusing to pay to the Commission
default interest owed on the late payment of own resources
in connection with the ATA system, and by not amending
its national practice in respect of the entry in the accounts
of own resources under that system, the Portuguese Republic
has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 2, 6(2), 9,
10 and 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 1552/89 (1);

— An order that the Portuguese Republic should pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

On 21 February 1992, the date of the unofficial establishment
of the amounts of the customs debts at issue, those amounts
had not been formally challenged by either the debtors or the
guaranteeing association, and payment of those debts was guar-
anteed in accordance with Article 6(1) of the ATA Convention.
As a result, the conditions for entering the established entitle-
ments in the A accounts were satisfied.

The amounts in question ought to have been entered in the
A accounts and made available to the Community budget within
the periods prescribed by Regulation No 1552/89. In so far as
the Portuguese authorities entered those amounts late in the
account referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation No 1552/89,
default interest is owed, calculated in accordance with Article 11
of that regulation and, as from 31 May 2000, with Article 11
of Regulation No 1150/2000 (2). Furthermore, the Portuguese
authorities ought to have adapted their national practice to
conform to the Community legislation when dealing with any
similar cases under the ATA Convention.

(1) Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1552/89 of 29 May 1989
implementing Decision 88/376/EEC, Euratom on the system of the
Communities' own resources (OJ 1989 L 155, p. 1).

(2) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 of 22 May 2000
implementing Decision 94/728/EC, Euratom on the system of the
Communities' own resources (OJ 2000 L 130, p. 1).

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Theologos-Grigorios Khatzithanasis

Defendants: Ipourgos Igias kai Kinonikis Allilengiis (Minister for
Health and Social Solidarity) and Organismos Epangelmatikis
Ekpaidefsis kai Katartisis (Ο.Ε.Ε.Κ.) (Organisation for Professional
Education and Training)

Question referred

When a national of a Member State, relying upon evidence of a
qualification which, according to him, falls within the field of
application 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
(OJ 1992 L 209, p. 25), requests the competent authorities of
the host Member State to allow him access to a profession regu-
lated in the host Member State or to allow him to pursue that
profession, is it open to those authorities — under Articles 1, 2,
3 and 4 of Directive 92/51,
interpreted in the light of Arti-
cles 149 and 150 of the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity — to reject his application (and thus to exclude entirely
access by him to that profession or pursuit thereof in the host
Member State) solely on the ground that, while the qualification
in question was awarded by an authority of the Member State
from which he comes, that followed studies the greater part of
which were carried out in the host Member State, at a body
which operates freely in that State but, pursuant to the relevant
general provision in its legislation,
is not recognised as an
educational establishment there?