CELEX: C1998/258/39
Language: en
Date: 1998-08-15 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 10 June 1998 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic (Case C-214/98)

C 258/24              EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                  15.8.98
financial controls of insurance companies), the exceptions          The applicant claims that the Court should:
to the freedom to provide services and the right of
establishment are those provided for by that directive and
not those which result from the application of Article 55           Ð find that Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations
of the EC Treaty.                                                       under the EC Treaty by failing to adopt the laws,
                                                                        regulations or administrative provisions necessary to
(1) OJ L 228 of 11.8.1992, p. 1.                                        comply with Council Directive 92/100/EEC of
                                                                        19 November 1992 on rental and lending rights
                                                                        related to copyright in the field of intellectual
                                                                        property (1), and/or by failing to inform the
                                                                        Commission thereof,
Reference      for    a    preliminary    ruling    by    the
                                                                        and
Bundessozialgericht by order of that court of 31 March
 1998 in case of Ramazan Örs against Bundesknappschaft
                       (Case C-211/98)
                                                                    Ð order Ireland to bear the costs of this procedure.
                        (98/C 258/37)
                                                                    Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
European Communities by order of the Bundessozial-
gericht (Federal Social Court) of 31 March 1998, received
                                                                    Article 189 of the EC Treaty, under which a directive shall
at the Court Registry on 8 June 1998, for a preliminary
                                                                    be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each
ruling in the case of Ramazan Örs against Bundesknapp-
                                                                    Member State, carries by implication an obligation on the
schaft (Federal Insurance Fund for Miners) on the
                                                                    Member States to observe the period for compliance laid
following questions:
                                                                    down in the directive. That period expired on 1 July 1994
                                                                    without Ireland having enacted the provisions necessary to
1. Is there, on the basis of the law relating to the                comply with the directive referred to in the conclusions of
    Association between the European Economic                       the Commission and/or informing the Commission
    Community        and     Turkey,   a    prohibition    of       thereof.
    discrimination in the field of social security which is
    directly applicable to a Turkish worker in the Federal          (1) OJ L 346 of 27.11.1992, p. 61.
    Republic of Germany?
2. If Question 1 is answered in the affirmative, is that
    prohibition to be interpreted as precluding a national
    provision under which the applicable date of birth for
    statutory pension insurance benefits and for the
    insurance number assigned in that regard is the date            Action brought on 10 June 1998 by the Commission of
    which was documented when the Turkish worker was                 the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
    first registered with a national social benefit
    institution?                                                                           (Case C-214/98)
                                                                                            (98/C 258/39)
                                                                    An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought
                                                                    before the Court of Justice on 10 June 1998 by the
Action brought on 9 June 1998 by the Commission of the              Commission of the European Communities, represented
           European Communities against Ireland                     by Maria Kondou-Durande, of its Legal Service, with an
                       (Case C-213/98)                              address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos
                                                                    Gómez de la Cruz, also of the Commission's Legal
                        (98/C 258/38)                               Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.
An action against Ireland was brought before the Court of
Justice of the European Communities on 9 June 1998 by               The applicant claims that the Court should declare that:
the Commission of the European Communities,
represented by Karen Banks, a member of its Legal
Service, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the           Ð by failing to refer to the category of solipeds/equidae
office of Mr Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, a member of its                   in the list of meat to which the fees laid down by
Legal Service, Centre Wagner, Kirchberg, Luxembourg.                    Council Directive 93/118/EC (1) apply,
 ---pagebreak--- 15.8.98              EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                  C 258/25
Ð by laying down the amounts of the fees to be collected           meat are carried out does not comply with Directive 93/
    for health controls on the slaughter of animals and            118/EC with regard to points 1, 2 and 5 of Chapter 1 of
    those connected with cutting operations at 50 % of the         the annex to that directive.
    standard Community rates, without giving a reason
    for the reduction in accordance with the requirements
                                                                   (1) OJ L 340 of 31.12.1993, p. 15.
    of Chapter 1 of the annex to the Directive,
Ð by exempting poultry meat from the fees for the
    cutting of fresh meat,
the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations         Action brought on 11 June 1998 by the Commission of
under the Treaty and Council Directive 93/118/EC of                 the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
22 December 1993 amending Directive 85/73/EEC on the                                      (Case C-216/98)
financing of health inspections and controls of fresh meat
and poultry meat, in particular points 1, 2 and 5 of                                        (98/C 258/40)
Chapter 1 of the annex to that Directive.
                                                                   An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                before the Court of Justice on 11 June 1998 by the
                                                                   Commission of the European Communities, represented
                                                                   by Maria Kondou-Durande and Enrico Traversa, of its
Having made a comparative examination of Presidential              Legal Service, with an address for service in Luxembourg
Decree No 34 pursuant to which Decision 88/408/EEC                 at the office of Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, also of the
and the requirements of the annex to Directive 93/118/EC           Commission's Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.
were transposed, the Commission considers that the
provisions of that Decree do not conform to Community
law for the following reasons:
                                                                   The applicant claims that the Court should:
As regards the fees which should be collected for slaughter
inspections, the Greek legislation in question fails to refer      Ð declare that, by adopting and maintaining in force
to the category of solipeds/equidae. That fact constitutes             legislative provisions which require minimum retail
an infringement of point 1(b) of Chapter 1 of the annex to             selling prices for manufactured tobacco to be fixed by
Directive 93/118/EC.                                                   ministerial decisions has not complied with its
                                                                       obligations under Article 9 of Directive 95/59/EC (1) of
                                                                       27 November 1995 on taxes other than turnover taxes
                                                                       which affect the consumption of manufactured
The amounts of the fees to be collected for health controls            tobacco;
on the slaughter of animals correspond to 50 % of the
standard Community amounts, although the requirements
laid down in point 5 of the annex are not satisfied. That
fact constitutes an infringement of point 1 of Chapter 1 of        Ð order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
the annex, in conjunction with point 5.
                                                                   Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
As regards the fee to be collected in respect of the cutting
of fresh meat, Article 34 of the Presidential Decree
exempts poultry from that fee, although provision is made          Article 9 of Council Directive 95/59/EC, which
for such a fee in the Community rules. That fact gives rise        corresponds to Article 5(1) of Directive 72/464/EEC, lays
to a case of infringement in relation to point 2 of                down the principle of the producer's or importer's
Chapter 1 of the annex to Directive 93/118/EC.                     freedom to determine retail selling prices for manufactured
                                                                   tobacco and requires the Member States as far as possible
                                                                   not to influence the formation of prices.
The fees applied for controls connected with cutting
operations are less than the Community fees, although the
requirements laid down by point 2 of Chapter 1 of the              According to Article 45 of Greek Law No 2127 of 5 April
annex to Directive 93/118/EC, in conjunction with point 5,         1993 on the harmonisation with Community law of the
are not satisfied.                                                 tax regime on petrol products, alcohol and alcoholic
                                                                   drinks and manufactured tobacco, retail selling prices for
                                                                   manufactured tobacco consumed within the country are to
On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission considers            be determined freely by tobacco manufacturers. The
that the Greek legislation on fees to be collected when            Minister for Finance is to fix by decision the minimum
health controls and inspections of fresh meat and poultry          retail selling prices for those products, which are to be at