CELEX: 62010CA0577
Language: en
Date: 2012-12-19 00:00:00
Title: Case C-577/10: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 19 December 2012 — European Commission v Kingdom of Belgium (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Article 56 TFEU — Freedom to provide services — National legislation which imposes a prior declaration requirement on self-employed service providers established in other Member States — Criminal penalties — Obstacle to freedom to provide services — Objectively justified distinction — Overriding requirements in the public interest — Prevention of fraud — Protection against unfair competition — Protection of self-employed workers — Proportionality)

16.2.2013   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 46/2
            
         Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 19 December 2012 — European Commission v Kingdom of Belgium
   (Case C-577/10) (1)
   
   (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Article 56 TFEU - Freedom to provide services - National legislation which imposes a prior declaration requirement on self-employed service providers established in other Member States - Criminal penalties - Obstacle to freedom to provide services - Objectively justified distinction - Overriding requirements in the public interest - Prevention of fraud - Protection against unfair competition - Protection of self-employed workers - Proportionality)
   2013/C 46/03
   Language of the case: French
   
      Parties
   
   
      Applicant: European Commission (represented by: E. Traversa, C. Vrignon and J.-P. Keppenne, acting as Agents)
   
      Defendant: Kingdom of Belgium (represented by: M. Jacobs and C. Pochet, acting as Agents, and by S. Rodrigues, avocat)
   
      Intervener: Kingdom of Denmark (represented by: C. Vang, S. Juul Jørgensen and V. Pasternak Jørgensen, acting as Agents)
   
      Re:
   
   Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement of Article 56 TFEU — National legislation which imposes a prior notification requirement on independent service providers established in other Member States (the ‘Limosa’ declaration) — Restriction on the freedom to provide services — Discriminatory nature of the restriction — Lack of justification and proportionality
   
      Operative part of the judgment
   
   The Court:
   
               1.
            
            
               Declares that, by adopting Articles 137(8), 138, third indent, 153 and 157(3) of the Programme Law (I) of 27 December 2006, in the version in force since 1 April 2007, namely by imposing a prior declaration requirement on self-employed service providers established in Member States other than the Kingdom of Belgium in respect of their activity in Belgium, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 56 TFEU;
            
         
               2.
            
            
               Orders the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs;
            
         
               3.
            
            
               Orders the Kingdom of Denmark to bear its own costs.
            
         
      (1)  OJ C 72, 5.3.2011.