CELEX: C1999/226/07
Language: en
Date: 1999-08-07 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court of 15 June 1999 in Case C-140/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Landesgericht Linz): Walter Rechberger and Renate Greindl, Hermann Hofmeister and Others v Republic of Austria (Directive 90/314/EEC on package travel, package holidays and package tours - Travel offered at a reduced price to the subscribers of a daily newspaper - Transposition of the directive - Liability of the Member State)

C 226/4                   EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                              7.8.1999
(President of the First Chamber, acting for the President of                Euratom) No 2799/85 of 27 September 1985 (OJ 1982 L 265,
the Fifth Chamber) J.C. Moitinho de Almeida (Rapporteur),                   p. 1), in particular Article 27 of Annex VIII thereto — the
C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward and M. Wathelet Judges, N. Fen-                   Court (First Chamber) composed of: P. Jann President of the
nelly, Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Administrator, for the                 Chamber, L. Sevón (Rapporteur) and M. Wathelet, Judges;
Registrar, has given a judgment on 10 June 1999 in which it                 D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; H.A. Rühl, Princi-
has ruled:                                                                  pal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
                                                                            10 June 1999, in which it has ruled:
1. Article 8(1) of Council Directive 92/81/EEC of 19 October
     1992 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on        1. Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council
     mineral oils precludes the collection of a tax of the kind at issue        of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of
     in this case, which is levied on domestic commercial aviation and          Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants
     is calculated by reference to data on fuel consumption and                 of the European Communities and instituting special measures
     emissions of hydrocarbons and nitric oxide during an average               temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission, as amended
     flight by the type of aircraft used.                                       by Council Regulation (ECSC, EEC, Euratom) No 2799/85 of
                                                                                27 September 1985, in particular Article 27 of Annex VIII
2. The obligation imposed by Article 8(1)(b) of Directive 92/81 to              thereto, does not preclude the application, in proceedings between
     exempt from the harmonised excise duty mineral oils supplied for           two former spouses, of national rules of law of the kind contained
     use as fuel for the purpose of air navigation other than private           in Paragraph 1587 et seq. of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch,
     pleasure flying may be relied on by individuals in proceedings             providing for the apportionment of pension rights between
     before national courts in order to contest national rules that are         divorced spouses.
     incompatible with that obligation.
                                                                            2. Article 6 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 12
                                                                                EC) does not preclude the laws of a Member State regulating the
(1) OJ C 357 of 22.11.1997.                                                     consequences of divorce between an official of the Communities
                                                                                and his former spouse, regard being had to the spouses’
                                                                                nationality as a connecting factor, from causing the official
                                                                                concerned to bear a heavier burden than would be borne by an
                                                                                official of a different nationality in the same situation.
                                                                            (1) OJ C 55 of 20.2.1998.
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                            (First Chamber)
                            of 10 June 1999
                                                                                              JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
in Case C-430/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling
from the Amtsgericht Köln): Jutta Johannes v Hartmut                                                    of 15 June 1999
                              Johannes (1)
                                                                            in Case C-140/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
(Officials — Pension rights — Apportionment of pension                      the Landesgericht Linz): Walter Rechberger and Renate
                    rights in divorce proceedings)                          Greindl, Hermann Hofmeister and Others v Republic of
                                                                                                           Austria (1)
                            (1999/C 226/06)                                 (Directive 90/314/EEC on package travel, package holidays
                                                                            and package tours — Travel offered at a reduced price to the
                                                                            subscribers of a daily newspaper — Transposition of the
                     (Language of the case: German)                                    directive — Liability of the Member State)
                                                                                                        (1999/C 226/07)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                     in the European Court Reports)
                                                                                                (Language of the case: German)
In Case C-430/97: Reference to the Court under Article 234
EC (ex Article 177) by the Amtsgericht Köln (Germany) for a
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that                   (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
court between Jutta Johannes and Hartmut Johannes on the                                         in the European Court Reports)
interpretation of Article 6 of the EC Treaty (now, after
amendment, Article 12 EC) and of Regulation (EEC, Euratom,                  In Case C-140/97: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 laying                   the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Landesgericht
down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of               Linz (Regional Court, Linz) for a preliminary ruling in the
Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities                    proceedings pending before that court between Walter
and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to                  Rechberger and Renate Greindl, Hermann Hofmeister and
officials of the Commission (OJ, English Special Edition 1968               Others and the Republic of Austria — on the interpretation of
