Case C-6/09: Action brought on 9 January 2009 — Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium
Date: 2009-01-09
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Belgium, European Community, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, fight against crime, money laundering, terrorism

C 69/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.3.2009

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État
(France) lodged on 2 January 2009 — Centre d'Exportation
du Livre Français (CELF), Ministre de la Culture et de la
Communication v Société Internationale de Diffusion et
d'Édition

(Case C-1/09)

(2009/C 69/42)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Conseil d'État

Parties to the main proceedings

Form of order sought

— declare that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive
2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 26 October 2005 on the prevention of the use of the
financial system for the purpose of money laundering and
terrorist financing (1) or, in any case, by not communicating
all of them to the Commission, the Kingdom of Belgium has
failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;

— order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The deadline for transposition of Directive 2005/60/EC expired
on 15 December 2007. When this action was brought, the
defendant had not yet adopted all the measures necessary to
transpose the directive or, in any case, had not communicated
them to the Commission.

Appellants: Centre d'Exportation du Livre Français
Ministre de la Culture et de la Communication

(CELF),

Respondent: Société Internationale de Diffusion et d'Édition

(1) OJ 2005 L 309, p. 15.

Questions referred

1. May the national court stay proceedings concerning the obli-
gation to recover State aid until the Commission of the Euro-
pean Communities has ruled, by way of a final decision, on
the compatibility of the aid with the rules of the common
market, where a first decision of the Commission declaring
that aid to be compatible has been annulled by the Com-
munity judicature?

2. Where the Commission has on three occasions declared the
aid to be compatible with the common market, before those
decisions were annulled by the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities, is such a situation capable of being
an exceptional circumstance which may lead the national
court to limit the obligation to recover the aid?

Action brought on 9 January 2009 — Commission of the
European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium

(Case C-6/09)

(2009/C 69/43)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: V. Peere and P. Dejmek, Agents)

Action brought on 9 January 2009 — Commission of the
European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium

(Case C-7/09)

(2009/C 69/44)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: C. Cattabriga and J. Sénéchal, Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of Belgium

Form of order sought

to

necessary

provisions

— declare that, by not adopting all the laws, regulations and
administrative
comply with
Commission Directive 2006/86/EC of 24 October 2006
implementing Directive 2004/23/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council as regards traceability requirements,
notification of serious adverse reactions and events and
certain technical requirements for the coding, processing,
preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and
cells (1) or, in any case, by not communicating them to the
Commission, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its
obligations under that directive;

Defendant: Kingdom of Belgium

— order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.