Case C-235/04: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 28 June 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 79/409/EEC — Conservation of wild birds — Special protection areas — IBA 98 — Value — Quality of the data — Criteria — Margin of discretion — Manifest inadequacy as to number and size of areas classified)
Date: 2007-08-25
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Spain, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, bird, protected area, protection of animal life

C 199/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.8.2007

V

(Announcements)

COURT PROCEEDINGS

COURT OF JUSTICE

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 28 June 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht
Baden-Baden (Germany)) — Albert Reiss Beteiligungsge-
sellschaft mbH v Land Baden-Württemberg

(Case C-466/03) (1)

(Directive 69/335/EEC — Indirect taxes on the raising of
capital — National provisions which provide for notarial fees
to be charged for the authentication of the transfer of shares
in limited liability companies — Tax decision — Classification
as a ‘duty similar to capital duty’ — Prior formality —
Duties on the transfer of securities — Duties paid by way of
fees or dues)

(2007/C 199/02)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Landgericht Baden-Baden

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Albert Reiss Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH

Defendant: Land Baden-Württemberg

Re:

a

for

preliminary

Reference
ruling — Landesgericht
Baden-Baden — Interpretation of Article 10(c) of Council Direc-
tive 69/335/EEC of 17 July 1969 concerning indirect taxes on
(OJ, English Special Edition 1969 (II),
the raising of capital
p. 412), as amended by Council Directive 85/303/EEC of
10 June 1985 (OJ 1985 L 156, p. 23) — Increase in the capital
of a private limited company by means of a contribution of
shares held in another company — Charges demanded for the
drawing up of the notarially attested act recording the share
transfer.

ging of notarial fees for the authentication of a transfer of shares in a
company made as a contribution in the course of an increase in the
share capital of a capital company, in a system characterised by the fact
that notaries are employed as civil servants and that the fees are, at
least in part, paid to the State to subsidise public expenditure.

(1) OJ C 21, 24.1.2004.

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 28 June 2007
— Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom
of Spain

(Case C-235/04) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
79/409/EEC — Conservation of wild birds — Special protec-
tion areas — IBA 98 — Value — Quality of the data —
Criteria — Margin of discretion — Manifest inadequacy as to
number and size of areas classified)

(2007/C 199/03)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: M. van Beek and G. Valero Jordana, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: N. Díaz Abad,
Agent)

Re:

Operative part of the judgment

Article 10(c) of Council Directive 69/335/EEC of 17 July 1969
concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital, as amended by
Council Directive 85/303/EEC of 10 June 1985, precludes the char-

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement
of Article 4(1) and (2) of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of
2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ 1979 L 103,
p. 1) — Failure to classify as special protection areas the areas
most appropriate for conservation of
the species listed in
Annex I to the Directive and migratory species

25.8.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 199/3

Operative part of the judgment

Re:

The Court:

1. Declares that, by failing to classify as special protection areas for
birds territories of adequate size in the Autonomous Communities
of Andalusia, the Balearics and the Canaries, and territories of
sufficient number in the Autonomous Communities of Andalusia,
the Balearics, the Canaries, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Galicia
and Valencia to provide protection for all the species of birds listed
in Annex I to Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on
the conservation of wild birds, as amended, inter alia, by Commis-
sion Directive 97/49/EC of 29 July 1997, and the migratory
species not covered by that annex, the Kingdom of Spain has failed
to fulfil
its obligations under Article 4(1) and (2) of Directive
79/409, as amended;

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

3. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 201, 7.8.2004.

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 26 June 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Landesgericht
für Zivilrechtssachen Wien (Austria)) — T-Mobile Austria
GmbH, 3G Mobile Telecommunications GmbH, Mobilkom
austria Aktiengesellschaft,
formerly mobilkom austria
AG & Co. KG, Master-talk Austria Telekom Service
GmbH & Co. KG, ONE GmbH, Hutchison 3G Austria
GmbH, Tele.ring Telekom Service GmbH, successor to TRA
3G Mobilfunk GmbH v Republik Österreich

(Case C-284/04) (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive — Taxable transactions — Definition of
‘economic activity’ — Article 4(2) — Allocation of rights
making it possible to use a defined part of the radio-frequency
spectrum reserved for telecommunications services)

(2007/C 199/04)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Landesgericht für Zivilrechtssachen Wien

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: T-Mobile Austria GmbH, 3G Mobile Telecommunica-
tions GmbH, mobilkom austria Aktiengesellschaft,
formerly
mobilkom austria AG & Co. KG, master-talk Austria Telekom
Service GmbH & Co. KG, ONE GmbH, Hutchison 3G Austria
GmbH, tele.ring Telekom Service GmbH, successor to TRA 3G
Mobilfunk GmbH

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Landesgericht für Zivil-
rechtssachen Wien — Interpretation of Article 4(5) of and
item 1 of Annex D to Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of
17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member
States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value
added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977, L 145, p. 1)
— Activities or transactions carried out by a body governed by
public law acting as a public authority — Allocation, by
auction, of frequencies to mobile telephony operators

Operative part of the judgment

Article 4(2) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May
1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating
to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform
basis of assessment, is to be interpreted as meaning that the allocation,
by auction by the national regulatory authority responsible for spectrum
assignment, of rights such as rights to use frequencies in the electro-
magnetic spectrum with the aim of providing the public with mobile
telecommunications services does not constitute an economic activity
within the meaning of that provision and, consequently, does not fall
within the scope of that directive.

(1) OJ C 262, 23.10.2004.

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 26 June 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the VAT and
Duties Tribunal, London — United Kingdom) — Hutchison
3G UK Ltd, mmO2 plc, Orange 3G Ltd, T-Mobile (UK) Ltd,
Vodafone Group Services Ltd v Commissioners of Customs
and Excise

(Case C-369/04) (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive — Taxable transactions — Definition of
‘economic activity’ — Article 4(2) — Allocation of licences
making it possible to use a defined part of the radio-frequency
spectrum reserved for telecommunications services)

(2007/C 199/05)

Language of the case: English

Referring court

VAT and Duties Tribunal, London

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, mmO2 plc, Orange 3G Ltd,
T-Mobile (UK) Ltd, Vodafone Group Services Ltd

Defendant: Republik Österreich

Defendant: Commissioners of Customs and Excise