CELEX: C2003/251/08
Language: en
Date: 2003-10-18 00:00:00
Title: Case C-334/03: Action brought on 30 July 2003 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Portuguese Republic

C 251/4                 EN                    Official Journal of the European Union                                          18.10.2003
     quantity of telephone numbers and the retrospective               basic telecommunications networks, is exempted from those
     imposition of fees in respect of this old stock is not            charges which are, however, payable by every other operator.
     possible for reasons of national law?
If the answer to Question 1 is in the affirmative:                     The more favourable treatment reserved for PT Comunicações
                                                                       compared to other operators as regards the economic condi-
                                                                       tions for the granting of rights of way is not objectively
2.   In such a situation may the new entrants to the market,           justified. Reserving to PT Comunicações treatment which
     irrespective of the level of their other entry costs and          differs from that afforded to other operators without any
     without an associated analysis of their competitive               objective justification whatsoever constitutes unequal treat-
     chances in comparison with the dominant undertaking,              ment in respect of the granting of rights of way to PT
     be charged for the allocation of a telephone number a             Comunicações, which amounts to infringement of Article 4d
     one-off fee in the amount of a particular percentage (in          of the Directive.
     this case 0,1 %) of the estimated annual sales which can
     be attained if the telephone number is passed on to a final
     customer?                                                         (1) Commission Directive 90/388/EEC of 28 June 1990 on competi-
                                                                           tion in the markets for telecommunications services (OJ L 192 of
                                                                           24 July 1990, p. 10).
(1) OJ L 117, p. 15.                                                   (2) Commission Directive 96/19/EC of 13 March 1996 amending
                                                                           Directive 90/388/EEC with regard to the implementation of full
                                                                           competition in telecommunications markets (OJ L 74 of 22 March
                                                                           1996, p. 13).
Action brought on 30 July 2003 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Portuguese
                              Republic
                                                                       Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale
                          (Case C-334/03)                              Ordinario di Torino — Sezione del Giudice per le
                                                                       Indagini Preliminari — by order of that Court of 15 July
                          (2003/C 251/08)                                          2003 in the case against Fabrizio Barra
An action against the Portuguese Republic was brought before                                     (Case C-337/03)
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 30 July
2003 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                                                                                                 (2003/C 251/09)
represented by A. M. Alves Vieira and S. Rating, acting as
Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg.
The applicant claims that the Court should:                            Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
                                                                       European Communities by order of the Tribunale Ordinario
                                                                       di Torino — Sezione del Giudice per le Indagini Preliminari —
                                                                       (District Court, Turin — Preliminary Investigations Section) of
(1)   Declare that, by failing to ensure in practice the transpo-      15 July 2003, received at the Court Registry on 1st August
      sition into national law of Article 4d of Directive              2003, for a preliminary ruling in the case against Fabrizio
      90/388/EEC (1) in the latest version amended by                  Barra on the following questions:
      Directive 96/19/EC (2), the Portuguese Republic has failed
      to fulfil its obligations; and
(2)   Order the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.                  1.    Must Article 44(3)(g) of the Treaty, Articles 2(1)(f) and 6
                                                                             of the first directive (Directive 68/151/EEC (1)) and
                                                                             Article 2(2), (3) and (4) of the fourth directive (Directive
                                                                             78/660/EEC (2), as amended by Directive 83/349 (3) and
Pleas in law and main arguments                                              Directive 90/605 (4)), be interpreted as meaning that that
                                                                             legislation precludes a law of a Member State according to
                                                                             which it is not a punishable offence for companies to
Article 13 of Law No 91/97 exempts the operators of basic                    infringe their obligations concerning disclosure and the
telecommunications networks from the payment of fees for                     provision of accurate information where statements are
the installations of their networks and the granting of the                  made which, although intended to deceive members of the
necessary rights of access to the public domain. As a result                 public with a view to securing an unjust profit, are the
of that provision, PT Comunicações, being the sole operator of               consequence of estimated valuations which, taken indivi-