CELEX: C1998/278/07
Language: en
Date: 1998-09-05 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber) of 25 June 1998 in Case C-192/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Netherlands Raad van State): Beside BV and I. M. Besselsen v. Minister van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer (Management, transport and storage of municipal/household waste - Illegal traffic)

C 278/4               EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                      5.9.98
               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                       (Sixth Chamber)                                                       (Sixth Chamber)
                        of 18 June 1998                                                      of 25 June 1998
in   Case    C-208/97: Commission of the European                    in Case C-192/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
           Communities v. Portuguese Republic (1)                    the Netherlands Raad van State): Beside BV and I. M.
(Failure to fulfil obligations Ð Directive 84/156/EEC Ð              Besselsen v. Minister van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke
      Failure to transpose within the prescribed period)                                Ordening en Milieubeheer (1)
                         (98/C 278/06)                               (Management, transport and storage of municipal/
                                                                                    household waste Ð Illegal traffic)
                                                                                              (98/C 278/07)
              (Language of the case: Portuguese)
                                                                                       (Language of the case: Dutch)
  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
          published in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-208/97: Commission of the European                          (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
Communities (Agent: Francisco de Sousa Fialho) v.                             published in the European Court Reports)
Portuguese Republic (Agents: Luís Fernandes and JoaÄo
Lopes Fernandes) Ð application for a declaration that, by
failing to adopt within the period prescribed the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to               In Case C-192/96: reference to the Court under Article 177
comply with Council Directive 84/156/EEC of 8 March                  of the EC Treaty from the Netherlands Raad van State
1984 om limit values and quality objectives for mercury              (Council of State), for a preliminary ruling in the
discharges by sectors other than the chlor-alkali                    proceedings pending before that court between Beside BV
electrolysis industry (OJ L 74, 17.3.1984, p. 49), and, in           and I. M. Besselsen and Minister van Volkshuisvesting,
particular, by failing to draw up the specific programmes            Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer Ð on the
required by that Directive, and in the alternative, by               interpretation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of
failing forthwith to inform the Commission of such                   1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of
measures, the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its           shipments of waste within, into and out of the European
obligations under the third paragraph of Article 189 of the          Community (OJ L 30, 6.2.1993, p. 1) and of Council
EC Treaty and under that Directive Ð the Court (Sixth                Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (OJ L 194,
Chamber), composed of: H. Ragnemalm, President of the                25.7.1975, p. 39), as amended by Council Directive 91/
Chamber, G. F. Mancini, J. L. Murray, G. Hirsch and                  156/EEC of 18 March 1991 amending Directive 75/442/
K. M. Ioannou (Rapporteur), Judges; P. LeÂger, Advocate-             EEC on waste (OJ L 78, 26.3.1991, p. 32) Ð the Court
General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on                (Sixth Chamber), composed of: H. Ragnemalm
18 June 1998, in which it:                                           (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, G. F. Mancini,
                                                                     P. J. G. Kapteyn, J. L. Murray and G. Hirsch, Judges: F. G.
                                                                     Jacobs, Advocate-General; H. A. Rühl, Principal
                                                                     Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
1. declares that, by failing to adopt within the period              25 June 1998, in which it has ruled:
     prescribed the laws, regulations and administrative
     provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive
     84/156/EEC of 8 March 1984 on limit values and
     quality objectives for mercury discharges by sectors
                                                                     1.    The expression municipal/household waste' referred
     other than the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry and, in
                                                                           to under AD 160 in the amber list in Annex III to
     particular, by failing to draw up the specific
                                                                           Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February
     programmes required by that directive, the Portuguese
                                                                           1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of
     Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
                                                                           waste within, into and out of the European
     Article 4(1) of the said Directive;
                                                                           Community, as amended by Commission Decision
                                                                           94/721/EC of 21 October 1994 adapting, pursuant to
                                                                           Article 42(3), Annexes II, III and IV to Council
2. orders the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.                        Regulation (EEC) No 259/93, includes both waste
                                                                           which for the most part consists of waste mentioned
                                                                           on the green list in Annex II to the Regulation,
(1) OJ C 228, 26.7.1997.                                                   mixed with other categories of waste appearing on
                                                                           that list, and waste mentioned on the green list mixed
                                                                           with a small quantity of materials not referred to on
                                                                           that list.
