CELEX: C2002/261/15
Language: en
Date: 2002-10-26 00:00:00
Title: Case C-328/02: Action brought on 18 September 2002 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic

26.10.2002             EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                        C 261/9
2.    order Ireland to pay the costs.                                   The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                        —     Declare that, by restricting itself to transposing part of
                                                                              Article 1 of and Annexes IV and V of Council Directive
                                                                              98/81/EC of 26 October 1998 on the contained use of
Pleas in law and main arguments                                               genetically modified micro-organisms ( 1) or, in any event,
                                                                              by failing to communicate other implementing measures
The Commission submits that:                                                  to the Commission, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has
                                                                              failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 2 of that
                                                                              directive;
—     Ireland has infringed Article 9(2) of Regulation 3760/92
      by failing to put in place appropriate detailed rules for
      proper utilisation of the quota allocated to it. The rules        —     Order the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to pay the costs.
      should have been such as to enable Ireland to ensure that
      overfishing did not take place and that quotas were
      always respected;
                                                                        Pleas in law and main arguments
—     Ireland did not ensure compliance with Community rules
      on control, contrary to Article 2 of Regulation 2847/93;
                                                                        Under Article 249 of the EC Treaty, according to which a
—     Ireland did not respect its obligation under Article 21 of        directive is to be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon
      Regulation 2847/93 to prohibit fishery provisionally              each Member State to which it is addressed, Member States are
      when the quota allocated to it was deemed to have been            required to observe the time-limits laid down in directives for
      exhausted;                                                        their transposition.
—     by failing to institute criminal or administrative proceed-
      ings against the skipper or any other party responsible           The Commission finds that, despite the prescribed time-limit
      for preventing overfishing Ireland has not complied in            having expired, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has carried
      full with the obligations imposed by Article 31 of                out only a partial transposition of the directive referred to in
      Regulation 2847/93.                                               the Commission’s pleadings, restricted to part of Article 1
                                                                        thereof and Annexes IV and V thereto.
( 1) OJ L 389, 31.12.1992, p. 1.
( 2) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993, p. 1.
                                                                        (1 ) OJ 1998 L 330, p. 13.
Action brought on 16 September 2002 by Commission                       Action brought on 18 September 2002 by the Com-
of the European Communities against Grand Duchy of                      mission of the European Communities against the
                           Luxembourg                                                           Hellenic Republic
                         (Case C-325/02)                                                         (Case C-328/02)
                         (2002/C 261/14)                                                         (2002/C 261/15)
An action against the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was                     An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-            the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 11 Sep-
ties on 16 September 2002 by the Commission of the                      tember 2002 by the Commission of the European Communi-
European Communities, represented by U. Wölker and                      ties, represented by Maria Kondou-Durande, Legal Adviser in
F. Simonetti, acting as Agents.                                         its Legal Service, with an address for service in Luxembourg.
 ---pagebreak--- C 261/10               EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                     26.10.2002
The Commission claims that the Court should:                              The applicant claims that the Court should:
—     declare that, by failing to adopt all the necessary measures        —     Declare that, by excluding absolutely the application of
      prescribed by Council Regulation No 3508/92 (1) estab-                    the rate of levy in discharge to income arising from the
      lishing an integrated administration and control system                   investments and contracts referred to in Articles 125-0 A
      for certain Community aid schemes, the Hellenic Republic                  and 125 A of the Code général des impôts (General Tax
      has failed to fulfil its obligations under that regulation;               Code), where the debtor is not resident or established in
                                                                                France, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obli-
                                                                                gations under Articles 49 and 56 EC;
—     order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
                                                                          —     Order the French Republic to pay the costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                          Pleas in law and main arguments
Under the regulation at issue, the Member States were obliged             The income referred to in Article 125 A of the Code general
to establish by 1 January 1997 an integrated system including             des impôts (CGI) (income from interest arising from arrears
a computerised data base, an alphanumeric identification                  and from all kinds of State bonds, stocks, participation share
system for agricultural parcels, an alphanumeric system for               certificates, stocks and other certificates of indebtedness,
the identification and registration of animals, standardised              deposits, guarantees and current accounts) and that referred to
processing of aid applications and an integrated control system           in Article 125-0 A of the CGI (income from certificates or
(Article 2).                                                              bond investments and other similar investments), is subject to
                                                                          income tax. None the less, the levy in discharge (which is often
                                                                          attractive because its rate is generally lower than the marginal
                                                                          rate of tax resulting from the application of the progressive
The Greek authorities have not yet established an integrated
                                                                          scale of tax on income and of splitting income) can be applied
system of that kind, and the alternative system which they
                                                                          to it only if the debtor is resident or established in France.
apply for checking areas and requests for payment has
repeatedly been considered inadequate and has been the cause
of corrections in the clearing of accounts.
                                                                          The Commission takes the view that the above constitutes a
                                                                          restriction on the freedom to provide services and on the free
                                                                          movement of capitals contrary to Articles 49 and 56 of the EC
( 1) OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 1.                                           Treaty, in that the more generally favourable levy in discharge
                                                                          is not applied to income collected by French residents from a
                                                                          debtor which is not resident or established in France, even if
                                                                          the person in question is able to provide evidence that it fulfils
                                                                          all the conditions in which the levy in discharge is applied to
                                                                          income obtained from a debtor resident or established in
                                                                          France.
Action brought on 20 September 2002 by the Com-
mission of the European Communities against the French
                               Republic
                                                                          Action brought on 20 September 2002 by the Com-
                          (Case C-334/02)                                 mission of the European Communities against the Grand
                                                                                               Duchy of Luxembourg
                          (2002/C 261/16)
                                                                                                   (Case C-335/02)
                                                                                                   (2002/C 261/17)
An action against the French Republic was brought before the
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 20 Septem-
ber 2002 by the Commission of the European Communities,
represented by R. Lyal and Ch. Giolito, acting as Agents, with            An action against the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was
an address for service in Luxembourg.                                     brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-