CELEX: C1999/366/07
Language: en
Date: 1999-12-18 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 16 September 1999 in Case C-435/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht, Autonome Sektion für die Provinz Bozen): World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Others v Autonome Provinz Bozen and Others (Environment - Directive 85/337/EEC - Assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects)

C 366/4                   EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                         18.12.1999
1. On a proper construction of Council Regulation (EEC)                     1. Declares that, by exempting from value added tax intra-
     No 1768/92 of 18 June 1992 concerning the creation of a                     Community imports and acquisitions of arms, ammunition and
     supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products and,            equipment exclusively for military use, other than the aircraft and
     in particular, Article 3(b) thereof, where a product in the form            warships mentioned in points 23 and 25 of Annex F to Sixth
     referred to in the marketing authorisation is protected by a basic          Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the
     patent in force, the supplementary protection certificate is capable        harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to
     of covering the product, as a medicinal product, in any of the              turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform
     forms enjoying the protection of the basic patent.                          basis of assessment, in the version resulting from Council
                                                                                 Directive 91/680/EEC of 16 December 1991 supplementing
2. In order to determine, in connection with the application of                  the common system of value added tax and amending Directive
     Regulation No 1768/92 and, in particular, Article 3(a) thereof,             77/388/EEC with a view to the abolition of fiscal frontiers,
     whether a product is protected by a basic patent, reference must            notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 2(2), 14, 28a, and
     be made to the rules which govern that patent.                              28c(B) of that directive, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil
                                                                                 its obligations under that directive;
(1) OJ No C 41 of 7.2.1998.                                                 2. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.
                                                                            (1) OJ No C 41 of 7.2.1998.
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                           (Sixth Chamber)                                                    JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                        of 16 September 1999                                                          (Sixth Chamber)
in Case C-414/97: Commission of the European Communi-                                             of 16 September 1999
                     ties v Kingdom of Spain (1)
                                                                            in Case C-435/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling
(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Imports                  from the Verwaltungsgericht, Autonome Sektion für die
and acquisitions of armaments — Sixth VAT Directive —                       Provinz Bozen): World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Others
          National legislation not complying therewith)                               v Autonome Provinz Bozen and Others (1)
                            (1999/C 366/06)                                 (Environment — Directive 85/337/EEC — Assessment of
                                                                                    the effects of certain public and private projects)
                     (Language of the case: Spanish)                                                   (1999/C 366/07)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published                          (Language of the case: German)
                     in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-414/97: Commission of the European Communities                    (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
(Agents: Miguel Dı́az-Llanos La Roche and Carlos Gómez de la                                   in the European Court Reports)
Cruz) v Kingdom of Spain (Agent: Nuria Diaz Abad) —
application for a declaration that, by exempting from value                 In Case C-435/97: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
added tax intra-Community imports and acquisitions of arms,                 the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Verwaltungs-
ammunition and equipment exclusively for military use, other                gericht, Autonome Sektion für die Provinz Bozen (Administrat-
than the aircraft and warships mentioned in points 23 and 25                ive Court, Autonomous Division for the Province of Bolzano),
of Annex F to Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May                  Italy, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States                  before that court between World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and
relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added                   Others and Autonome Provinz Bozen and Others — on the
tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1),                     interpretation of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June
notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 2(2), 14, 28a and                1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and
28c(B) of that directive, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to                private projects on the environment (OJ 1985 L 175, p. 40)
fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty — the Court (Sixth               — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: P.J.G. Kapteyn,
Chamber), composed of: P.J.G. Kapteyn, President of the                     President of the Chamber, J.L. Murray and H. Ragnemalm
Chamber, G. Hirsch and J.L. Murray (Rapporteur), Judges;                    (Rapporteur), Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
A. Saggio, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a               Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
judgment on 16 September 1999, in which it:                                 16 September 1999, in which it has ruled:
 ---pagebreak--- 18.12.1999              EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                            C 366/5
1. Articles 4(2) and 2(1) of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of                    or particular measures necessary to ensure that projects are
   27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public              examined in order to determine whether they are likely to have
   and private projects on the environment are to be interpreted as             significant effects on the environment and, if so, to ensure that
   not conferring on a Member State the power either to exclude,                they are subject to an impact assessment.
