CELEX: C2003/213/23
Language: en
Date: 2003-09-06 00:00:00
Title: Case C-275/03: Action brought on 25 June 2003 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Portuguese Republic

6.9.2003                 EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                          C 213/13
       value of the product/service, the size of the market for               a view to being transported subsequently by another road
       the product/service or the effect of a new national                    tractor to the consignee of the goods, who is established
       provision on use, which could be either a total prohibition            outside the customs territory of the Community?
       on use or prohibition or restriction within one of many
       possible areas of use?
                                                                              (1 ) OJ L 253 of 11.10.1993, p. 1.
( 1) of 28 March 1983 laying down a procedure for the provision of
     information in the field of technical standards and regulations (OJ
     L 109 of 26.04.1983, p. 8).
( 2) of 22 March 1988 amending Directive 83/189/EEC laying down
     a procedure for the provision of information in the field of
     technical standards and regulations (OJ L 81 of 26.03.1988,
     p. 75).
                                                                              Action brought on 25 June 2003 by the Commission
( 3) of 23 March 1994 materially amending for the second time
     Directive 83/189/EEC laying down a procedure for the provision
                                                                              of the European Communities against the Portuguese
     of information in the field of technical standards and regulations                                      Republic
     (OJ L 100 of 19.04.1994, p. 30).
                                                                                                         (Case C-275/03)
                                                                                                         (2003/C 213/23)
                                                                              An action against the Portuguese Republic was brought before
                                                                              the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 25 June
                                                                              2003 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                                                                              represented by António Caeiros and Klaus Wiedner, acting as
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Bundesfinanz-                       Agents.
hof by order of that Court of 13 May 2003 in the
proceedings between Hauptzollamt Neubrandenburg and
Jens Christian Siig, trading as ‘Internationale Transport’                    The applicant claims that the Court should:
                            Export-Import
                                                                              —     Declare that, by failing to transpose correctly and com-
                                                                                    pletely Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December
                           (Case C-272/03)                                          1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and
                                                                                    administrative provisions relating to the application of
                                                                                    review procedures to the award of public supply and
                                                                                    public works contracts (1), the Portuguese Republic has
                           (2003/C 213/22)                                          failed to fulfil its obligations under Community law;
                                                                              —     Order the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
European Communities by order of the Bundesfinanzhof                          Pleas in law and main arguments
(Federal Finance Court) of 13 May 2003, received at the Court
Registry on 24 June 2003, for a preliminary ruling in the
proceedings between Hauptzollamt Neubrandenburg and Jens                      Portuguese law as it stands makes the award of damages for
Christian Siig, trading as ‘Internationale Transport’ Export-                 infringements of Community law in the field of public
Import on the following question:                                             procurement or national rules implementing that law subject
                                                                              to proof, by the person harmed by the infringment, that the
                                                                              misconduct of the State or of the public body was culpably or
                                                                              maliciously intended by the relevant body or office holders or
Is Article 718(3)(d) in conjunction with Article 670(p) of                    administrative officials. Such evidence can be extremely diffi-
Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 ( 1) to be interpreted as meaning                 cult or impossible to produce. The difficulty or impossibility
that that regulation prohibits the use of a road tractor                      of producing such evidence may result in persons harmed by
registered outside the customs territory of the Community to                  an infringement not obtaining the compensation to which
transport a semi-trailer from a place within the customs                      they are entitled. It is therefore clear that that obligation, not
territory of the Community, where the semi-trailer is loaded                  provided for by Directive 89/665, on persons who have
with goods, to another place within the customs territory of                  suffered damage is likely to undermine the effectiveness of
the Community, where the semi-trailer is merely parked with                   Article 2(1)(c) of that directive.
 ---pagebreak--- C 213/14                EN                        Official Journal of the European Union                                          6.9.2003
Furthermore, it is evident that the difficulty in proving that the        the Italian civil service, periods of comparable work completed
misconduct of the State or public bodies was culpably or                  in the civil service of a Member State other than Italy must be
maliciously intended could, in practice, result in actions for            taken into consideration by the Italian authorities in the same
damages brought by persons harmed by an infringement being                way as experience gained in the Italian civil service.
delayed and, in all likelihood, unsuccessful. Such a situation
undermines the effectiveness of Article 1(1) of the directive,
namely that effective and rapid remedies must be available in             The Commission submits that the current practice in Italy is
the case of infringements of Community law in the field of                not to take into consideration time spent in comparable
public procurement or national rules implementing that law.               occupations in the civil service of other Member States. That
                                                                          practice on the part of the Ministry of Education is inconsistent
                                                                          with the aforesaid laws.
( 1) OJ 1989 L 395, p. 33.
                                                                          (1 ) OJ L 257 of 19.10.1968 p. 2.
Action brought on 26 June 2003 by the Commission of                       Action brought on 24 June 2003 by the Commission
   the European Communities against the Italian Republic                  of the European Communities against the European
                                                                                   Economic Interest Grouping Lior and Others
                          (Case C-278/03)                                                           (Case C-280/03)
                          (2003/C 213/24)                                                           (2003/C 213/25)
                                                                          An action against the European Economic Interest Grouping
An action against the Italian Republic was brought before the             Lior, Deira SA, Eutec Srl, Mindshare Bvba, Società Politecnica
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 26 June                   Italiana (SPI) Sarl, Beneport SA, Europe Information Service
2003 by the Commission of the European Communities,                       SA, Managium Sprl, Pi Due Sprl, C.A.R.M.E.N. e.v., Energy
represented by M.-J. Jonczy, acting as Agent.                             Research Group/University College Dublin, ORCA-Organic
                                                                          Reclamation and Composting Ass. AIBS, R.P.A. Spa, Aris
                                                                          Hellas Ltd, and against Lior International n.v., was brought
                                                                          before the Court of Justice of the European Communities
The applicant claims that the Court should:                               on 24 June 2003 by the Commission of the European
                                                                          Communities, represented by H. Støvlbæk, acting as Agent,
—      find that, by failing to take into account professional            assisted by M. Bra, avocat, with an address for service in
       experience gained by European Union citizens in the civil          Luxembourg.
       service of a Member State other than Italy for the
       purposes of their participation in competitions for the
       selection of staff to teach at Italian state schools, the          The Commission of the European Communities claims that
       Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under        the Court should:
       Article 39 EC and Article 3 of Council Regulation
       No 1612/68 of 15 October 1968 on freedom of move-                  —     declare the present action admissible and well-founded in
       ment for workers within the Community (1);                               its entirety;
—      order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.                       —     As the main plea: hold the Lior Grouping and the
                                                                                defendants jointly liable to pay the Commission the sum
                                                                                of the debit notes issued for all the disputed contracts,
                                                                                namely the total sum of EUR 142 818,86, plus interest
                                                                                under Article 94 of Commission Regulation No 3418/
Pleas in law and main arguments                                                 93 ( 1) until 31 December 2002, and under Article 86(2)(b)
                                                                                of Commission Regulation No 2342/2002 (2) as from
                                                                                1 January 2003, dating from the day after the maturity
                                                                                date of each of the debit notes issued, until the day of
Article 39 EC and Article 3 of Regulation No 1612/68 must                       full payment of the principal debt and interest, more
be interpreted as meaning that, for the purposes of entering                    particularly: