CELEX: C2002/144/10
Language: en
Date: 2002-06-15 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) 18 April 2002 in Case C-290/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Johann Franz Duchon v Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der Angestellten, (Social security for migrant workers — Article 48 and Article 51 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 39 and Article 42 EC) — Article 9a and 94 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 — Accident at work occurring in another Member State before the entry into force of the regulation in the worker's home State — Incapacity for work)

15.6.2002                 EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                            C 144/7
Rantou, G. Alexaki and S. Vodina): Application for a declar-                 ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
ation that, by not providing in the national legislation transpos-           Johann Franz Duchon and Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der
ing Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the                      Angestellten, on the interpretation of Article 48 and Article 51
approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative                    EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 39 and Article 42
provisions of the Member States concerning liability for                     EC), and on the interpretation and validity of Article 9a and
defective products (OJ 1985 L 210, p. 29) for the threshold of               Article 94 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of
EUR 500 laid down in Article 9(b) of that directive, the                     14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to
Hellenic Republic has transposed that provision only partially,              employed workers, to self-employed workers and to members
the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: P. Jann (Rapporteur),                of their families moving within the Community, as amended
President of the Chamber, S. von Bahr, D. A. O. Edward, A. La                and updated by Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of the Council of
Pergola and C. W. A. Timmermans, Judges; L. A. Geelhoed,                     2 December 1996 (OJ 1997 L 28, p. 1), the Court (Fifth
Advocate General; Lynn Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for                 Chamber), composed of: P. Jann, President of the Chamber,
the Registrar, has given a judgment on 25 April 2002, in                     S. von Bahr, and M. Wathelet (Rapporteur), Judges; F. G. Jacobs,
which it:                                                                    Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment
                                                                             on 18 April 2002, in which it has ruled:
1.    Declares that, by not making provision in the national
      legislation transposing Council Directive 85/374/EEC of
      25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations
      and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning
      liability for defective products for the threshold of EUR 500
      referred to in Article 9(b) of the Directive, the Hellenic Republic
                                                                             1.   The situation of a person who is a national of a Member State,
      has failed to fulfil its obligations under that provision;
                                                                                  who, before the accession of that State to the European Union,
                                                                                  was employed in another Member State where he was the victim
2.    Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
                                                                                  of an accident at work, and who, after the accession of his home
                                                                                  State, applies to the authorities in that State for a pension for
(1) OJ C 176 of 24.6.2000.                                                        incapacity for work as a result of that accident falls within the
                                                                                  scope of application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71
                                                                                  of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes
                                                                                  to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members
                                                                                  of their families moving within the Community, as amended
                                                                                  and updated by Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of
                                                                                  2 December 1996.
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                            (Fifth Chamber)
                                                                             2.   Article 94(3) of Regulation No 1408/71, as amended and
                              18 April 2002                                       updated by Regulation No 118/97, read in conjunction with
                                                                                  Article 48(2) of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
in Case C-290/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling                              Article 39(2) EC), must be interpreted as precluding a national
from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Johann Franz Duchon v                             provision such as Paragraph 235(3)(a) of the Allgemeines
     Pensionsversicherungsanstalt der Angestellten (1)                            Sozialversicherungsgesetz, which provides an exception to the
                                                                                  requirement of a qualifying period as a condition for the
                                                                                  acquisition of the right to an occupational disability pension
(Social security for migrant workers — Article 48 and                             where that disability is the result of an accident at work —
Article 51 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,                                which occurred, in the case in point, before the date of entry
Article 39 and Article 42 EC) — Article 9a and 94 of                              into force of that regulation in the Member State concerned —
Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 — Accident at work occurring                          only in the event that the victim had been insured compulsorily
in another Member State before the entry into force of the                        or privately at the time of the accident under the legislation of
regulation in the worker’s home State — Incapacity for                            that State, to the exclusion of the legislation of all other
                                   work)                                          Member States.