(I), p. 30), as amended by Council Regulation (ECSC, EEC,                   Article 7 of Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990
 ---pagebreak--- 7.8.1999                 EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                            C 226/5
on package travel, package holidays and package tours (OJ                                     JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
1990 L 158, p. 59) and on the conditions under which a
Member State incurs liability for loss or damage caused to
individuals through a breach of Community law — the Court,                                             of 15 June 1999
composed of: G.C. Rodriguez Iglesias, President, P.J.G. Kap-
teyn, G. Hirsch and P. Jann, Presidents of Chambers, G.F. Man-
cini, J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur),
L. Sevón and M. Wathelet, Judges; A. Saggio, Advocate Gen-                  in Case C-321/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
eral; H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has             the Stockholms Tingsrätten): Ulla-Brith Andersson and
given a judgment on 15 June 1999, in which it has ruled:                     Susanne Wåkerås-Andersson v Svenska Staten (Swedish
                                                                                                           State) (1)
1. Article 7 of Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990
                                                                             (Article 234 EC (ex-Article 177) — EEA Agreement —
    on package travel, package holidays and package tours applies to
                                                                             Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice — Accession to the
    trips which are offered by a daily newspaper as a gift exclusive to
                                                                             European Union — Directive 80/987/EEC — Liability of a
    its subscribers as part of an advertising initiative that contravenes
                                                                                                            State)
    national competition laws and for which the principal contractor,
    if he travels alone, pays airport taxes and a single room
    supplement or, if he is accompanied by one or more persons
    paying the full rate, airport taxes only.                                                          (1999/C 226/08)
2. A Member State which acceded to the European Union on
    1 January 1995 has not properly transposed Article 7 of the                                 (Language of the case: Swedish)
    directive into national law if it has adopted legislation which
    protects travellers who have booked package travel after 1 January
    1995 but limits that protection to trips with a departure date of
    1 May 1995 or later.                                                     (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                                in the European Court Reports)
3. Transposition of Article 7 of Directive 90/314 in a way that
    limits the protection prescribed by that provision to trips with a       In Case C-321/97: reference to the Court under Article 234
    departure date four months or more after the expiry of the               EC (ex Article 177) by the Stockholms Tingsrätten, Sweden,
    period prescribed for transposition of the directive constitutes a       for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
    sufficiently serious breach of Community law, even where the             court between Ulla-Brith Andersson and Susanne Wåkerås-
    Member State has implemented all the other provisions of the             Andersson and Svenska Staten (Swedish State) — on the
    directive.                                                               interpretation of Article 6 of the Agreement on the European
                                                                             Economic Area signed on 2 May 1992 and approved by
                                                                             Decision 94/1/EC, ECSC of the Council and the Commission
4. Article 7 of Directive 90/314 has not been properly transposed            of 13 December 1993 on the conclusion of the Agreement
    where national legislation does no more than require, for the            on the European Economic Area between the European
    coverage of the risk, a contract of insurance or a bank guarantee        Communities, their Member States and the Republic of Austria,
    under which the amount of cover provided must be no less than            the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Iceland, the Principality
    5 % of the organiser’s business turnover in the corresponding            of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of
    quarter of the previous calendar year and which requires an              Sweden (OJ 1994 L 1, p. 1), and Council Directive 80/987/EEC
    organiser just starting up in business to base the amount of cover       of 20 October 1980 on the approximation of the laws of the
    on his estimated turnover from his anticipated business as a             Member States relating to the protection of employees in the
    travel organiser, without taking account of any increase in the          event of the insolvency of their employer (OJ 1980 L 283,
    organiser’s business turnover in the current year.                       p. 23) — the Court, composed of G.C. Rodriguez Iglesias,
                                                                             President, J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch and P. Jann, Presidents of
                                                                             Chambers, J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, C. Gulmann, J.L. Murray,
5. Once a direct causal link has been established, the Member                D.A.O. Edward, H. Ragnemalm, L. Sevór (Rapporteur) and
    State’s liability for breach of Article 7 of the directive cannot be     M. Wathelet, Judges; G. Cosmas, Advocate General; H. von
    precluded by imprudent conduct on the part of the travel organiser       Holstein, Deputy Registrar, has given a judgment on 15 June
                                                                             1999, in which it has ruled:
    or by the occurrence of exceptional or unforeseeable events.
                                                                             1. The Court has no jurisdiction to reply to the first question.
(1) OJ C 181 of 14.6.1996.
                                                                             2. Community law does not enable individuals to rely before the
                                                                                 courts or tribunals of a European Free Trade Area State which
                                                                                 has acceded to the European Union on rights derived directly
                                                                                 from Council Directive 80/987/EEC of 20 October 1980 on
                                                                                 the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
                                                                                 the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their