Case C-109/08: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 4 June 2009 — Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Articles 28 EC, 43 EC and 49 EC — Directive 98/34/EC — Technical standards and regulations — National rules applicable to electrical, electromechanical and electronic computer games — Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Non-implementation — Article 228 EC — Financial penalties)
Date: 2009-06-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Greece, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, free movement of goods, gaming, judgment of the Court (EU), marketing restriction, periodic penalty payment, technical standard








C_2009180EN.01001601.xml










1.8.2009   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 180/16





Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 4 June 2009 — Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic
(Case C-109/08) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Articles 28 EC, 43 EC and 49 EC - Directive 98/34/EC - Technical standards and regulations - National rules applicable to electrical, electromechanical and electronic computer games - Judgment of the Court establishing the failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Non-implementation - Article 228 EC - Financial penalties)
2009/C 180/26
Language of the case: Greek

Parties


Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: M. Patakia and M. Konstantinidis, Agents)

Defendant: Hellenic Republic (represented by: N. Dafniou, V. Karra and P. Mylonopoulos, Agents)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Failure to comply with the judgment of the Court of 26 October 2006 in Case C-65/05 — Infringement of Articles 28 EC, 43 EC and 49 EC and Article 8 of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services (OJ 1998 L 204, p. 37) — National rules applicable to electronic computer games — Application for the setting of a penalty payment

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Declares that, by not amending Articles 2(1) and 3 of Law No 3037/2002, laying down a prohibition, subject to the criminal and administrative penalties set out in Articles 4 and 5 of that law, on the installation and operation on all public or private premises, apart from casinos, of all electrical, electromechanical and electronic games, including all computer games, in accordance with Articles 28 EC, 43 EC and 49 EC and Article 8 of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services, as amended by Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 July 1998, the Hellenic Republic has not taken all the measures necessary to comply with the judgment of the Court of 26 October 2006 in Case C-65/05 Commission v Greece and has thus failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 228 EC;










2.


Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay to the Commission of the European Communities, into the ‘European Community own resources’ account, a penalty payment of EUR 31 536 for each day of delay in implementing the measures necessary to comply with the judgment in Case C-65/05 Commission v Greece, from delivery of the present judgment until the judgment in Case C-65/05 Commission v Greece has been complied with;










3.


Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay to the Commission of the European Communities, into the ‘European Community own resources’ account, a lump sum of EUR 3 million;










4.


Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.






(1)  OJ C 116, 09.05.2008.