CELEX: C2001/079/10
Language: en
Date: 2001-03-10 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 7 December 2000 in Case C-374/98: Commission of the European Communities v French Republic (Failure of Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC — Conservation of wild birds — Special protection areas)

C 79/6                     EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                             10.3.2001
A Member State may prohibit imports of bovine heads containing              and Vingrau, France, contrary to Article 6(2) to (4) of Council
material presenting risks as regards bovine spongiform encephalopa-         Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of
thy, by way of an interim protective measure within the meaning of          natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ 1992 L 206,
the fourth subparagraph of Article 9(1) of Council Directive                p. 7), the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
89/662/EEC of 11 December 1989 concerning veterinary checks in              under the EC Treaty — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed
intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the internal         of: C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), President of the Sixth Chamber,
market, where the Commission has adopted, pursuant to Article 9(4)          V. Skouris and R. Schintgen, Judges; S. Alber, Advocate
of that directive, a decision such as Commission Decision 97/534/EC         General; D. Louterman-Hubeau, Principal Administrator, for
of 30 July 1997 on the prohibition of the use of material presenting        the Registrar, has given a judgment on 7 December 2000, in
risks as regards transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, requiring       which it:
the removal of, and prohibiting the use of, such material but where
the date on which the measures laid down by that decision are to            1.    Declares that, by not classifying any part of the Basses Corbières
become applicable has been postponed.                                             site as a special protection area and by not adopting special
                                                                                  conservation measures for that site sufficient in their geographi-
                                                                                  cal extent, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
(1) OJ C 71 of 13.3.1999.                                                         under Article 4(1) of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April
                                                                                  1979 on the conservation of wild birds;
                                                                            2.    Dismisses the remainder of the application;
                                                                            3.    Orders the parties to bear their own costs.
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                    (1) OJ C 378 of 5.12.1998.
                            (Sixth Chamber)
                          of 7 December 2000
in Case C-374/98: Commission of the European Communi-                                         JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                       ties v French Republic (1)
                                                                                                       (Fifth Chamber)
(Failure of Member State to fulfil its obligations — Direc-
tives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC — Conservation of wild
                 birds — Special protection areas)                                                  of 7 December 2000
                                                                            in Case C-482/98: Italian Republic v Commission of the
                             (2001/C 79/10)
                                                                                                European Communities (1)
                      (Language of the case: French)                        (Action for annulment — Council Directive 92/83/EEC —
                                                                            Harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on alcohol
                                                                            and alcoholic beverages — Commission Decision 98/617/EC
                                                                            of 21 October 1998 denying authority to Italy to refuse the
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                            grant of exemption to certain products exempt from excise
                     in the European Court Reports)
                                                                             duty under Council Directive 92/83 — Cosmetic products)
In Case C-374/98: Commission of the European Communities                                                (2001/C 79/11)
(Agents: P. Stancanelli and O. Couvert-Castéra) v French
Republic (Agents: K. Rispal-Bellanger and R. Nadal) — appli-
cation for a declaration, first, that, by failing to classify the
                                                                                                 (Language of the case: Italian)
Basses Corbières site, France, as a special protection area for
the conservation of certain species of birds listed in Annex I to
Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the
conservation of wild birds (OJ 1979 L 103, p. 1) and of certain             (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
migratory species not listed in that Annex, and by also failing                                 in the European Court Reports)
to adopt special conservation measures concerning their
habitat, contrary to Article 4(1) and (2) of that directive, and,           In Case C-482/98: Italian Republic (Agents: Professor U. Lean-
second, that, by failing to take appropriate steps in relation to           za, assisted by O. Fiumara) v Commission of the European
the Basses Corbières to avoid disturbance of the species                    Communities (Agent: E. Traversa) — application for annulment
protected on that site and deterioration of their habitat likely            of Commission Decision 98/617/EC of 21 October 1998
to have a significant effect, as a result of the opening and                denying authority to Italy to refuse the grant of exemption to
working of limestone quarries in the municipalities of Tautavel             certain products exempt from excise duty under Council