CELEX: C2000/047/40
Language: en
Date: 2000-02-19 00:00:00
Title: Case C-476/99: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Centrale Raad van Beroep by decision of that court of 8 December 1999 in the case of H. Lommers against the Minister for Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries

C 47/24                 EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                     19.2.2000
Action brought on 14 December 1999 by the Commission                       Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Centrale Raad
of the European Communities against the Kingdom of                         van Beroep by decision of that court of 8 December 1999
                                Spain                                      in the case of H. Lommers against the Minister for
                                                                                  Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries
                         (Case C-474/99)
                                                                                                     (Case C-476/99)
                          (2000/C 47/39)
                                                                                                      (2000/C 47/40)
An action against the Kingdom of Spain was brought before
                                                                           Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
Court of Justice on 14 December 1999 by the Commission of
                                                                           European Communities by decision of the Centrale Raad van
the European Communities, represented by G. Valero Jordana,
                                                                           Beroep (Higher Social Security Court) of 8 December 1999,
of its Legal Service, acting as Agent, with an address for service
                                                                           received at the Court Registry on 16 December 1999, for a
in Luxembourg at the office of C. Gómez de la Cruz, Wagner
                                                                           preliminary ruling in the case of H. Lommers against the
Centre, Kirchberg.
                                                                           Minister for Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries on
                                                                           the following question:
The applicant claims that the Court of Justice should:
                                                                           Does Article 2(1) and (4) of Council Directive 76/207/EEC (1)
— Declare that, by failing to adopt the measures needed to                 of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of
     ensure the proper incorporation into national law of the              equal treatment for men and women as regards access to
     obligation deriving from Article 2(1) and (2) (together with          employment, vocational training and promotion, and working
     Annex II) of Directive 85/337/EEC (1), and by keeping force           conditions preclude rules of an employer under which subsi-
     legislation which, in breach of those provisions, does not            dised child-care places are available only to female employees
     enable an assessment of the environmental effects of                  save where in respect of a male employee an emergency
     certain types of project referred to in Annex II to the               situation arises as determined by his employer.
     abovementioned directive to be carried out in any part of
     the national territory, or, in the case of many other projects
     listed in the same annex, in a considerable area of national          (1) OJ 1976 L 39, p. 40.
     territory, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its
     obligations under Directive 85/337/EEC;
— Order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.
Pleas and principal arguments                                              Action brought on 21 December 1999 by the Commission
                                                                           of the European Communities against the Hellenic Repub-
Article 4(2) of Directive 85/337/EEC must be interpreted in                                                 lic
the light of Article 2(1). Those provisions require the Member
States to analyse, in each specific case, the characteristics of                                     (Case C-484/99)
every project covered by Annex II. That analysis makes it
possible to determine whether, by virtue of their nature, size                                        (2000/C 47/41)
or location, an assessment of their environmental effects
should be undertaken. The second subparagraph of Article 4(2)              An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before
of the directive enables Member States to facilitate such                  the Court of Justice of the European Communities on
analyses by establishing criteria and/or thresholds. But in no             21 December 1999 by the Commission of the European
case is a Member State allowed, when transposing those                     Communities, represented by Maria Patakia, of its Legal
provisions or establishing those criteria and/or thresholds,               Service, and Manuel Desantes, a civil servant on secondment
exempt in advance from analyses of that kind entire classes of             to its Legal Service under the scheme for national experts, with
projects listed in Annex II. After examining the legislation               an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos
notified by the Spanish Government, the Commission has                     Gómez de la Cruz, of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre,
concluded that, for the whole of Spanish territory, the                    Kirchberg.
legislation in force, whether national or of the autonomous
communities, excludes, comprehensively and definitively, the
                                                                           The Commission claims that the Court should:
obligation to subject to an assessment of environmental effects
numerous classes of projects of the kind referred to in Annex
                                                                           — declare that, by not adopting and not communicating to
II to the directive.
                                                                                the Commission within the time-limit laid down the laws,
                                                                                regulations and administrative provisions necessary to
(1) Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment              comply fully with Directive 96/9/EC of the European
    of the effects of certain public and private projects on the                Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 (1),
    environment (OJ 1985 L 175, p. 40).                                         relating to harmonisation of national provisions governing
                                                                                the legal protection of databases, the Hellenic Republic has
                                                                                failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty and that
                                                                                directive;