                            (2002/C 144/10)
                    (Language of the case: German)
                                                                             3.   Articles 48(2) and 51 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published            Articles 39(2) and 42 EC) must be interpreted as meaning that
                     in the European Court Reports)                               they preclude a provision such as Paragraph 234(1)(2)(b) of
                                                                                  the Allgemeines Sozialversicherungsgesetz, read in conjunction
                                                                                  with Paragraph 236(3) of that law, which takes into account,
                                                                                  for the purposes of prolongation of the reference period during
In Case C-290/00: Reference to the Court under Article 234                        which the qualifying period for the acquisition of the right to a
EC by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria) for a preliminary                        pension must have been completed, only those periods during
 ---pagebreak--- C 144/8                  EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                          15.6.2002
      which the insured person received a disability pension under a        concentrated butter intended for the manufacture of pastry
      national accident insurance scheme, without providing for the         products, ice-cream and other foodstuffs and, second, partial
      possibility of a prolongation of that period where a benefit of       annulment of Commission Decision 2000/449/EC of 5 July
      such a kind was paid under the legislation of another Member          2000 excluding from Community financing certain expendi-
      State.                                                                ture incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee
                                                                            Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
4.    Article 9a of Regulation No 1408/71, as amended and                   Fund (EAGGF) (OJ 2000 L 180, p. 49) in so far as it excludes
      updated by Regulation No 118/97, a provision which is                 from Community financing expenditure in the amount of
      incompatible with Articles 48(2) and 51 of the EC Treaty in           EUR 160 225 645 and EUR 3 188 322 respectively incurred
      so far as it excludes the possibility of taking into account, for     by the Kingdom of Belgium in the context of aid for the sale at
      the purposes of the prolongation of the reference period under        a reduced price of butter and the grant of aid for concentrated
      the legislation of a Member State, the periods during which           butter intended for the manufacture of pastry products, ice-
      industrial accident benefits were paid under the legislation of       cream and other foodstuffs, the Court (Sixth Chamber),
      another Member State, is invalid.                                     composed of: F. Macken, President of the Chamber, C. Gul-
                                                                            mann, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen and J. N. Cunha Rodrigues
                                                                            (Rapporteur), Judges; C. Stix-Hackl, Advocate General; L. Hew-
                                                                            lett, Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
(1) OJ C 285 of 7.10.2000.                                                  18 April 2002, in which it:
                                                                            1.    Dismisses the application;
                                                                            2.    Orders the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                     (1) OJ C 355 of 9.12.2000.
                          (Sixth Chamber)
                            18 April 2002
in Case C-332/00: Kingdom of Belgium v Commission of
                  the European Communities (1)                                               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
(Action for annulment — Clearance of EAGGF accounts —                                               (Fourth Chamber)
Non-recognition of expenditure — Financial years 1995 to
                                1997)
                                                                                                        7 May 2002
                           (2002/C 144/11)
                                                                            in Case C-364/00: Commission of the European Communi-
                                                                                        ties v Kingdom of the Netherlands (1)
                     (Language of the case: French)
                                                                            (Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published      Directive 97/70/EC — Failure to implement within the
                    in the European Court Reports)                                                   prescribed period)
                                                                                                      (2002/C 144/12)
In Case C-332/00, Kingdom of Belgium (Agent: A. Snoecx) v
Commission of the European Communities (Agents: A. Bordes                                       (Language of the case: Dutch)
and M. Niejahr): Application for, first, annulment of Com-
mission Decision 2000/448/EC of 5 July 2000 amending
Decision 1999/187/EC on the clearance of the accounts                       (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
presented by the Member States in respect of the expenditure                                   in the European Court Reports)
for 1995 of the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (OJ 2000 L 180,
p. 46) in so far as it excludes from Community financing
expenditure in the amount of BEF 50 763 827 incurred by the                 In Case C-364/00, Commission of the European Communities
Kingdom of Belgium in the context of aid for the sale at a                  (Agent: T. van Rijn) v Kingdom of the Netherlands (Agent:
reduced price of butter and the grant of aid for butter and                 J. van Bakel): Application for a declaration that, by failing to