CELEX: C2004/047/03
Language: en
Date: 2004-02-21 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court of 13 January 2004 in Case C-453/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van Beroep voor het bedrĳfsleven): Kühne & Heitz NV v Productschap voor Pluimvee en Eieren (Poultrymeat — Export refunds — Failure to refer a question for a preliminary ruling — Final administrative decision — Effect of a preliminary ruling given by the Court after that decision — Legal certainty — Primacy of Community law — Principle of cooperation — Article 10 EC)

C 47/2                  EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                             21.2.2004
ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between                 2.    The obligation to provide information deriving from
Gesamtbetriebsrat der Kühne & Nagel AG & Co. KG and                               Articles 4(1) and 11(1) of the Directive encompasses infor-
Kühne & Nagel AG & Co. KG, on the interpretation of Articles 4                    mation on the average total number of employees and their
and 11 of Council Directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994                         distribution across the Member States, the establishments of
on the establishment of a European Works Council or a                             the undertaking and the group undertakings, and on the
procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-                          structure of the undertaking and of the undertakings in the
scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing                        group, as well as the names and addresses of the employee
and consulting employees (OJ 1994 L 254, p. 64), the Court,                       representation which might participate in the setting up of a
composed of: V. Skouris, President, P. Jann and J.N. Cunha                        special negotiating body in accordance with Article 5 of the
Rodrigues (Presidents of Chambers), A. La Pergola, J.-P. Puisso-                  Directive or in the establishment of a European Works
chet, R. Schintgen, F. Macken (Rapporteur), N. Colneric and                       Council, where that information is essential to the opening of
S. von Bahr, Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; M.-                            negotiations for the establishment of such a council.
F. Contet, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given
a judgment on 13 January 2004, in which it has ruled:
                                                                            (1) OJ C 45 of 10.2.2001.
1.   Articles 4(1) and 11(1) of Council Directive 94/45/EC of
     22 September 1994 on the establishment of a European Works
     Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and
     Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of
     informing and consulting employees must be interpreted as
     meaning that:
                                                                                              JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
     —     where, in a situation such as that at issue before the                                    of 13 January 2004
           national court, the central management of a Community-
           scale group of undertakings is not located in a Member           in Case C-453/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
           State, central management’s responsibility for providing         the College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven): Kühne &
           the employees’ representatives with the information essen-          Heitz NV v Productschap voor Pluimvee en Eieren (1)
           tial to the opening of negotiations for the establishment
           of a European Works Council lies with the deemed
           central management under the second subparagraph of              (Poultrymeat — Export refunds — Failure to refer a question
           Article 4(2) of the Directive;                                   for a preliminary ruling — Final administrative decision —
                                                                            Effect of a preliminary ruling given by the Court after that
                                                                            decision — Legal certainty — Primacy of Community law
                                                                                     — Principle of cooperation — Article 10 EC)
     —     where central management does not, for the purpose of
           establishing a European Works Council, make certain
           information available to the deemed central management                                      (2004/C 47/03)
           under the second subparagraph of Article 4(2) of the
           Directive, the latter, in order to be able to fulfil its
           obligation to provide information to the employees’                                   (Language of the case: Dutch)
           representatives, must request the information essential to
           the opening of negotiations for the establishment of such
           a council from the other undertakings belonging to the           (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
           group which are located in the Member States, and has a                              in the European Court Reports)
           right to receive that information from them;
     —     the management of each of the other undertakings                 In Case C-453/00: Reference to the Court under Article 234
           belonging to the group which are located in the Member           EC by the College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven (Nether-
           States is under an obligation to supply the deemed               lands) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
           central management under the second subparagraph of              before that court between Kühne & Heitz NV and Productschap
           Article 4(2) of the Directive with the information               voor Pluimvee en Eieren, on the interpretation of Community
           concerned where it is in possession of the information or        law and, in particular, the principle of cooperation arising
           is in a position to obtain it;                                   from Article 10 EC, the Court, composed of: V. Skouris,
                                                                            President, P. Jann, C.W.A. Timmermans, C. Gulmann,
                                                                            J.N. Cunha Rodrigues and A. Rosas, Presidents of Chambers,
                                                                            D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen,
