Case C-639/11: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 20 March 2014  — European Commission v Republic of Poland (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations  — Registration of motor vehicles  — Articles 34 TFEU and 36 TFEU  — Directive 70/311/EEC  — Directive 2007/46/EC  — Driving on the right in a Member State  — Obligation, for the purpose of registration, to reposition to the left-hand side the steering equipment of passenger vehicles positioned on the right-hand side)
Date: 2014-03-20
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Poland, approval, driving mechanism, infringement of EU law, motor vehicle, vehicle registration








C_2014142EN.01000301.xml










12.5.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 142/3





Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 20 March 2014 — European Commission v Republic of Poland
(Case C-639/11) (1)

((Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Registration of motor vehicles - Articles 34 TFEU and 36 TFEU - Directive 70/311/EEC - Directive 2007/46/EC - Driving on the right in a Member State - Obligation, for the purpose of registration, to reposition to the left-hand side the steering equipment of passenger vehicles positioned on the right-hand side))
2014/C 142/03
Language of the case: Polish

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: G. Wilms, G. Zavvos and K. Herrmann, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Republic of Poland (represented by: B. Majczyna and M. Szpunar, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the defendant: Republic of Lithuania (represented by D. Kriaučiūnas and R. Krasuckaitė, acting as Agents)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Breach of Article 34 TFEU, of Article 2a of Council Directive 70/311/EEC of 8 June 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the steering equipment for motor vehicles and their trailers, as amended (OJ, English Special Edition 1970(II), p. 375) and of Article 4(3) of Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (OJ 2007 L 263, p. 1) — Legislation of a Member State prohibiting the registration of right-hand-drive vehicles.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Declares that, by making registration in its territory of passenger vehicles having their steering equipment on the right-hand side, whether they are new or previously registered in other Member States, dependent on the repositioning of the steering wheel to the left-hand side, the Republic of Poland has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 2a of Council Directive 70/311/EEC of 8 June 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the steering equipment for motor vehicles and their trailers (OJ 1970 L 133, p. 10), Article 4(3) of Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (Framework Directive) (OJ 2007 L 263, p. 1), and under Article 34 TFEU.










2.


Orders the Republic of Poland to pay the costs.










3.


Orders the Republic of Lithuania to bear its own costs.






(1)  OJ C 73, 10.3.2012.