Case C-158/06: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 21 June 2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven — Netherlands) — Stichting ROM-projecten v Staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken (Structural funds — Repayment of Community aid in the case of irregularity — Failure to publish or make known the conditions of grant of the aid — Beneficiary's lack of knowledge — Good faith — Legal certainty — Effectiveness — Article 10 EC)
Date: 2007-08-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU initiative, European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, Netherlands, eligibility criteria, interpretation of the law, national law, operational programme

C 183/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

4.8.2007

Operative part of the judgment

Operative part of the judgment

the

(the

accordance with

the European Parliament and of

communications networks and services

In
provisions
transitional
of Directive
the Council of
the European Parliament and of
2002/19/EC of
7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic commu-
nications networks and associated facilities, the ‘Access Directive’) and
of Directive 2002/21/EC of
the
Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for
electronic
‘Framework
Directive’), the Český telekomunikační úřad [Czech telecommunications
regulatory authority] was entitled to consider the obligation, on the
part of a telecommunications company with significant market power
within the meaning of Directive 97/33/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in telecommu-
nications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability
through application of
the principles of Open Network Provision
(ONP), as amended by Directive 98/61/EC of the European Parlia-
to conclude a
the Council of 24 September 1998,
ment and of
contract for the interconnection of its networks with that of another
operator, subsequent to 1 May 2004, within the context of the provi-
sions of Directive 97/33, as amended.

(1) OJ C 121, 20.5.2006.

Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 14 June 2007
— Commission of the European Communities v Italian
Republic

(Case C-82/06) (1)

The Court:

1. Declares that, by failing to draw up:

— a waste management plan in accordance with Article 7(1) of
Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, as
amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March
1991, for the Province of Rimini;

— waste management plans including suitable sites or installa-
tions for the disposal of waste in accordance with the fourth
indent of Article 7(1) of Directive 75/442, as amended by
Directive 91/156, for the Region of Lazio;

— waste management plans in accordance with Article 6 of
Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on
hazardous waste for the Regions of Friuli Venezia-Giulia and
Puglia, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano Alto-Adige and
the Province of Rimini,

the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under those
directives;

2. Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 86, 8.4.2006.

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Environ-
ment — Waste — Hazardous waste — Directives
75/442/EEC and 91/689/EEC — Obligation to draw up and
communicate waste management plans)

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 21 June 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van
Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven — Netherlands) — Stichting
ROM-projecten v Staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken

(2007/C 183/19)

Language of the case: Italian

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: D. Recchia and M. Konstantinidis, Agents)

Defendant: Italian Republic (represented by: I. Braguglia and G.
Fiengo, Agents)

Re:

(Case C-158/06) (1)

(Structural funds — Repayment of Community aid in the case
of irregularity — Failure to publish or make known the condi-
tions of grant of the aid — Beneficiary's lack of knowledge —
Good faith — Legal certainty — Effectiveness — Article 10
EC)

(2007/C 183/20)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven

Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Infringe-
ment of Article 7 of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July
1975 on waste (OJ 1975 L 194, p. 47), as amended by Council
Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991 (OJ 1991 L 78, p. 32),
and Article 6 of Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December
1991 on hazardous waste (OJ 1991 L 377, p. 20) — Obligation
to communicate waste management plans

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Stichting ROM-projecten

Defendant: Staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken

4.8.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 183/13

Re:

Parties to the main proceedings

Reference for a preliminary ruling — College van Beroep voor
het bedrijfsleven — Interpretation of Article 6 of Commission
Decision C (95) 1753 of 16 October 1995 concerning a contri-
bution from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
for an operational
and the European Social Fund (ESF)
the SME Community
programme within the framework of
initiative for the benefit of areas eligible under Objectives 1 and
2 in the Netherlands — Whether unconditional and sufficiently
clear and precise to be directly applicable with regard to the
final beneficiary — Interpretation of Article 38(1)(h) of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down
general provisions on the Structural Funds (OJ 1999 L 161,
p. 1) — Non-recovery, following an irregularity, vis-à-vis a bene-
ficiary who was not informed of the Commission's decision

Operative part of the judgment

Where the conditions for the grant of a financial assistance by the
Community to a Member State are set out in the grant decision but
that Member State has neither published them nor made them known
to the ultimate beneficiary of the assistance, it is not contrary to Com-
munity law to apply the principle of legal certainty so as to preclude
repayment by that beneficiary of the amounts wrongly paid, provided
that it is possible to establish the beneficiary's good faith. In such a
case, the Member State concerned may be held financially liable for the
amounts not recovered in order to give effect to the Community's right
to obtain repayment of the amount of the assistance.

(1) OJ C 60, 11.3.2006.

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 21 June 2007
(references for a preliminary ruling from the Cour du
travail de Bruxelles, Belgium) — National Pensions Office v
Emilienne
Vercheval
(C-232/06) and Noëlle Permesaen (C-233/06) v National
Pensions Office

(C-231/06), Hélène

Jonkman

(Case C-231/06 to C-233/06) (1)

(Equal treatment for men and women — Statutory pension
scheme — Directive 79/7/EEC — Air hostesses — Grant of a
pension equal to that of stewards — Payment of adjustment
contributions in a single payment — Interest payments —
Principle of effectiveness — Obligations on a Member State
as a result of a preliminary ruling)

(2007/C 183/21)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Cour du travail de Bruxelles

Appellants: National
(C-233/06)

Pensions Office, Noëlle

Permesaen

Respondents: Emilienne Jonkman (C-231/06), Hélène Vercheval
(C-232/06), National Pensions Office

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Cour du travail de
Bruxelles (Labour Court, Brussels) — Interpretation of Council
Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive
implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and
women in matters of social security (OJ 1979 L 6, p. 24) —
Possibility for a woman who was excluded from a more favour-
able pension scheme to be entitled to membership thereof retro-
actively, on making payment of the contributions relating to the
membership period in question,
in the form of a lump sum
payment, and of late payment interest

Operative part of the judgment

1. When a Member State adopts rules intended to allow persons of a
particular sex, originally discriminated against, to become eligible
throughout their retirement for the pension scheme applicable to
persons of
sex, Council Directive 79/7/EEC of
19 December 1978 on the progressive implementation of the prin-
ciple of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social
security:

the other

— does not preclude that Member State from making such
membership dependent upon the payment of adjustment contri-
butions consisting of the difference between the contributions
paid by the persons originally discriminated against
in the
period during which the discrimination took place and the
higher contributions paid by the other category of persons
during the same period, together with interest to compensate
for inflation,

— does preclude, by contrast, that Member State from requiring
that payment of adjustment contributions to be made together
with interest other than that to compensate for inflation,

sum, where

— also precludes a requirement that that payment be made as a
the adjustment
single
concerned impossible or excessively difficult in practice. That is
the case in particular where the sum to be paid exceeds the
annual pension of the interested party.

condition makes

that

2. Following a judgment given by the Court on an order for reference
from which it is apparent that the national legislation is incompa-
tible with Community law, it is for the authorities of the Member
State concerned to take the general or particular measures necessary
to ensure that Community law is complied with, by ensuring in
particular that national law is changed so as to comply with Com-
munity law as soon as possible and that the rights which indivi-
duals derive from Community law are given full effect.