CELEX: C2000/047/33
Language: en
Date: 2000-02-19 00:00:00
Title: Case C-463/99: Action brought on 2 December 1999 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic

C 47/20                  EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                       19.2.2000
— None of the existing general or toxic waste plans submitted              brought by an aggrieved party against a decision taken by the
      by Ireland contain a specific chapter on the management              national regulatory authority?
      of packaging and packaging waste. They thus fail to
      comply with Article 14 of Directive 94/62/EC;
                                                                           2.     If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative:
— With regard to Article 6 of Directive 91/689/EEC, the                    are Articles 82 EC and 86(1) EC, Article 2(3) and 4 of
      existing general waste plans submitted by Ireland do not             Commission Directive 96/2/EC (3), and Articles 9(2) and 11(2)
      cover hazardous waste;                                               of Directive 97/13/EC (4) of the European Parliament and of
                                                                           the Council, or the other provisions of Community law, to be
— With regard to Article 7 of Directive 75/442/EEC, as                     construed as precluding a provision of national law under
      amended by Directive 91/156/EEC, the general waste                   which existing holders of a licence for the provision of reserved
      management plans submitted by Ireland were prepared                  mobile telecommunications services within the digital cellular
      pursuant to Irish implementing legislation for Directive             mobile communications sector may, prior to the expiry of
      75/442/EEC before it was amended by Directive                        three years from the entry into force of the decision granting
      91/156/EEC. They were not prepared by reference to the               the DCS-1800 licence in 1997 to an applicant, be granted
      specific requirements of the Irish implementing legislation          additional frequencies from the frequency band reserved for
      for amendments to Directive 75/442/EEC effected by                   DCS-1800 if it is established that, despite employing all
      Directive 91/156/EEC. They therefore cannot be con-                  commercially viable technical possibilities, their user capacity
      sidered as fulfilling the obligations which Ireland has              has been exhausted, where those additional frequencies may
      under Directive 75/442/EEC, as amended by Directive                  be allocated without a requirement that a separate fee for their
      91/156/EEC.                                                          use be paid and may also be allocated to a public undertaking
                                                                           holding a dominant market position within the 900 MHz
                                                                           sector?
( 1) of the Council, of 15 July 1975 (OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39).
( 2) of 18.3.1991 (OJ L 78, 26.3.1991, p. 32).
( 3) of 12 December 1991 (OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 48).                    ( 1) OJ L 192 of 24.7.1990, p. 1.
( 4) European Parliament and Council Directive of 20 December 1994         ( 2) OJ L 295 of 29.10.1997, p. 23.
     (OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 10).                                        ( 3) OJ L 20 of 26.1.1996, p. 59.
                                                                           ( 4) OJ L 117 of 7.5.1997, p. 15.
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Verwaltungsge-
richtshof (Austria) by order of 24 November 1999 in                        Action brought on 2 December 1999 by the Commission
the appeal brought by Connect Austria Gesellschaft für                     of the European Communities against the Hellenic Repub-
Telekommunikation GmbH against the Telekom-Control-                                                          lic
Kommission (intervening party: Mobilkom Austria
                         Aktiengesellschaft)
                                                                                                    (Case C-463/99)
                           (Case C-462/99)
                                                                                                     (2000/C 47/33)
                            (2000/C 47/32)
                                                                           An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before the
                                                                           Court of Justice of the European Communities on 2 December
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                     1999 by the Commission of the European Communities,
European Communities by order of 24 November 1999 from                     represented by Gregorio Valero Jordana, of its Legal Service,
the Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Federal Administrative Court)                  and Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos, a national expert on
(Austria), which was received at the Court Registry on                     secondment to that service, with an address for service in
2 December 1999, for a preliminary ruling in the appeal                    Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its
brought by Connect Austria Gesellschaft für Telekommunika-                 Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.
tion GmbH against the Telekom-Control-Kommission (Tele-
com Monitoring Commission) (intervening party: Mobilkom
Austria Aktiengesellschaft) on the following questions:                    The Commission claims that the Court should:
                                                                           — declare that, by not adopting and, as a subsidiary claim,
1.      On a proper construction of Article 5a(3) of Council                    by not communicating to the Commission, within the
Directive 90/387/EEC (1), as amended by Directive 97/51/EC (2)                  time-limit laid down the laws, regulations and administrat-
of the European Parliament and of the Council, does that                        ive provisions necessary to comply fully with Council
provision have direct effect in the sense that, overriding                      Directive 96/62/EC (1) of 27 September 1996 on ambient
a contrary domestic rule of jurisdiction, it establishes the                    air quality assessment and management, the Hellenic
jurisdiction of a specific ‘independent body’ at national level to              Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty
implement a ‘suitable mechanism’ for dealing with an appeal                     and that directive;
 ---pagebreak--- 19.2.2000               EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                       C 47/21
— order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.                         the Commission. That period expired on 16 March 1998
                                                                        without the Hellenic Republic having communicated to the
                                                                        Commission the provisions transposing the directive at issue
Pleas in law and main arguments                                         into national law.