   from the outset and in their entirety, from the environmental
   impact assessment procedure established by the Directive certain
   classes of projects falling within Annex II to the Directive,            (1) OJ No C 72 of 7.3.1998.
   including modifications to those projects, or to exempt from such
   a procedure a specific project, such as the project of restructuring
   an airport with a runway shorter than 2 100 metres, either
   under national legislation or on the basis of an individual
   examination of that project, unless those classes of projects in
   their entirety or the specific project could be regarded, on the
   basis of a comprehensive assessment, as not being likely to have
   significant effects on the environment. It is for the national court
   to review whether, on the basis of the individual examination
   carried out by the national authorities which resulted in the                             JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
   exclusion of the specific project at issue from the assessment
   procedure established by the Directive, those authorities correctly
                                                                                                     (Fourth Chamber)
   assessed, in accordance with the Directive, the significance of the
   effects of that project on the environment.
                                                                                                  of 16 September 1999
2. In the case of a project requiring assessment under Directive            in Case C-27/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
   85/337, Articles 2(1) and (2) thereof are to be interpreted as           the Bundesvergabeamt): Metalmeccanica Fracasso SpA,
   allowing a Member State to use an assessment procedure other             Leitschutz Handels- und Montage GmbH v Amt der
   than the procedure introduced by the Directive where that                Salzburger Landesregierung für den Bundesminister für
   alternative procedure is incorporated in a national procedure                          wirtschaftliche Angelegenheiten (1)
   which exists or is to be established within the meaning of
   Article 2(2) of the Directive. However, an alternative procedure
   of that kind must satisfy the requirements of Article 3 and              (Public works contract — Contract awarded to sole tenderer
   Articles 5 to 10 of the Directive, including public participation                                judged to be suitable)
   as provided for in Article 6.
                                                                                                       (1999/C 366/08)
3. Article 1(5) of Directive 85/337 is to be interpreted as not
   applying to a project, such as that at issue in the main
   proceedings, which, while provided for by a legislative provision                            (Language of the case: German)
   setting out a programme, has received development consent under
   a separate administrative procedure. The requirements which such
   a provision and the process under which it has been adopted              (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
   must satisfy in order that the objectives of the Directive, including                        in the European Court Reports)
   that of supplying information, can be regarded as achieved
   consist in the adoption of the project by a specific legislative act
   which includes all the elements which may be relevant to the             In Case C-27/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
   assessment of the impact of the project on the environment.              the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Bundesverga-
                                                                            beamt, Austria, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings
                                                                            pending before that court between Metalmeccanica Fracasso
                                                                            SpA, Leitschutz Handels- und Montage GmbH and Amt
4. Article 1(4) of Directive 85/337 is to be interpreted as meaning         der Salzburger Landesregierung für den Bundesminister für
   that an airport which may simultaneously serve both civil and            wirtschaftliche Angelegenheiten — on the interpretation of
   military purposes, but whose main use is commercial, falls within        Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the
   the scope of the Directive.                                              coordination of procedures for the award of public works
                                                                            contracts (OJ 1993 L 199, p. 54), as amended by European
                                                                            Parliament and Council Directive 97/52/EC of 13 October
5. Articles 4(2) and 2(1) of Directive 85/337 are to be interpreted         1997 amending Directives 92/50/EEC, 93/36/EEC and
   as meaning that, where the discretion conferred by those                 93/37/EEC concerning the coordination of procedures for the
   provisions has been exceeded by the legislative or administrative        award of public service contracts, public supply contracts and
   authorities of a Member State, individuals may rely on those             public works contracts respectively (OJ 1997 L 328, p. 1) the
   provisions before a court of that Member State against the               Court (Fourth Chamber), composed of: P.J.G. Kapteyn (Rappor-
   national authorities and thus obtain from the latter the setting         teur), President of the Chamber, J.L. Murray and H. Ragne-
   aside of the national rules or measures incompatible with those          malm, Judges; A. Saggio, Advocate General; H.A. Rül, Principal
   provisions. In such a case, it is for the authorities of the Member      Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
   State to take, according to their relevant powers, all the general       16 September 1999, in which it has ruled: