CELEX: C2001/317/31
Language: en
Date: 2001-11-10 00:00:00
Title: Case C-350/01: Action brought on 17 September 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Italian Republic

10.11.2001            EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                     C 317/17
—    Infringement of the principles of proper administration.                 to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid
     In spreading the burden over all the Länder, the Com-                    fuels and amending Directive 93/12/EEC (1), or, in any
     mission departed from an administrative practice which                   event, by failing to communicate the same to the
     had pertained for many years without any reason. In the                  Commission, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its
     light of the legal scope of such a new procedure, it would               obligations under that directive;
     have been necessary on grounds of proper administration,
     foreseeability and transparency for the Commission to              —     order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.
     give notice of its change of policy and at least an outline
     thereof by way of a communication to the Member
     States. That applies a fortiori in so far as the question of
     supra-Länder burdens are of great political and legal
     significance in other Member States too, in particular             Pleas in law and main arguments
     those with federal or quasi-federal decentralised adminis-
     trative structures such as, for example, Austria and Spain.
     Beyond that, the question of the conditions on which it
     is possible to assume errors in a Member State as a whole          Article 249 EC, according to which directives are to be binding,
     on the basis of the conclusions of particular studies is of        as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to
     vital importance to all the other Member States too.               which they are addressed, implies an obligation for the Member
                                                                        States to comply with the time-limits for transposition laid
                                                                        down in the directives. That time-limit expired on 1 July 2000
—    Infringement of Article 10 EC. The duty of loyal co-               without the Italian Republic having enacted the provisions
     operation to which the Community institutions are                  necessary to comply with the directive mentioned in the
     subject involves a duty to take into account the underlying        Commissions pleadings.
     administrative structures of the Member States. Respect
     for the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany is
     divided into autonomous Länder requires that financial             (1) OJ L 121 of 11.5.1999, p. 13.
     corrections in respect of individual Länder can only be
     made where the EAGGF has reached its own conclusions
     as to a breach of Community law to the detriment of the
     Community budget in those Länder.
(1) Commission Decision 2001/557/EC (OJ L 200, 25.7.2001, p. 28).
                                                                        Action brought on 18 September 2001 by Commission
                                                                          of the European Communities against French Republic
                                                                                                 (Case C-351/01)
Action brought on 17 September 2001 by the Com-                                                 (2001/C 317/32)
mission of the European Communities against the Italian
                            Republic
                                                                        An action against the French Republic was brought before the
                                                                        Court of Justice of the European Communities on 18 Septem-
                         (Case C-350/01)                                ber 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                                                                        represented by M. Patakia, acting as Agents, with an address
                         (2001/C 317/31)                                for service in Luxembourg.
An action against the Italian Republic was brought before the           The applicant claims that the Court should:
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 17 Septem-
ber 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                                                                        1.    Declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations
represented by Gregorio Valero Jordana and Roberto Amorosi,
                                                                              and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
acting as Agents.
                                                                              Directive 98/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the
                                                                              Council of 16 February 1998 to facilitate practice of the
                                                                              profession of lawyer on a permanent basis in a Member
The applicant claims that the Court should:                                   State other than that in which the qualification was
                                                                              obtained (1), the French Republic has failed to fulfil its
—    declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations                  obligations under that directive; and
     and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
     Council Directive 1999/32/EC of 26 April 1999 relating             2.    Order the French Republic to pay the costs.