The Member States are required by the binding character of
the third paragraph of Article 249 EC and of Article 10 EC (ex          (1) OJ L 243 of 24.9.1996, p. 31.
third paragraph of Article 189 and Article 5 of the EC Treaty)
to adopt the measures needed to transpose directives into
national law before the expiry of the period laid down for that
purpose and to communicate those measures immediately to
the Commission. That period expired on 21 May 1998
without the Hellenic Republic having communicated to the
Commission the provisions transposing the directive at issue
into national law.                                                      Appeal brought on 3 December 1999 by PARTEX, Com-
                                                                        panhia Portuguesa de Serviços, SA, against the judgment
                                                                        delivered on 16 September 1999 by the Third Chamber
(1) OJ L 296 of 21.11.1996, p. 55.
                                                                        of the Court of First Instance of the European Communi-
                                                                        ties in Case T-182/96 (1) between PARTEX, Companhia
                                                                        Portuguesa de Serviços, SA, and Commission of the
                                                                                            European Communities
                                                                                               (Case C-465/99 P)
Action brought on 1 December 1999 by the Commission
of the European Communities against the Hellenic Repub-                                          (2000/C 47/35)
                                lic
                                                                        An appeal against the judgment delivered on 16 September
                         (Case C-464/99)                                1999 by the Third Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the
                                                                        European Communities in Case T-182/96 between PARTEX,
                          (2000/C 47/34)                                Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços, SA, and Commission of
                                                                        the European Communities was brought before the Court of
An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before the          Justice of the European Communities on 3 December 1999 by
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 1 December              PARTEX, Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços, SA, represented
1999 by the Commission of the European Communities,                     by Rui Chancerelle de Machete, Pedro Machete and Miguel
represented by Lena Ström, Legal Adviser in its Legal Service,          Pena Machete, of the Lisbon Bar, with an address for service in
and Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos, a national expert on                    Luxembourg at the Chambers of Louis Schiltz, 2 Rue du Fort
secondment to that service, with an address for service in              Rheinsheim, L-2419 Luxembourg.
Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its
Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.                                The appellant claims that the Court should:
The Commission claims that the Court should:                            1. set aside the contested judgment on the ground of error in
                                                                            law in that the legislation applicable to the European Social
— declare that, by not adopting and, as a subsidiary claim,                 Fund (ESF) was incorrectly applied and/or on the ground
    by not communicating to the Commission, within the                      that the decision regarding the existence of abuse of rights
    time-limit laid down the laws, regulations and administrat-             and breach of the rights of the defence, of the principles of
    ive provisions necessary to comply fully with Council                   good faith, of the protection of legitimate expectations and
    Directive 96/59/EC (1) of 16 September 1996 on the                      of acquired rights was wrong as was the decision regarding
    disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated               misuse of powers, inasmuch as they are based on matters
    terphenyls (PCB/PCT), the Hellenic Republic has failed to               of fact which are materially wrong or inaccurate, reserving,
    fulfil its obligations under the Treaty and that directive;             however, that part of the judgment in which it upheld in
                                                                            part the action brought by PARTEX in Case T-182/96;
— order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
                                                                        2. accordingly, annul Commission Decision C(96) 1184 of
                                                                            14 August 1996, which was the subject-matter of the
Pleas in law and main arguments                                             action in Case T-182/9, on the ground that the Com-
                                                                            mission infringed the legislation applicable to the ESF;
The Member States are required by the binding character of
the third paragraph of Article 249 EC and of Article 10 EC (ex          3. in the event that it should dismiss the claims set out above,
third paragraph of Article 189 and Article 5 of the EC Treaty)              set aside the contested judgment, reserving, however, that
to adopt the measures needed to transpose directives into                   part of the judgment in which it upheld in part the action
national law before the expiry of the period laid down for that             brought by PARTEX in Case T-182/96, on the ground that
purpose and to communicate those measures immediately to                    it adjudicates on only part of the substance of the case;