 ---pagebreak--- 5.9.98                EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                     C 278/5
2a. The reference to the storage of materials in point R 13          (Netherlands Council of State) for a preliminary ruling in
      of Annex II B to Council Directive 75/442/EEC of               the proceedings pending before that court between Chemi-
      15 July 1975 on waste, as amended by Directive 91/             sche Afvalstoffen Dusseldorp BV and Others and Minister
      156/EEC of 18 March 1991, must be interpreted as               van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieube-
      covering not only cases in which storage takes place           heer Ð on the interpretation of Articles 34, 86, 90 and
      in the undertaking in which the other operations               130t of the EC Treaty, of Council Directive 75/442/EEC
      mentioned in that Annex must be carried out but also           of 15 July 1975 on waste (OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39), as
      cases in which storage precedes transport to such an           amended by Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991 (OJ
      undertaking, regardless of whether the latter is               L 78, 26.3.1991, p. 32), and of Council Regulation (EEC)
      established inside or outside the Community.                   No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and
                                                                     control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the
                                                                     European Community (OJ L 30, 6.2.1993, p. 1) Ð the
                                                                     Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: H. Ragnemalm
2b. The information listed in Article 11(1) of Regulation            (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, G. F. Mancini,
      (EEC) No 259/93 constitutes the minimum evidence               P. J. G. Kapteyn, J. L. Murray and G. Hirsch, Judges;
      which the competent authority may, in the absence of           F. G. Jacobs, Advocate-General; H. A. Rühl, Principal
      notification, require in order to establish that green        Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
      waste' is intended for recovery.                               25 June 1998, in which it has ruled:
3.    Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 must be interpreted as
      meaning that the Member State of destination may
      not unilaterally return waste to the Member State of           1. Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on
      dispatch without prior notification to the latter; the             waste, as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC of
      Member State of dispatch may not oppose its return                 18 March 1991 and Council Regulation (EEC)
      where the Member State of destination produces a                   No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and
      duly motivated request to that effect.                             control of shipments of waste within, into and out of
                                                                         the European Community cannot be interpreted as
(1) OJ C 233, 10.8.1996.                                                 meaning that the principles of self-sufficiency and
                                                                         proximity are applicable to shipments of waste for
                                                                         recovery. Article 130t of the EC Treaty does not
                                                                         permit Member States to extend the application of
                                                                         those principles to such waste when it is clear that
                                                                         they create a barrier to exports which is not justified
                                                                         either by an imperative measure relating to protection
                                                                         of the environment or by one of derogations provided
                                                                         for by Article 36 of that Treaty.
               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                       (Sixth Chamber)
                        of 25 June 1998
in Case C-203/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from            2. Article 90 of the EC Treaty, in conjunction with
the Nederlandse Raad van State): Chemische Afvalstoffen                  Article 86, precludes rules such as the long-term plan
Dusseldorp BV and Others v. Minister van Volkshuis-                      whereby a Member State requires undertakings to
     vesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer (1)                   deliver their waste for recovery, such as oil filters, to a
                                                                         national undertaking on which it has conferred the
(Shipments of waste for recovery Ð Principles of self-
                                                                         exclusive right to incinerate dangerous waste unless
                  sufficiency and proximity)
                                                                         the processing of their waste in another Member State
                         (98/C 278/08)                                   is of a higher quality than that performed by that
                                                                         undertaking if, without any objective justification and
                                                                         without being necessary for the performance of a task
                                                                         in the general interest, those rules have the effect of
                (Language of the case: Dutch)                            favouring the national undertaking and increasing its
                                                                         dominant position.
  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be       (1) OJ C 247, 24.8.1996.
          published in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-203/96: reference to the Court under Article 177
of the EC Treaty from the Nederlandse Raad van State