CELEX: C2003/184/41
Language: en
Date: 2003-08-02 00:00:00
Title: Case C-239/03: Action brought on 4 June 2003 by the Commission of the European Communities against the French Republic

2.8.2003                EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                            C 184/23
       Must those directives be interpreted as requiring the               by G. Valero Jordana and B. Stromsky, acting as Agents, with
       national court to favour the interpretation of national law         an address for service in Luxembourg.
       obliging consumer credit institutions to bring to the atten-
       tion of the consumer the clause concerning the variation
       in that annual percentage rate of charge before each                The Commission of the European Communities claims that the
       renewal of the agreement?                                           Court should:
2.     Must those directives be interpreted as designed solely to
                                                                           —     find that, by failing to take all appropriate measures to
       protect the consumer or, beyond that, to organise the
                                                                                 prevent, abate and combat the substantial and prolonged
       single market in consumer credit?
                                                                                 pollution of the Étang de Berre and by failing to take due
                                                                                 account of the provisions of Annex III to the Athens
       Does the requirement of an interpretation in conformity                   Protocol of 17 May 1980 for the Protection of the
       with the aims — at the very least those of protecting the                 Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based
       consumer — of those directives mean that the court may                    Sources (1) by amending the authorisation for discharges
       raise of its own motion defects in credit agreements, such                of the substances referred to in Annex II to the Protocol
       as the failure to include a written statement of the annual               in consequence of its conclusion, the French Republic has
       percentage rate of charge or the clause providing for its                 failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 6(1) and (3) of
       variation?                                                                the Protocol and Articles 4(1) and 8 of the Barcelona
                                                                                 Convention of 16 February 1976 for the Protection of the
3.     Must those directives be interpreted as meaning that the                  Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (2), approved on
       court is required to favour the interpretation of national                behalf of the Community by Council Decisions 77/585/
       law authorising it to uphold pleas of irregularity vitiating              EEC (3) and 83/101/EEC (4) on 25 July 1977 and
       the conclusion or renewal of a consumer credit agree-                     28 February 1983, and Article 300(7) (formerly
       ment, such as those described above, raised by the                        Article 228) of the Treaty establishing the European
       consumer or of the court's own motion, without any                        Community;
       time-limit, in a dispute arising out of an action for
       payment brought by the credit institution?                          —     order the French Republic to pay the costs.
       If not, must those directives be interpreted as meaning
       that the court is required to favour the interpretation of
       national law authorising it to set aside a national provi-
       sion prohibiting the consumer or the court of its own
       motion from raising a plea of irregularity affecting the
       conclusion or renewal of a consumer credit agreement, at            Pleas in law and main arguments
       the end of a time-limit derogating from the ordinary law,
       inasmuch as it constitutes an exceptional restriction of the
       consumer's right to bring an action and compromises the             Under Article 3(c) of the Athens Protocol, the area to which
       effectiveness of consumer protection?                               the Protocol applies includes saltwater marshes communicating
                                                                           with the sea, of which the Étang de Berre is one. It therefore
                                                                           follows from Article 6(1) of the Protocol that the French
(1) Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the approximation         Republic must reduce direct and indirect discharges of
    of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the          substances into that lake when those discharges give rise to
    Member States concerning consumer credit (OJ 1987 L 42, p. 48).        harmful effects, and must prevent and combat those
(2) Council Directive 90/88/EEC of 22 February 1990 amending Direc-        discharges. That involves an obligation as to the result to be
    tive 87/102/EEC for the approximation of the laws, regulations and
                                                                           achieved.
    administrative provisions of the Member States concerning
    consumer credit (OJ 1990 L 61, p. 14).
                                                                           The abatement of direct and indirect discharges of substances
                                                                           into the Étang de Berre must be stringent. That stringency
                                                                           requires a sizeable and lasting reduction in the quantity of
                                                                           substances discharged, with a major and lasting positive effect
                                                                           on the environment, and also applies to the method which the
                                                                           State uses to arrive at that result. However, the French
                                                                           Republic has not abated the pollution from land-based sources
Action brought on 4 June 2003 by the Commission of the                     in the Étang de Berre in accordance with its obligations under
     European Communities against the French Republic                      Article 6(1) of the Protocol, in conjunction with Articles 4(1)
                                                                           and 8 of the Barcelona Convention of 16 February 1976 for
                                                                           the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution. Since
                           (Case C-239/03)                                 1983, as the result of the operation of the hydroelectric power
                                                                           station at Saint-Chamas, the lake has suffered substantial and
                           (2003/C 184/41)                                 prolonged point-source land-based pollution, with considerable
                                                                           negative effects on flora, fauna and amenities. While it is true
                                                                           that there has been abatement of the pollution, the reduction
                                                                           in discharges has been belated, erratic and, above all, extremely
An action against the French Republic was brought before the               limited. Finally, the measures taken by the public authorities
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 4 June 2003                for the purpose of long-term pollution abatement in the Étang
by the Commission of the European Communities, represented                 de Berre have been limited in scope.
