Case C-254/05: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 7 June 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Articles 28 EC and 30 EC — Quantitative restrictions on imports — Measures having equivalent effect — Automatic fire detection systems with point detectors — Requirement of conformity to a national standard — National approval procedure)
Date: 2007-07-21
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Belgium, European Commission, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, fire protection, import restriction, standard

C 170/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.7.2007

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 7 June 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van
Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven — Netherlands) — J. van der
J.W. Schoonhoven
Weerd, Maatschap Van der Bijl,
(C-222/05), H. de Rooy, sen., H. de Rooy, jun. (C-223/05),
Maatschap H. en J. van 't Oever, Maatschap F. van 't Oever
en W. Fien, B. van 't Oever, Maatschap A. en J. Fien,
Maatschap K. Koers en J. Stellingwerf, H. Koers, Maatschap
K. en G. Polinder, G. van Wijhe (C-224/05), B.J. van
Middendorp (C-225/05) v Minister van Landbouw, Natuur
en Voedselkwaliteit

(Joined Cases C-222/05 to C-225/05) (1)

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 7 June 2007 —
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of
Belgium

(Case C-254/05) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Articles 28
EC and 30 EC — Quantitative restrictions on imports —
Measures having equivalent effect — Automatic fire detection
systems with point detectors — Requirement of conformity to
a national standard — National approval procedure)

(2007/C 170/06)

Language of the case: French

(Agriculture — Control of foot-and-mouth disease — Direc-
tive 85/511/EEC — National court raising Community law of
its own motion — Procedural autonomy — Principles of
equivalence and effectiveness)

Parties

(2007/C 170/05)

Language of the case: Dutch

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: B. Stromsky, acting as Agent)

Defendant: Kingdom of Belgium (represented by: M. Wimmer,
Agent)

Referring court

College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven

Re:

Parties to the main proceedings

J.W.
Applicants:
J. van der Weerd, Maatschap Van der Bijl,
Schoonhoven (C-222/05), H. de Rooy, sen., H. de Rooy,
jun.
(C-223/05), Maatschap H. en J. van 't Oever, Maatschap F. van 't
Oever en W. Fien, B. van 't Oever, Maatschap A. en J. Fien,
Maatschap K. Koers en J. Stellingwerf, H. Koers, Maatschap K. en
G. Polinder, G. van Wijhe (C-224/05), B.J. van Middendorp
(C-225/05)

Defendant: Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — College van Beroep voor
het bedrijfsleven — Interpretation of Council Directive
85/511/EEC of 18 November 1985 introducing Community
measures for the control of foot-and-mouth disease (OJ 1985
L 315, p. 11) — First Indent of Article 11(1) and second indent
of Article 13(1) and Annex B — Direct effect — Laboratory not
mentioned in Annex B — Margin of discretion of the national
authorities

Operative part of the judgment

Community law does not require the national court, in an action of the
kind which forms the basis of the main proceedings, to raise of its own
motion a plea alleging infringement of the provisions of Community
legislation, since neither the principle of equivalence nor the principle
of effectiveness require it to do so.

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement
of Article 28 EC — National regulations requiring automatic
fire detection systems with point detectors lawfully manufac-
tured or marketed in another Member State which do not have
the ‘EC’ mark to comply with the national standard, be subject
to type approval and,
in that connection, undergo tests and
checks already carried out in another Member State

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that, by requiring that automatic fire detection systems
with point detectors which were lawfully manufactured or marketed
in another Member State but which do not have the CE marking:

— conform with Belgian standard NBN S 21-100 relating to the
design of general automatic fire detection systems with point
detectors, of September 1986, as modified by Addendum No 2
thereto of August 1996,

— be subject to approval by BOSEC (Belgian Organisation for
Security Certification), an obstacle made worse by the dispro-
portionate costs which that approval incurs, and

— undergo tests and checks in connection with that type approval
which, essentially, duplicate the controls which have already
been carried out under other procedures in another Member
State,

the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Article 28 EC;

2. Orders the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 193, 6.8.2005.

(1) OJ C 205, 20.8.2005.