CELEX: C2003/226/24
Language: en
Date: 2003-09-20 00:00:00
Title: Case C-341/03: Action brought on 1 August 2003 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic

20.9.2003              EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                           C 226/13
Action brought on 1 August 2003 by the Commission of                      Action brought on 1 August 2003 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Republic of Austria                  the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
                         (Case C-340/03)                                                            (Case C-341/03)
                         (2003/C 226/23)                                                           (2003/C 226/24)
An action against the Republic of Austria was brought before              An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before the
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 1 August              Court of Justice of the European Communities on 1 August
2003 by the Commission of the European Communities, repre-                2003 by the Commission of the European Communities, repre-
sented by J.-C. Schieferer and G. Valero Jordana, members of              sented by H. Michard, of its Legal Service.
the legal service of the Commission of the European
Communities, with an address for service in Luxembourg.                   The Commission claims that the Court should:
The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                          a)   declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and
1.   find that, by failing fully and correctly to implement the                administrative provisions necessary to comply with
     following provisions of Council Directive 86/278/EEC of                   Council Directive 98/49/EC of 29 June 1998 on safeguard-
     12 June 1986 on the protection of the environment, and                    ing the supplementary pension rights of employed and
     in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in                  self-employed persons moving within the Community (1),
     agriculture (1), the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its         and in any event by failing to inform the Commission
     obligations under the Treaty:                                             thereof, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obliga-
                                                                               tions under that directive;
     a)   the definition contained in Article 2(a) of the
          Directive, in the Bundesland Steiermark (exceptions             b)   order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
          for small sewage treatment plants),
                                                                          Pleas in law and main arguments
     b)    Article 6(b) concerning the information to be regu-
           larly provided to users under Annex II A, in Kärnten,          1.   Under the third paragraph of Article 249 (3) EC, directives
                                                                               are binding, on the Member States as to the result to be
     c)   Article 9 in conjunction with Annexes II A, II B and                 achieved, but leave to the national authorities the choice of
          II C in Vorarlberg and in conjunction with Annex II C                form and methods.
          in Kärnten and in Steiermark, and
                                                                          2.   In this case, Article 10(1) of Council Directive 98/49/EC of
     d)    the requirement to keep a record in accordance with                 29 June 1998 provides that Member States are to bring
           Article 10 in Kärnten (paragraph 1(a) as regards the                into force the laws, regulations and administrative provi-
           exemption of small installations, for which the                     sions necessary to comply with the directive not later than
           Directive does not provide), in Steiermark                          36 months following the date of its entry into force. The
           (paragraph 1(b) and (c) as regards the composition                  directive was brought into force on the day of its publica-
           and properties of the sludge and the type of treat-                 tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities
           ment) and Vorarlberg (paragraph 1(a), (b) and (c) as                (25 July 1998) and should therefore have been transposed
           regards quantities of sludge, the composition and                   into national law by 27 January 2001. Under Article 10(2)
           properties of the sludge and the type of treatment),                of the directive Member States were to inform the
                                                                               Commission of the measures of transposition adopted by
2.   order the Republic of Austria to pay the costs of the                     25 January 2002.
     proceedings.
Pleas in law and main arguments                                           (1) OJ L 209, 25.7.1998, p. 46.
The Austrian Republic was to implement Directive 86/278/EEC
by the date of its accession to the European Union on 1 January
1995.
                                                                          Action brought on 4 August 2003 by the Kingdom of
Although that time-limit has passed, certain provisions of that                Spain against the Council of the European Union
directive have not been fully and correctly implemented in the
Bundesländer of Kärnten, Steiermark and Vorarlberg.                                                 (Case C-342/03)
                                                                                                   (2003/C 226/25)
(1) OJ 1986 L 181, p. 6.                                                  An action against the Council of the European Union was
                                                                          brought before the Court of Justice of the European