CELEX: C2002/017/09
Language: en
Date: 2002-01-19 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 22 November 2001 in Case C-53/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Créteil): Ferring SA v Agence centrale des organismes de sécurité sociale (ACOSS) (State aid — Tax benefit granted to certain undertakings — Wholesale distributors)

C 17/6                  EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                          19.1.2002
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                     1.    Declares that,
                                                                                 —     by failing to require employers to evaluate all health and
                          (Fifth Chamber)                                              safety risks in the work place;
                                                                                 —     by allowing employers to decide whether or not to enlist
                      of 15 November 2001                                              external services for the adoption of protective and
                                                                                       preventive measures when the skills available within the
                                                                                       undertaking are insufficient, and
in Case C-49/00: Commission of the European Communi-
                                                                                 —     by failing to define the capabilities and aptitudes which
                     ties v Italian Republic (1)
                                                                                       the persons responsible for protective and preventive
                                                                                       measures against occupational risks to workers’ health
                                                                                       and safety must possess,
(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
Incomplete transposition of Directive 89/391/EEC — Safety                        the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
                       and health of workers)                                    Articles 6(3) (a) and 7(3), (5) and (8) of Council Directive
                                                                                 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures
                                                                                 to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers
                           (2002/C 17/08)                                        at work.
                                                                           2.    Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs.
                    (Language of the case: Italian)
                                                                           (1) OJ C 135 of 13.5.2000.
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                   in the European Court Reports)
                                                                                             JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
In Case C-49/00: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: E. Traversa and N. Yerrell) v Italian Republic (Agent:                                       (Sixth Chamber)
U. Leanza, assisted by D. Del Gaizo) — application for a
declaration that:
                                                                                                  of 22 November 2001
—     by failing to require employers to evaluate all health and           in Case C-53/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
      safety risks in the work place,                                      the Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Créteil):
                                                                           Ferring SA v Agence centrale des organismes de sécurité
                                                                                                     sociale (ACOSS) (1)
—     by allowing employers to decide whether or not to enlist
      external services for the adoption of protective and                 (State aid — Tax benefit granted to certain undertakings —
      preventive measures when the skills available within the                                    Wholesale distributors)
      undertaking are insufficient, and
                                                                                                       (2002/C 17/09)
—     by failing to define the capabilities and aptitudes which
      the persons responsible for protective and preventive                                     (Language of the case: French)
      measures against occupational risks to workers’ health
      and safety must possess,                                             (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                               in the European Court Reports)
the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Articles 6(3)(a) and 7(3), (5) and (8) of Council Directive
89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures                 In Case C-53/00: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers              from the Tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale de Créteil
at work (OJ 1989 L 183, p. 1) — the Court (Fifth Chamber),                 (France) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
composed of: S. von Bahr (Rapporteur), President of the Fourth             before that court between Ferring SA and Agence centrale des
Chamber, acting for the President of the Fifth Chamber,                    organismes de sécurité sociale (ACOSS) — on the interpret-
D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola, L. Sevón and M. Wathelet,                   ation of Article 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Judges; C. Stix-Hackl, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar,              Article 49 EC), Article 90(2) of the EC Treaty (now Article 86(2)
has given a judgment on 15 November 2001, in which it:                     EC) and Article 92 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
 ---pagebreak--- 19.1.2002                EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                                 C 17/7
Article 87 EC) — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of:                   (Belgium), for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
F. Macken, President of the Chamber, N. Colneric, C. Gulmann               before that court between Office des produits wallons ASBL
(Rapporteur), J.-P. Puissochet and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges;           and Belgian State — on the interpretation of Article 11A(1)(a)
A. Tizzano, Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Administrator, for               of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on
the Registrar, has given a judgment on 22 November 2001, in                the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating
which it has ruled:                                                        to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax:
                                                                           uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — the
1.    Article 92 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 87        Court (Third Chamber), composed of: C. Gulmann (Rappor-
      EC) is to be interpreted as meaning that, because it is charged      teur), acting for the President of the Chamber, J.-P. Puissochet
      only on direct sales of medicines by pharmaceutical laboratories,    and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate
      a measure such as the tax introduced by Article 12 of Law            General; D. Louterman-Hubeau, Head of Division, for the
      No 97-1164 of 19 December 1997 on social security funding            Registrar, has given a judgment on 22 November 2001, in
      for 1998 amounts to State aid to wholesale distributors only         which it has ruled:
      to the extent that the advantage in not being assessed to the tax
      on direct sales of medicines exceeds the additional costs that       For the purposes of Article 11A(1)(a) of Sixth Council Directive
      they bear in discharging the public service obligations imposed      77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of
      on them by national law.                                             the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of
                                                                           value added tax: uniform basis of assessment ‘subsidies directly linked
2.    Article 90(2) of the EC Treaty (now Article 86(2) EC) is to be       to the price’ must be interpreted as covering only subsidies which
      interpreted as meaning that it does not cover a tax advantage        constitute the whole or part of the consideration for a supply of goods
      enjoyed by undertakings entrusted with the operation of a public     or services and which are paid by a third party to the seller or supplier.
      service such as those concerned in the main proceedings in so        It is for the national court to determine, on the basis of the facts
      far as that advantage exceeds the additional costs of performing     before it, whether or not the subsidy constitutes such consideration.
      the public service.
3.    Article 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49
                                                                           (1) OJ C 192 of 8.7.2000.
      EC) must be interpreted as meaning that it does not apply to a
      situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, where
      there is no connection with the provision of services.
(1) OJ C 122 of 29.4.2000.
                                                                                                ORDER OF THE COURT
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                              (Third Chamber)
                          (Third Chamber)                                                        of 13 September 2001
                       of 22 November 2001
                                                                           in Case C-467/00 P: Staff Committee of the European
                                                                              Central Bank and Others v European Central Bank (1)
in Case C-184/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunal de premiere instance de Charleroi): Office
        des produits wallons ASBL v Belgian State (1)                      (Appeal — Application for annulment of an administrative
                                                                           circular concerning Internet usage within the European
(Sixth VAT Directive — Article 11A(1)(a) — Taxable                         Central Bank — Application for directions to be issued to
        amount — Subsidies directly linked to the price)                   the European Central Bank — Inadmissibility — Appeal in
                                                                              part clearly inadmissible and in part clearly unfounded)
                            (2002/C 17/10)
                                                                                                      (2002/C 17/11)
                     (Language of the case: French)
                                                                                               (Language of the case: English)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                    in the European Court Reports)
                                                                           In Case C-467/00 P: Staff Committee of the European Central
In Case C-184/00: reference to the Court under Article 234                 Bank, established in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Johannes
EC from the Tribunal de première instance de Charleroi                     Priesemann, member of staff of the European Central Bank,