CELEX: C2005/171/19
Language: en
Date: 2005-07-09 00:00:00
Title: Case C-226/05: Action brought on 20 May 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Republic of Austria

9.7.2005   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 171/11
            
         Action brought on 20 May 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Republic of Austria
   (Case C-226/05)
   (2005/C 171/19)
   Language of the case: German
   An action against the Republic of Austria was brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 20 May 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities, represented by Dr Bernhard Schima, acting as Agent with an address for service in Luxembourg.
   The Commission claims that the Court should:
   
               1.
            
            
               declare that the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obligation to completely implement Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances (1) in that
               
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                           contrary to Article 24(1), it has failed to enact any provisions to implement the directive as regards the Federal Government's law on mineral raw materials, its law on blasting supplies and explosives and the law of the Land of Salzburg relating to electricity production;
                        
                     
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                           it has failed to implement Article 11 as regards external emergency plans in the Länder of Burgenland, Salzburg, Styria and Tyrol;
                        
                     
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                           it has failed to implement Article 12 of the directive in the Land of Upper Austria;
                        
                     
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                           it has failed to implement Article 8(2)(b) of the directive in the Länder of Burgenland, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg;
                        
                     or that the Republic of Austria has failed to inform the Commission of any implementing measures in all these instances;
            
         
               2.
            
            
               order the Republic of Austria to pay the costs.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments:
   According to Article 24(1) of Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances, the directive should be implemented in national law by the Member States not later than 24 months after its entry into force, that is to say, by 3 February 1999. The implementation of the directive in Austria rests partly with the Federal Government and partly with the Länder.
   The Commission is of the opinion that the implementation of the directive in the Republic of Austria is incomplete or insufficient: there are gaps as regards implementation in areas of importance and the implementing measures partly fall short of the requirements of the directive.
   At the Federal law level, implementation in the areas of the law on mineral raw materials and the law on blasting supplies and explosives is still outstanding. At the level of the Länder, implementation of the directive in the area of the Salzburg law relating to electricity production is still outstanding.
   Article 11(1) of the directive — the drawing up of an external emergency plan for measures to be taken outside the establishment — has not been implemented in the Länder of Burgenland, Salzburg, Styria and Tyrol.
   Article 12 of the directive lays a duty on Member States to take the objectives of preventing major accidents and limiting the consequences of such accidents into account in their land-use policies and/or other relevant policies. Member States have a duty to control the siting of new establishments and to set up appropriate consultation procedures to facilitate the implementation of the policies. However, the Commission has received no implementing measure in respect of Article 12 for the Land of Upper Austria.
   With regard to the so-called ‘domino effect’ establishments, Article 8(2)(b) of the directive requires Member States to make provision for cooperation in informing the public and in supplying information to the competent authority for the preparation of external emergency plans. This provision has not, as yet, been implemented in the Länder of Burgenland, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg.
   
      (1)  OJ L 10, 14.1.1997, p. 13.