Joined Cases C-412/17 and C-474/17: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 13 December 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht — Germany) — Bundesrepublik Deutschland v Touring Tours und Travel GmbH (C-412/17), Sociedad de Transportes SA (C-474/17) (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Area of freedom, security and justice — Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 — Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) — Articles 20 and 21 — Abolition of internal border controls in the Schengen area — Checks within the territory of a Member State — Measures having an effect equivalent to border checks — Rules of a Member State requiring a coach travel operator on routes crossing the internal borders of the Schengen area to check passengers’ passports and residence permits — Penalty — Threat to impose a recurring fine)
Date: 2018-12-13
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Schengen Agreement, administrative sanction, border control, bus, carriage of passengers, carrier, foreign national, identity document, illegal migration, internal border of the EU








C_2019065EN.01001101.xml










18.2.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 65/11






Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 13 December 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht — Germany) — Bundesrepublik Deutschland v Touring Tours und Travel GmbH (C-412/17), Sociedad de Transportes SA (C-474/17)
(Joined Cases C-412/17 and C-474/17) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Area of freedom, security and justice - Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 - Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) - Articles 20 and 21 - Abolition of internal border controls in the Schengen area - Checks within the territory of a Member State - Measures having an effect equivalent to border checks - Rules of a Member State requiring a coach travel operator on routes crossing the internal borders of the Schengen area to check passengers’ passports and residence permits - Penalty - Threat to impose a recurring fine))
(2019/C 65/12)
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesverwaltungsgericht

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Defendant: Touring Tours und Travel GmbH (C-412/17), Sociedad de Transportes SA (C-474/17)

Operative part of the judgment

Article 67(2) TFEU and Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code), as amended by Regulation (EU) No 610/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013, must be interpreted to the effect that they preclude legislation of a Member State, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which requires every coach transport undertaking providing a regular cross-border service within the Schengen area to the territory of that Member State to check the passports and residence permits of passengers before they cross an internal border in order to prevent the transport of third-country nationals not in possession of those travel documents to the national territory, and which allows, for the purposes of complying with that obligation to carry out checks, the police authorities to issue orders prohibiting such transport, accompanied by a threat of a recurring fine, against transport undertakings which have been found to have conveyed to that territory third-country nationals who were not in possession of the requisite travel documents.


(1)  OJ C 330, 2.10.2017.

OJ C 382, 13.11.2017.