CELEX: C2002/261/06
Language: en
Date: 2002-10-26 00:00:00
Title: Case C-291/02: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Verwaltungsgerichtshof by order of that Court of 25 July 2002 in the appeal by Rethmann Photo Recycling GmbH

C 261/4               EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                      26.10.2002
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Verwaltungs-                  4.    Is the following statement correct:
gerichtshof by order of that Court of 25 July 2002 in the
        appeal by Rethmann Photo Recycling GmbH                               Not all incineration with energy use constitutes recovery
                                                                              for the purposes of operation R1. Operation R1 does not
                                                                              relate just to the use of the heat released through
                        (Case C-291/02)                                       incineration but also requires use as a fuel. A fuel is
                                                                              characterised by the fact that it satisfies certain criteria
                                                                              relating to thermal value, concentration of pollutants and
                                                                              combustion rate and is sufficiently homogeneous with
                        (2002/C 261/06)                                       regard to those characteristics for the process of incin-
                                                                              eration to be able to be controlled. Waste which cannot
                                                                              meet those criteria — that is to say, which possesses
                                                                              insufficient thermal value, whose composition is so
                                                                              variable that incineration (in a conventional incinerator)
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                        cannot be satisfactorily controlled or whose level of
European Communities by order of the Verwaltungsgerichts-                     pollutants is such that their incineration gives rise to
hof of 25 July 2002, received at the Court Registry on                        impermissible emissions — per se cannot be recovered in
12 August 2002, for a preliminary ruling in the appeal by                     accordance with R1.
Rethmann Photo Recycling GmbH on the following questions:
                                                                        (1 ) OJ L 030 [1993], p. 1.
1.   Do the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 (1) on             (2 ) OJ L 194 [1975], p. 39.
     the supervision and control of shipments of waste within,
     into and out of the European Community and Council
     Directive 75/442/EEC ( 2) of 15 July 1975 on waste
     display, with respect to the question whether a planned
     shipment of waste is to be assigned to recovery operation
     R1 in Annex II B or disposal operation D10 in Annex
     II A to Directive 75/442, sufficient clarity and definiteness
     to allow the person concerned (private parties as well as
     Member States) to assess the respective legal conse-
     quences of their conduct, or are those provisions invalid          Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Finanzgericht
     because of a lack of certainty and the resulting unen-             Düsseldorf by order of that Court of 6 August 2002 in
     forceability?                                                      the case of Meiland Azewijn B.V. against Hauptzollamt
                                                                                                     Duisburg
2.   Is the sole criterion, in assigning a waste treatment
     measure to recovery operation R1 (use principally as a                                       (Case C-292/02)
     fuel or other means to generate energy) in Annex II B to
     Directive 75/442, that the waste is used entirely to
                                                                                                  (2002/C 261/07)
     generate energy (energy use) and the energy generated is
     also in fact used?
3.   Is it permissible for the competent authority of desti-
                                                                        Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
     nation to proceed on the basis of the following criteria in
                                                                        European Communities by order of the Finanzgericht Düssel-
     deciding whether a planned waste shipment is to be
                                                                        dorf (Finance Court, Düsseldorf) of 6 August 2002, received at
     assigned to recovery operation R1 or disposal operation
     D10:                                                               the Court Registry on 13 August 2002, for a preliminary
                                                                        ruling in the case of Meiland Azewijn B.V. against Hauptzoll-
                                                                        amt Duisburg (Principal Customs Office, Duisburg) on the
     (a)   Risk reduction                                               following questions:
                                                                        1.    Is Article 8a(1) of Directive 92/81/EEC ( 1) to be construed
     (b) Conservation of natural resources
                                                                              as quite simply exempting mineral oil intended to be used
                                                                              as motor fuel from excise duty in the Member State to
     (c)   Conservation of energy resources                                   which it is brought in a standard tank of a commercial
                                                                              motor vehicle after it has been released for consumption
                                                                              in another Member State?
     (d) Conservation of landfill space
                                                                        2.    If the answer to the first question should be in the
     (e)   Ecological appropriateness of the operation                        affirmative, is Article 8a(1) of Directive 92/81/EEC
                                                                              directly applicable in relation to the claimant having
                                                                              regard to the rule in Paragraph 19(2) of the Mineralöl-
     (f)   Economic appropriateness of the operation?                         steuergesetz (Law on Excise Duty on Mineral Oils)?