CELEX: 62002CJ0083
Language: en
Date: 2003-06-05
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 5 June 2003. # Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic. # Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Waste management - Articles 4(1) and 11 of Directive 96/59/EC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT). # Case C-83/02.

Case C-83/02 Commission of the European CommunitiesvHellenic Republic
            «(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Waste management – Articles 4(1) and 11 of Directive 96/59/EC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT))»
            
               
                  Opinion of Advocate General Geelhoed delivered on 6 March 2003 
                     
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                  Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 5 June 2003  
                     
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            Summary of the Judgment
         
         
                  
                  Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Examination of the merits by the Court – Situation to be taken into consideration – Situation on expiry of the period laid down by the reasoned opinion(Art. 226 EC)
      

      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
            
            JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fourth Chamber)5 June 2003  (1)
         
         
            
         
               ((Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Waste management – Articles 4(1) and 11 of Directive 96/59/EC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT)))
               
            In Case C-83/02, 
            
            
             Commission of the European Communities,  represented by H. Støvlbæk and M. Konstantinidis, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg
            
            
            applicant, 
            
            v
             Hellenic Republic,  represented by E. Skandalou, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg
            
            defendant, 
            
            APPLICATION for a declaration that, by failing to draw up or, in any event, to communicate to the Commission within the prescribed
            period (by 16 September 1999) the plans, outlines and summaries required under Articles 4(1) and 11 of Council Directive 96/59/EC
            of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT), the Hellenic Republic
            has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive and the EC Treaty,
            
            
            THE COURT (Fourth Chamber),,
            
            composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber, A. La Pergola (Rapporteur) and S. von Bahr, Judges, 
            
            Advocate General: L.A. Geelhoed, Registrar: R. Grass, 
            
            
            having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,
            
            after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 6 March 2003,
         gives the following
         
         
         Judgment By application lodged at the Court Registry on 12 March 2002, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action
         under Article 226 EC for a declaration that, by failing to draw up or, in any event, to communicate to the Commission within
         the prescribed period (by 16 September 1999) the plans, outlines and summaries required under Articles 4(1) and 11 of Council
         Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT)
         (OJ 1996 L 243, p. 31,  
         the Directive), the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive and the EC Treaty. 
         
         2
            
         Article 1 of the Directive states: The purpose of this directive is to approximate the laws of the Member States on the controlled disposal of PCBs, the decontamination
         or disposal of equipment containing PCBs and/or the disposal of used PCBs in order to eliminate them completely on the basis
         of the provisions of this directive.
         
         
         3
            
         Article 4(1) of the Directive provides: In order to comply with Article 3, Member States shall ensure that inventories are compiled of equipment with PCB volumes
         of more than 5 dm
          3 , and shall send summaries of such inventories to the Commission at the latest three years after the adoption of this directive.
         In the case of power capacitors, the threshold of 5 dm
          3  shall be understood as including all the separate elements of a combined set.
         
         
         4
            
         Article 11 of the Directive provides: 
         
         1.
           Member States shall, within three years of the adoption of this directive, draw up:
         
         
         
         ─
            plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein; 
         
         
         
         ─
            outlines for the collection and subsequent disposal of equipment which is not subject to inventory in accordance with Article
            4(1), as referred to in Article 6(3). 
         
         
         2.
          Member States shall communicate these plans and outlines to the Commission without delay.
         
         
         
         5
            
         Pursuant to Article 13(1), the Directive entered into force on the date of its adoption, namely 16 September 1996. It follows
         that the Hellenic Republic should have drawn up the summaries of inventories, plans and projects required by Articles 4(1)
         and 11 of the Directive at the latest by 16 September 1999. 
         
         
         6
            
         In accordance with the procedure laid down in the first paragraph of Article 226 EC, the Commission, after giving formal notice
         to the Hellenic Republic to submit its observations, sent a reasoned opinion by letter of 1 August 2000 calling on that Member
         State to take the measures necessary to fulfil its obligations arising under the Directive within two months of notification
         of the reasoned opinion. Since the information sent to the Commission by the Hellenic Republic showed that that State had
         not complied with its obligations under Articles 4(1) and 11 of the Directive, the Commission decided to bring the present
         action. 
         
         
         7
            
         In its application the Commission submits that the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Directive,
         since it did not draw up and/or communicate, within the prescribed period, the summaries of inventories, plans or outlines
         provided for in Articles 4(1) and 11 of the Directive. 
         
         
         8
            
         In its defence the Greek Government contends, with regard to Article 4(1) of the Directive, that the inventories required
         by that provision which it had already sent to the Commission during the pre-litigation procedure, but in an incomplete form,
         have meanwhile been completed. After indicating the amount of equipment inventoried, the Greek Government undertakes to send
         to the Commission, as soon as possible, summaries of those inventories in order to comply with its obligations under that
         provision. 
         
         
         9
            
         As regards Article 11 of the Directive, the Greek Government states that completing the inventories was a fundamental and
         necessary preparatory step for the purpose of drawing up the plans and outlines required by that provision. It adds that plans
         have already been considered by the competent staff of the Ministry of the Environment, Regional Planning and Public Works
         and should be submitted shortly for the approval of the competent minister. In those circumstances, it submits that the Hellenic
         Republic will rapidly fulfil its obligations under that provision. 
         
         
         10
            
         In that regard, it must be pointed out that, according to settled case-law, the question whether a Member State has failed
         to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the
         period laid down in the reasoned opinion and the Court cannot take account of any subsequent changes (see,  
          inter alia ,  Case C-177/01  
          Commission  v  
          France  [2002] ECR I-5137 paragraph 13, and Case C-173/01  
          Commission  v  
          Greece  [2002] ECR I-6129, paragraph 7). 
         
         
         11
            
         It is clear from the foregoing that the summaries of inventories, plans and outlines required by Articles 4(1) and 11 of the
         Directive had not been drawn up by the Hellenic Republic within the time-limit provided by the reasoned opinion. 
         
         
         12
            
         In those circumstances, the action brought by the Commission must be considered to be well founded. 
         
         
         13
            
         It must therefore be declared that, by failing to draw up, within the prescribed period, summaries of inventories of equipment
         with PCB volumes of more than 5 dm
          3 , plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein, and outlines for
         the collection and subsequent disposal of equipment which is not subject to inventory, in accordance with Articles 4(1) and
         11 of the Directive, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that Directive. 
         
         Costs
         14
            
         Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been
         applied for in the successful party's pleadings. Since the Commission applied for costs and the Hellenic Republic has been
         unsuccessful, the latter must be ordered to pay the costs. 
         
         On those grounds, 
         
         
         
            
            THE COURT (Fourth Chamber),
         
         
         hereby: 
         
            
            1.
             Declares that, by failing to draw up, within the prescribed period, summaries of inventories of equipment with PCB volumes
            of more than 5 dm
             3 , plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein, and outlines for
            the collection and subsequent disposal of equipment which is not subject to inventory, in accordance with Articles 4(1) and
            11 of Council Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls
            (PCB/PCT), the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive; 
            
            
                  Timmermans
               
               
                  La Pergola 
               
               
                  von Bahr 
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
         
         
         Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 5 June 2003. 
         
         
         
         
                  R. Grass 
               
               
                  C.W.A. Timmermans  
               
            
         
         
         
                  Registrar
               
               
                  President of the Fourth Chamber
               
            
      
      
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             Language of the case: Greek.