 ---pagebreak--- C 184/24                EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                            2.8.2003
Pursuant to Article 6(3) of the Protocol, the discharge into the            Action brought on 6 June 2003 by the Commission of the
lake of the substances referred to in Article 6(1) is subject to                European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
two, cumulative conditions: first, there must be a discharge
authorisation issued by the competent national authorities and,                                      (Case C-246/03)
secondly, that authorisation must take due account of all the
relevant provisions of Annex III to the Protocol. The French                                         (2003/C 184/43)
Republic has failed to comply with either of those two condi-
tions.
                                                                            An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before the
(1) OJ L 67 of 12.03.1983, p. 3.                                            Court of Justice of the European Communities on 6 June 2003
(2) Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against          by the Commission of the European Communities, represented
    Pollution (Barcelona Convention), OJ L 240 of 19.9.1977, p. 3.          by Minas Konstantinidis, of its Legal Service.
(3) Council Decision of 25 July 1977 concluding the Convention for
    the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution and the
    Protocol for the prevention of the pollution of the Mediterranean       The Commission claims that the Court should:
    Sea by dumping from ships and aircraft (OJ L 240 of 19.09.1977,
    p. 1).                                                                  —     declare that, by failing to adopt and, in any event, to
(4) Council Decision of 28 February 1983 concluding the Protocol for              notify to the Commission the laws, regulations and
    the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from                administrative provisions necessary to comply with Direc-
    land-based sources (OJ L 67 of 12.03.1983, p. 1).                             tive 2000/53/EC (1) of the European Parliament and of the
                                                                                  Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles, the
                                                                                  Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
                                                                                  that directive;
                                                                            —     order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
                                                                            Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                            In accordance with the third paragraph of Article 249 EC,
                                                                            directives are binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Cour adminis-                     each Member State to which they are addressed.
trative by order of that Court of 3 June 2003 in the case
of Minister for Finance against Jean-Claude Weidert and                     Under the first paragraph of Article 10 EC, Member States are
                           Elisabeth Paulus                                 to take all appropriate measures, whether general or particular,
                                                                            to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of the Treaty
                                                                            or resulting from action taken by the institutions of the
                                                                            Community.
                           (Case C-242/03)
                                                                            It is not disputed by the Hellenic Republic that it must adopt
                                                                            measures to comply with the abovementioned directive.
                           (2003/C 184/42)
                                                                            The Commission records that until now the Hellenic Republic
                                                                            has not adopted the appropriate measures for the full incor-
                                                                            poration of the directive at issue into Greek law.
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                      (1) OJ L 269, 21.10.2000, p. 34.
European Communities by order of the Cour administrative
(Higher Administrative Court) of 3 June 2003, received at the
Court Registry on 6 June 2003, for a preliminary ruling in the
case of Minister for Finance against Jean-Claude Weidert and
Elisabeth Paulus on the following question:
                                                                            Action brought on 6 June 2003 by the Commission of the
                                                                                European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
Is Article 129c of the Law of 4 December 1967 on income
tax, as amended, in the version applicable to the 2000 tax
                                                                                                     (Case C-247/03)
year, which, subject to certain conditions and limits, grants tax
relief to taxpayers who are natural persons and acquire shares
representing cash contributions in fully-taxable resident capital                                    (2003/C 184/44)
companies, compatible with the principle of the free move-
ment of capital within the European Community as laid down
by Article 56(1) of the EC Treaty, taking account of the                    An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before the
restrictions on that principle laid down inter alia by                      Court of Justice of the European Communities on 6 June 2003
Article 58(1)(a) of the EC Treaty?                                          by the Commission of the European Communities, represented
                                                                            by Michel van Beek, Legal Adviser, and Minas Konstantinidis,
                                                                            of its Legal Service.