Case C-248/05: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 25 October 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Ireland (Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Protection of underground water against pollution caused by hazardous substances — Directive 80/68/EEC)
Date: 2007-12-22
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Ireland, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, environmental protection, groundwater, waste disposal, water pollution

C 315/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

22.12.2007

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 8 November
2007 — Kingdom of Spain v Council of the European
Union

3. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to bear its

own costs.

(Case C-141/05) (1)

(1) OJ C 115, 14.5.2005.

(Fisheries — Regulation (EC) No 27/2005 — Allocation of
catch quotas among Member States — Act of Accession of
the Kingdom of Spain — End of the transitional period —
Requirement of relative stability — Principle of non-discrimi-
nation — New fishing opportunities — Admissibility)

(2007/C 315/09)

Language of the case: Spanish

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 25 October
the European Communities v
2007 — Commission of

Ireland

(Case C-248/05) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Protec-
tion of underground water against pollution caused by hazar-
dous substances — Directive 80/68/EEC)

Parties

Applicant: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: E. Braquehais
Conesa and M.A. Sampol Pucurull, Agents)

(2007/C 315/10)

Language of the case: English

Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by: F.
Florindo Gijón and A. De Gregorio Merino, Agents)

Parties

in support of

Intervener
European Communities (represented by: F.
and T. van Rijn, Agents)

the defendant: Commission of

the
Jimeno Fernández

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

Defendant: Ireland (represented by: D. O'Hagan, Agent)

Re:

Re:

Partial annulment of Council Regulation (EC) No 27/2005 of
22 December 2004 fixing for 2005 the fishing opportunities
and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of
fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and,
for Com-
munity vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required
(OJ 2005 L 12, p. 1), in so far as the new fishing opportunities
in the North Sea and Baltic Sea were not allocated having regard
to Spain's interests, in spite of the transitional arrangements —
Discrimination — Application of Article 20(2) of Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the
conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources
under the common fisheries policy (OJ 2002 L 358, p. 59)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs;

Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Breach of
Articles 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 of Council Directive
80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on the protection of ground-
water against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances
(OJ 1980 L 20, p. 43) — Operation of a landfill without formal
authorisation at Ballymurtagh, County Wicklow — Pollution of
groundwater in County Wexford and Killarney, County Kerry,
by indirect discharges of phosphorus from septic tanks

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1) Declares that, by having failed to adopt all the measures necessary
to comply with Articles 4, 5, 7 and 10 of Council Directive
80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on the protection of ground-
water against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances, as
amended by Council Directive 91/692/EEC of 23 December
1991 standardising and rationalising reports on the implementa-
tion of certain directives relating to the environment, with regard to
the municipal landfill at Ballymurtagh (County Wicklow), Ireland
has
its obligations under Directive 80/68, as
amended by Directive 91/692;

failed to fulfil

22.12.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 315/7

2) Dismisses the remainder of the action;

lotteries — Use of generally positive results of a customer
survey and a monthly prize draw to win a pack of the product

3) Orders Ireland to pay two thirds of all the costs. The Commission
of the European Communities is ordered to pay the other third.

(1) OJ C 205, 20.8.2005.

Operative part of the judgment

1. Directive 2001/83/EC of

the European Parliament and of

the
Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to
for human use, as amended by Directive
medicinal products
2004/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
31 March 2004, brought about complete harmonisation in the
field of advertising of medicinal products and lists expressly the
cases in which Member States are authorised to adopt provisions
departing from the rules laid down by that directive. The directive
must therefore be interpreted to the effect that a Member State may
not provide, in its national legislation, for an absolute and uncondi-
tional prohibition, in the advertising of medicinal products to the
general public, on the use of statements from third parties, whilst
their use can be limited, under that same directive, only by reason
of their specific content or the type of person making the statement.

(a) Directive 2001/83, as amended by Directive 2004/27,
requires Member States to provide, in their national legislation,
for a prohibition on the use, in the advertising of medicinal
products to the general public, of statements from third parties
where those refer, in improper, alarming or misleading terms,
to claims of recovery within the meaning of Article 90(j) of
Directive 2001/83, as amended by Directive 2004/27,
the term ‘claims of recovery’ having thus to be interpreted
as not including references to the reinforcement of a person's
the medicinal
well-being where the therapeutic efficacy of
product in terms of the elimination of a particular illness is not
referred to. Article 90(c) of Directive 2001/83, as amended by
Directive 2004/27, also requires Member States to provide, in
their national legislation, for a prohibition on the use, in the
advertising of medicinal products to the general public, of state-
ments from third parties where they give the impression that
the use of the medicinal product contributes to the reinforce-
ment of general well-being.

(b) Articles 87(3), 88(6) and 96(1) of Directive 2001/83, as
amended by Directive 2004/27, prohibit the advertising of a
medicinal product by means of a prize draw announced on the
internet, inasmuch as it encourages the irrational use of that
medicinal product and leads to its direct distribution to the
general public and to the presentation of free samples.

3. The first and second questions submitted for a preliminary ruling
would be answered in the same way if the provisions of Council
Directive 92/28/EEC of 31 March 1992 on the advertising of
medicinal products for human use applied.

(1) OJ C 315, 10.12.2005.

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 8 November
a preliminary ruling from the
for
2007 (reference
Bundesgerichtshof
(Germany)) — Gintec International
Import-Export GmbH v Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV

(Case C-374/05) (1)

(Directives 2001/83/EC and 92/28/EEC — National legisla-
tion prohibiting advertising of medicinal products by way of
statements of third parties or prize draws — Use of generally
positive results of a consumer survey and a monthly prize
draw to win a pack of the product)

2.

(2007/C 315/11)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Gintec International Import-Export GmbH

Defendant: Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Bundesgerichtshof —
and 90(j) of Directive
Interpretation of Articles 87(3)
2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medic-
inal products for human use (OJ 2001 L 311, p. 67), as
amended by Directive 2004/27/EC of the European Parliament
and of
the Council of 31 March 2004 amending Directive
2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal
products
for human use (OJ 2004 L 136, p. 34), and
Articles 2(3) and 5(j) of Council Directive 92/28/EEC of
31 March 1992 on the advertising of medicinal products for
human use (OJ 1992 L 113, p. 13) — National
legislation
prohibiting advertising for medicinal products by way of state-
ments of third parties having no specialist knowledge or by