CELEX: C2004/071/25
Language: en
Date: 2004-03-20 00:00:00
Title: Case C-36/04: Action brought on 2 February 2004 by the Kingdom of Spain against the Council of the European Communities

20.3.2004             EN                       Official Journal of the European Union                                            C 71/15
Action brought on 30 January 2004 by the Commission                    The Kingdom of Spain claims that the Court should:
of the European Communities against the Grand Duchy
                         of Luxembourg
                                                                       —     annul Articles 3, 4 and 6 of Council Regulation (EC)
                         (Case C-35/04)                                      No 1954/2003 (1) of 4 November 2003 on the manage-
                                                                             ment of the fishing effort relating to certain Community
                                                                             fishing areas and resources and modifying Regulation
                         (2004/C 71/24)                                      (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulations (EC)
                                                                             No 685/95 and (EC) No 2027/95, and
An action against the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was                    —     order the defendant institution to pay the costs.
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-
ties on 30 January 2004 by the Commission of the European
Communities, represented by K. Banks, acting as Agent, with
an address for service in Luxembourg.
The Commission of the European Communities claims that                 Pleas in law and main arguments
the Court should:
—     declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations
      and administrative provisions necessary to comply with           Breach of the principle of non-discrimination:
      Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of
      the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of
      certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the
                                                                       —     the use of the reference period laid down in Articles 3, 4
      information society (1), or, in any event, by failing to
                                                                             and 6 of the Regulation in question, which refers to the
      inform the Commission thereof, the Grand Duchy of
                                                                             period 1998 to 2002, discriminates against the Spanish
      Luxembourg has failed to fulfil its obligations under
                                                                             fleet on the basis of nationality, since for those years,
      Article 13 of that directive;
                                                                             pursuant to provisions in the Act of Accession of the
                                                                             Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Portugal to the
—     order the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to pay the costs.                  European Communities, the Spanish fleet’s access was
                                                                             limited to ICES areas V b, VI, VII and VIII a, b, d and e.
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                       —     the establishment of the sensitive area referred to in
                                                                             Article 6 is similarly discriminatory as regards the Spanish
The period for transposition of the directive expired on                     fleet, since the new sensitive area partly coincides with
22 December 2002.                                                            the so-called ‘Irish box’, where restrictions apply to the
                                                                             Spanish fleet in accordance with the Accession Treaty for
                                                                             the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Portugal.
(1) OJ 2001 L 167, p. 10.
                                                                       Misuse of power: The protection of the sensitive area provided
                                                                       for in Article 6 should have been established by applying the
                                                                       procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 850/1998 for the
                                                                       conservation of fishery resources through technical measures
                                                                       for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms, which
Action brought on 2 February 2004 by the Kingdom of
                                                                       establishes measures linked to certain time-periods and areas
 Spain against the Council of the European Communities
                                                                       or to the use of certain more selective types of fishing gear in
                                                                       order to ensure the survival of those juveniles. Instead, on the
                         (Case C-36/04)                                pretext of the conservation of hake, the Regulation at issue
                                                                       seeks to maintain discrimination against the Spanish fleet in
                                                                       the waters around Ireland.
                         (2004/C 71/25)
An action against the Council of the European Communities              (1) OJ 2003 L 289, p. 1.
was brought before the Court of Justice of the European
Communities on 2 February 2004 by the Kingdom of Spain,
represented by N. Díaz Abad, Abogado del Estado, with an
address for service in Luxembourg.