     —     the Member States concerned are to ensure that the               F. Macken, N. Colneric (Rapporteur) and S. von Bahr, Judges;
           management of those other undertakings supplies the              P. Léger, Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator,
           information to the deemed central management under the           for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 13 January 2004,
           second subparagraph of Article 4(2) of the Directive.            in which it has ruled:
 ---pagebreak--- 21.2.2004                EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                                  C 47/3
The principle of cooperation arising from Article 10 EC imposes on            Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for the
an administrative body an obligation to review a final administrative         Registrar, has given a judgment on 7 January 2004, in which
decision, where an application for such review is made to it, in order        it has ruled:
to take account of the interpretation of the relevant provision given in
the meantime by the Court where                                               Article 141 EC, in principle, precludes legislation, such as that at
                                                                              issue before the national court, which, in breach of the European
—     under national law, it has the power to reopen that decision;           Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
                                                                              Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950, prevents a couple
—     the administrative decision in question has become final as a           such as K.B. and R. from fulfilling the marriage requirement which
      result of a judgment of a national court ruling at final instance;      must be met for one of them to be able to benefit from part of the
                                                                              pay of the other. It is for the national court to determine whether in a
—     that judgment is, in the light of a decision given by the Court         case such as that in the main proceedings a person in K.B.’s situation
      subsequent to it, based on a misinterpretation of Community             can rely on Article 141 EC in order to gain recognition of her right
      law which was adopted without a question being referred to the          to nominate her partner as the beneficiary of a survivor’s pension.
      Court for a preliminary ruling under Article 234(3) EC; and
                                                                              (1) OJ C 150 of 19.5.2001.
—     the person concerned complained to the administrative body
      immediately after becoming aware of that decision of the Court.
(1) OJ C 61 of 24.2.2001.
                                                                                                JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                                                          (Fifth Chamber)
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                              of 11 December 2003
                          of 7 January 2004                                   in Case C-215/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
                                                                                    the Amtsgericht Augsburg): Bruno Schnitzer (1)
in Case C-117/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Court of Appeal (England & Wales) (Civil Division):                       (Freedom to provide services — Directive 64/427/EEC —
K.B. v National Health Service Pensions Agency, Secretary                     Skilled services in the plastering trade — National rules
                        of State for Health (1)                               requiring foreign skilled-trade undertakings to be entered on
                                                                                           the trades register — Proportionality)
(Article 141 EC — Directive 75/117/EEC — Equal treatment
                                                                                                           (2004/C 47/05)
for men and women — Transsexual partner not entitled to a
survivor’s pension payable solely to a surviving spouse —
                Discrimination on grounds of sex)                                                 (Language of the case: German)
                           (2004/C 47/04)                                     (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                                  in the European Court Reports)
                     (Language of the case: English)
                                                                              In Case C-215/01: Reference to the Court under Article 234
                                                                              EC by the Amtsgericht Augsburg (Germany) for a preliminary
In Case C-117/01: Reference to the Court under Article 234                    ruling in the proceedings before that court against Bruno
EC by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (Civil                         Schnitzer, on the interpretation of Articles 49 EC, 50 EC, 54
Division) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending                 EC and 55 EC and Council Directive 64/427/EEC of 7 July
before that court between K.B. and National Health Service                    1964 laying down detailed provisions concerning transitional
Pensions Agency, Secretary of State for Health, on the interpret-             measures in respect of activities of self-employed persons in
ation of Article 141 EC and of Council Directive 75/117/EEC                   manufacturing and processing industries falling within ISIC
of 10 February 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the                   Major Groups 23-40 (Industry and small craft industries) (OJ,
Member States relating to the application of the principle of                 English Special Edition 1963-1964, p. 148), the Court (Fifth
equal pay for men and women (OJ 1975 L 45, p. 19), the Court,                 Chamber), composed of: D.A.O. Edward (Rapporteur), acting
composed of: V. Skouris, President, C.W.A. Timmermans,                        for the President of the Fifth Chamber, A. La Pergola and
J.N. Cunha Rodrigues (Rapporteur) and A. Rosas (Presidents                    S. von Bahr, Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
of Chambers), D.A.O. Edward, J.-P. Puissochet, F. Macken,                     Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment
N. Colneric and S. von Bahr, Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer,                  on 11 December 2003, in which it has ruled: