Case C-524/07: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 11 December 2008 — Commission of the European Communities v Republic of Austria (Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Articles 28 EC and 30 EC — Registration of old used vehicles previously registered in other Member States — Technical requirements with regard to exhaust emissions and noise pollution — Public health — Protection of the environment)
Date: 2008-12-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Austria, European Commission, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, import restriction, intra-EU trade, motor vehicle pollution, vehicle registration

7.2.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 32/9

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 11 December
2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Corte
suprema di cassazione (Italy)) — Agenzia per le Erogazioni
in Agricoltura (AGEA) v Consorzio Agrario di Ravenna
Soc. Coop. arl

(Case C-486/07) (1)

(Common organisation of the markets — Cereals — Maize —
Determination of price — Reductions applicable)

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 11 December
the European Communities v
2008 — Commission of

Republic of Austria

(Case C-524/07) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil
its obligations —
Articles 28 EC and 30 EC — Registration of old used vehicles
previously registered in other Member States — Technical
requirements with regard to exhaust emissions and noise
pollution — Public health — Protection of the environment)

(2009/C 32/14)

Language of the case: Italian

(2009/C 32/15)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Corte suprema di cassazione

Parties to the main proceedings

Parties

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

Defendant: Republic of Austria (represented by: E. Riedl and G.
Eberhard, acting as Agents)

Applicant: Agenzia per le Erogazioni in Agricoltura (AGEA)

Defendant: Consorzio Agrario di Ravenna Soc. Coop. arl

Re:

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Corte suprema di cassa-
zione (Italy) — Interpretation of Articles 4 and 5 of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common
organisation of the market in cereals (OJ 1992 L 181, p. 21),
Article 4a of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 689/92 of
19 March 1992 fixing the procedure and conditions for the
taking-over of cereals by intervention agencies (OJ 1992 L 74,
p. 18), and of Article 13 of Commission Regulation (EEC)
No 2131/93 of 28 July 1993 laying down the procedure and
conditions for the sale of cereals held by intervention agencies
(OJ 1993 L 191, p. 76) — Reductions applicable for higher
levels of humidity than that of the standard quality — Applic-
ability to sales of maize

Operative part of the judgment

The combined provisions of Article 13(1) of Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 2131/93 of 28 July 1993 laying down the procedure and
conditions for the sale of cereals held by intervention agencies and
Article 4a of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 689/92 of 19 March
1992 fixing the procedure and conditions for the taking-over of cereals
by intervention agencies, as amended by Commission Regulation (EEC)
No 2486/92 of 27 August 1992, are to be interpreted as meaning
that, in the case of a sale by tender of maize held by the international
intervention agencies, the price reductions in relation to the moisture
content laid down for durum wheat in Table II of Annex II to Regu-
lation No 689/92, as amended by Regulation No 2486/92, do not
apply.

Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Infringe-
ment of Articles 28 and 30 EC — National rules making the
registration of imported used vehicles previously registered in
other Member States contingent upon compliance with certain
technical requirements, although used vehicles already on the
national market and having the same characteristics are not
subject to such requirements in cases of re-registration.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that by requiring, for the purposes of their first registration
in Austria,
that motor vehicles previously registered in other
Member States, which have not undergone, because of their age, a
Community type-approval procedure, comply with limit values in
respect of pollutant emissions and noise which are stricter than
those they initially had to comply with, in particular, the limits laid
down in Council Directive 93/59/EEC of 28 June 1993 amending
Directive 70/220/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the
Member States relating to measures to be taken against air pollu-
tion by emissions
from motor vehicles, and Council Directive
92/97/EEC of 10 November 1992 amending Directive
70/157/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member
States relating to the permissible sound level and the exhaust
system of motor vehicles, although vehicles having the same charac-
teristics and which are already authorised to use the roads in
Austria are not subject to that requirement in cases of their re-
registration in that Member State, the Republic of Austria has
failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 28 EC;

2. Orders the Republic of Austria to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 22, 26.1.2008.

(1) OJ 2008 C 37.