CELEX: C2001/118/27
Language: en
Date: 2001-04-21 00:00:00
Title: Case C-86/01: Action brought on 21 February 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Republic of Austria

21.4.2001               EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                        C 118/17
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Corte Suprema                 The applicant claims that the Court should:
di Cassazione, by order of that court of 11 December
2000 in the case of Istituto Nazionale Della Previdenza
             Sociale (INPS) v Anna Maria Venturi                        (1) declare that, by
                          (Case C-84/01)                                      —     failing to guarantee, with respect to the Federal
                                                                                    Länder of Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria,
                                                                                    Salzburg and Vienna, the entitlement in law of
                         (2001/C 118/26)                                            natural and legal persons to free access to infor-
                                                                                    mation requested concerning the environment, pur-
                                                                                    suant to Article 3(1) of Council Directive
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                              90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of
European Communities by an order of the Corte Suprema di                            access to information on the environment (1), by
Cassazione of 12 December 2000, which was received at the                           granting such access in the form either of disclosure
Court Registry on 19 February 2001, for a preliminary ruling                        of the documents concerned or of the provision of
in the case of Istituto Nazionale Della Previdenza Sociale (INPS)                   copies thereof.,
v Anna Maria Venturi, on the following question:
                                                                              —     laying down, in the Federal Länder of Burgenland,
Is it permissible under Article 4(3) of Directive 80/987/EEC of                     Carinthia, Salzburg, Lower Austria and Vienna,
20 October 1980 (1) — which provides that, in order to avoid                        exceptions to the right of free access to information
the payment of sums going beyond the social objective of the                        which are not contained in Article 3(2) and (3) of
Directive, Member States may set a ceiling to the liability for                     the directive;
employees’ outstanding claims in respect of the last three
months of the employment relationship — to require sacrifice                  —     failing to ensure, with respect to the Federal Länder
of part of the claims of those who received pay in excess of                        of Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg,
the ceiling and have received in the last three months of their                     Styria and Vienna, that within a period of two
employment relationship advances equal to or in excess of                           months the authorities either make the requested
that ceiling, whereas those who received pay below the ceiling                      information available or refuse the request, in
may then, through aggregation of any advances paid by the                           accordance with Article 3(4) of the directive;
employer with the payments made by the public body, secure
full satisfaction of their claims (or of a higher percentage
thereof)?                                                                     —     failing to ensure, with respect to the Federal Länder
                                                                                    of Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg
                                                                                    and Vienna, that bodies with responsibilities for
(1) OJ L 283, 28.10.1980, p. 3.                                                     the environment and under the control of public
                                                                                    authorities are obliged to provide information,
                                                                        the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obligations under
                                                                        the said Directive 90/313/EEC;
                                                                        (2) order the Republic of Austria to pay the costs.
Action brought on 21 February 2001 by the Commission
of the European Communities against the Republic of                     Pleas in law and main arguments
                             Austria
                                                                        The pleas in law and main arguments are apparent from the
                          (Case C-86/01)                                claims made in the application. In the case of Austria, the
                                                                        time-limit for transposition of the directive in accordance with
                                                                        Article 168 of the Act of Accession expired on 1 January
                         (2001/C 118/27)                                1995.
An action against the Republic of Austria was brought
before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on              (1) OJ 1990 L 158, p. 56.
21 February 2001 by the Commission of the European
Communities, represented by Götz zur Hausen, Legal Adviser,
of its Legal Service, with an address for service in Luxembourg
at the office of Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its Legal Service,
Wagner Centre C 254, Kirchberg.