CELEX: C2003/264/41
Language: en
Date: 2003-11-01 00:00:00
Title: Case C-387/03: Action brought on 15 September 2003 by the Hellenic Republic against the Commission of the European Communities

C 264/24               EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                        1.11.2003
Pleas in law and main arguments                                           Communities on 15 September 2003 by the Hellenic Republic,
                                                                          represented by I. Khalkias and E. Svolopoulou, Members of the
                                                                          State Legal Service, with an address for service in Luxembourg
Under Article 18 of Directive 96/67/EC the Member States are              at the Greek Embassy, 27 rue Marie-Adelaïde.
entitled to take measures to protect the rights of workers.
However, such measures must be without prejudice to the
application of that directive, and subject to the other provisions
of Community law. Although Council Directive 2001/23/EC                   The applicant asks the Court to:
of 12 March 2001 on the approximation of the laws of the
Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees’                  —     annul Commission Decision C(2003)2587 excluding
rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or                 from Community financing certain expenditure incurred
parts of undertakings or businesses (2) does not apply in cases                 by the Member States under the EAGGF — Guarantee
where only a specific share of the market is ‘transferred’ to                   Section, in so far as concerns financial corrections
another undertaking as part of an opening-up of the market,                     chargeable to the Hellenic Republic in the wine, livestock
Paragraph 8(2) of the Verordnung über Bodenabfertigungs-                        premiums and olive oil sectors for the year 1999-2000.
dienste auf Flugplätzen (BADV) authorises the managing body
of an airport to impose a general obligation on new bidders to
take on airport staff, as part of the standard terms for tender
and selection procedures, irrespective of whether there has
been a transfer for the purposes of Directive 2001/23/EC. The             Pleas in law and main arguments
clear effect of Paragraph 8(2) of the BADV is therefore to deter
new undertakings from entering the market and to impede
their competitiveness, thereby reducing the benefits of liberalis-
ation as regards reduction of prices and improvement in the               1.     Infringement of law and of general principles.
quality of services.
                                                                          2. Infringement of the principle of proportionality —
Furthermore, Paragraph 9(3) of the BADV permits the manag-                misuse of discretion.
ing body of an airport to charge higher fees for access to
airport installations in cases where suppliers and selfhandlers
do not take on any staff from the airport operator upon
entering the market. That provision infringes Article 16(3) of            3. Error as to the facts, misassessment of the factual
Directive 96/67/EC which provides that the fee for access to              circumstances, inadequate statement of reasons for the contest-
airport installations is to be determined according to relevant,          ed decision.
objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. The
failure to take on airport staff is not a criterion which meets
any of those requirements. Rather, that provision even enables
                                                                          4. Misinterpretation and misapplication of Article 5(2)(c) of
the airport operator to charge selfhandlers or suppliers of
                                                                          Regulation No 729/70.
services a higher fee for access to airport installations if they
do not take on its staff, and thereby makes it possible for the
airport to discriminate against its direct competitors.
(1) OJ 1996 L 272, p. 36.
(2) OJ 2001 L 82, p. 16.
                                                                          Action brought on 16 September 2003 by the Com-
                                                                          mission of the European Communities against the Italian
                                                                                                     Republic
Action brought on 15 September 2003 by the Hellenic
Republic against the Commission of the European Com-                                              (Case C-392/03)
                             munities
                                                                                                  (2003/C 264/42)
                         (Case C-387/03)
                         (2003/C 264/41)
                                                                          An action against the Italian Republic was brought before the
                                                                          Court of Justice of the European Communities on 16 Septem-
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-                 ber 2003 by the Commission of the European Communities,
ties was brought before the Court of Justice of the European              represented by A. Bordes and L. Visaggio, acting as Agents.