CELEX: C1999/226/44
Language: en
Date: 1999-08-07 00:00:00
Title: Case C-227/99: Action brought on 11 June 1999 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Portuguese Republic

C 226/26               EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                        7.8.1999
    Council Directive 76/207/EEC ... ’. The French Govern-              — in the alternative, by failing to inform the Commission
    ment’s argument that it had not been possible to initiate               forthwith of such measures the Portuguese Republic failed
    consultations with labour and employers with a view to                  to fulfil its obligations under those same provisions;
    submitting legislation to Parliament on nightwork is
    wholly without foundation. It is settled case-law that a            — order the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.
    Member State cannot rely on provisions, practices or
    situations in its national legal system to justify a failure to
    comply with obligations under Community law.                        Pleas in law and main arguments
— The Commission refers to its communications published in              — The mandatory nature of the provisions of the third
    the Official Journal on 21 August 1996 (2) and 28 February              paragraph of Article 249 and the first paragraph of Article
    1997 (3). It considers that the circumstances in which a                10 of the EC Treaty requires Member States to adopt the
    financial penalty may be waived do not pertain. Based on                measures necessary to transpose directives addressed to
    the principle set out in those communications, it has                   them into their domestic law before the expiry of the
    calculated the amount of the fine by attributing a coef-                period prescribed for doing so. That period expired on
    ficient of 9/20 to the seriousness of the breach (being the             25 October 1997 without Portugal having brought into
    sum of a coefficient of 6/10, based on the importance of                force the necessary provisions.
    the Community provisions breached, and a coefficient of
    3/10, based on the effects of the breach on the public
                                                                        (1) OJ 1996 L 272, p. 36.
    interest and the interests of individuals) and a multipli-
    cation coefficient of 1.5/3 to the length of time.
(1) Case C-197/96 (1997) ECR I-1489.
(2) OJ 1996 C 242, p. 6.
(3) OJ 1997 C 63, p. 2.
                                                                        Action brought on 15 June 1999 by the Commission of
                                                                         the European Communities against the French Republic
                                                                                                  (Case C-229/99)
                                                                                                  (1999/C 226/45)
                                                                        An action against the French Republic was brought before the
Action brought on 11 June 1999 by the Commission                        Court of Justice of the European Communities on 15 June
of the European Communities against the Portuguese                      1999 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                            Republic                                    represented by Peter Oliver, Legal Adviser, acting as Agent,
                                                                        with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of
                                                                        Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre,
                         (Case C-227/99)                                Kirchberg.
                         (1999/C 226/44)                                The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                        — Declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations
An action against the Portuguese Republic was brought before                and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 11 June                 Council Directive 95/29/EC of 29 June 1995 amending
1999 by the Commission of the European Communities,                         Directive 90/628/EEC concerning the protection of ani-
represented by Frank Benyon, Legal Adviser, and António                    mals during transport (1), the French Republic has failed to
Caeiros, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents, with an address            fulfil its obligations under that directive and the EC Treaty;
for service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la              and
Cruz of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.
                                                                        — Order the French Republic to pay the costs.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                        Pleas in law and main arguments
— Declare that, by failing to bring into force the laws,
    regulations and administrative provisions necessary to              The pleas in law and main arguments are analogous to those
    comply with Council Directive 96/67/EC (1) of 15 October            in Case C-227/99; the time-limit laid down in Article 2 of the
    1996 on access to the groundhandling market at Com-                 directive expired on 31 December 1996.
    munity airports, within the period prescribed by the first
    subparagraph of Article 23(1) thereof, the Portuguese
    Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the first       (1) OJ 1995 L 148, p. 52.
    paragraph of Article 10 and the third paragraph of Article
    249 of the EC Treaty as well as under the first subparagraph
    of Article 23(1) of Directive 96/67/EC; and