CELEX: C2001/348/09
Language: en
Date: 2001-12-08 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 11 October 2001 in Case C-457/99: Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic (Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directive 95/69/EC — Animal nutrition — Non-implementation)

8.12.2001                EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                             C 348/5
(Supreme Court), Sweden for a preliminary ruling in the                                      JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
proceedings pending before that court between Riksskattever-
ket and Soghra Gharehveran — on the interpretation of
Council Directive 80/987/EEC of 20 October 1980 on the                                              (Fourth Chamber)
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of                                      of 11 October 2001
their employer (OJ 1980 L 283, p. 23), as amended by the Act
concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of
Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden                 in Case C-457/99: Commission of the European Communi-
and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European                                      ties v Hellenic Republic (1)
Union is founded (OJ 1994 C 241, p. 21, and OJ 1995 L 1,
p. 1) — the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: P. Jann,
                                                                           (Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
President of the Chamber, A. La Pergola (Rapporteur), L. Sevón,
M. Wathelet and C.W.A. Timmermans, Judges; L.A. Geelhoed,                  Directive 95/69/EC — Animal nutrition — Non-implemen-
                                                                                                           tation)
Advocate General; R. Grass, for the Registrar, has given a
judgment on 18 October 2001, in which it has ruled:
                                                                                                      (2001/C 348/09)
                                                                                                (Language of the case: Greek)
1.    Point G of Section I of the Annex to Council Directive
      80/987/EEC of 20 October 1980 on the approximation of                (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
      the laws of the Member States relating to the protection of                              in the European Court Reports)
      employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer, as
      amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of
      the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the
      Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on             In Case C-457/99: Commission of the European Communities
      which the European Union is founded, is to be interpreted as         (Agent: M. Condou-Durande) v Hellenic Republic (Agents:
      not allowing the Kingdom of Sweden to exclude from the group         I.-K. Chalkias and D. Tsagkaraki) — application for a declar-
      of persons covered by the wage payment guarantee provided for        ation that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and
      by the Directive employees whose close relative owned, less than     administrative provisions necessary to comply with:
      six months before the petition in insolvency, at least 20 % of
      the shares of the company employing them, when the employees
      concerned did not themselves have any share in the capital of        —     Council Directive 95/53/EC of 25 October 1995 fixing
      that company.                                                              the principles governing the organisation of official
                                                                                 inspections in the field of animal nutrition (OJ 1995
                                                                                 L 265, p. 17),
                                                                           —     Council Directive 95/69/EC of 22 December 1995 laying
2.    Where a Member State has designated itself as liable to fulfil             down the conditions and arrangements for approving
      the obligation to meet wage and salary claims guaranteed under             and registering certain establishments and intermediaries
      Directive 80/987/EEC, an employee whose spouse was owner                   operating in the animal feed sector and amending
      of the company employing her is entitled to rely on the right to           Directives 70/524/EEC, 74/63/EEC, 79/373/EEC and
      claim pay against the Member State concerned before a national             82/471/EEC (OJ 1995 L 332, p. 15), and
      court, notwithstanding the fact that, in breach of the Directive,
      the legislation of that Member State expressly excludes from the
      group of persons covered by the guarantee employees whose            —     Commission Directive 97/72/EC of 15 December 1997
      close relative was owner of at least 20 % of the shares of the             amending Council Directive 70/524/EEC concerning
      company but who did not themselves have any share in the                   additives in feedingstuffs (OJ 1997 L 351, p. 55),
      capital of that company.
                                                                           the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under
                                                                           the EC Treaty and those Directives — the Court (Fourth
                                                                           Chamber), composed of: S. von Bahr, President of the Chamb-
                                                                           er, D.A.O. Edward and A. La Pergola (Rapporteur), Judges;
                                                                           S. Alber, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a
(1) OJ C 34 of 5.2.2000.                                                   judgment on 11 October 2001, in which it:
                                                                           1.    Declares that, by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period,
                                                                                 the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to
                                                                                 comply with Council Directive 95/69/EC of 22 December
                                                                                 1995 laying down the conditions and arrangements for
                                                                                 approving and registering certain establishments and intermedi-
                                                                                 aries operating in the animal feed sector and amending
 ---pagebreak--- C 348/6                 EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                             8.12.2001
      Directives 70/524/EEC, 74/63/EEC, 79/373/EEC and                     the Chamber, N. Colneric, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur),
      82/471/EEC, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its           J.-P. Puissochet and R. Schintgen, Judges; C. Stix-Hackl,
      obligations under that Directive;                                    Advocate General; H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the
                                                                           Registrar, has given a judgment on 23 October 2001, in which
2.    Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.                       it has ruled:
(1) OJ C 47 of 19.2.2000.
                                                                           1.    As regards species covered by Appendix I to the Convention on
                                                                                 International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
                                                                                 Flora, concluded in Washington on 3 March 1973, Council
                                                                                 Regulation (EEC) No 3626/82 of 3 December 1982 on the
                                                                                 implementation in the Community of the Convention on
                                                                                 International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
                                                                                 Flora must be interpreted as not precluding legislation of a
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                           Member State which lays down a general prohibition in its
                                                                                 territory of all commercial use of captive born and bred
                                                                                 specimens.
                         (Sixth Chamber)
                       of 23 October 2001                                        As regards species covered by Annex A to Council Regulation
                                                                                 (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of
                                                                                 species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein, that
in Case C-510/99 (reference for a preliminary ruling from                        Regulation must be interpreted as not precluding legislation of
the Tribunal de grande instance de Grenoble (France)):                           a Member State which lays down a general prohibition in its
criminal proceedings against Xavier Tridon, third parties:                       territory of all commercial use of captive born and bred
Fédération départementale des chasseurs de l’Isère and                           specimens.
Fédération Rhône-Alpes de protection de la nature (Frap-
                        na), section Isère (1)
(Wild fauna and flora — Endangered species — Application                   2.    As regards species covered by Appendix II to the Convention,
      in the Community of the Washington Convention)                             Regulation (EEC) No 3626/82 does not prohibit the commer-
                                                                                 cial use of specimens of those species, apart from the case
                                                                                 referred to in Article 6(2) where the specimens have been
                          (2001/C 348/10)                                        introduced contrary to Article 5 of that Regulation.
                    (Language of the case: French)
                                                                                 As regards species covered by Annex B to Regulation (EEC)
                                                                                 No 338/97, that Regulation does not prohibit the commercial
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published           use of specimens of those species, provided that the conditions
                   in the European Court Reports)                                laid down in Article 8(5) of that Regulation are met.
                                                                           Those regulations preclude legislation of a Member State imposing a
In Case C-510/99: reference to the Court under Article 234                 general prohibition in its territory of all commercial use of captive
EC from the Tribunal de grande instance de Grenoble (Regional              born and bred specimens of those species, in so far as it applies to
Court, Grenoble) (France) for a preliminary ruling in the                  specimens imported from other Member States, if it is apparent that
criminal proceedings pending before that court against Xavier              the objective of protection of the latter, as referred to in Article 15 of
Tridon, third parties: Fédération départementale des chasseurs             Regulation (EEC) No 3626/82 or Article 36 of the EC Treaty (now,
de l’Isère and Fédération Rhône-Alpes de protection de la                  after amendment, Article 30 EC), may be achieved just as effectively
nature (Frapna), section Isère — on the interpretation of                  by measures which are less restrictive of intra-Community trade.
Articles 30 and 36 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Articles 28 EC and 30 EC), Council Regulation (EEC)
No 3626/82 of 3 December 1982 on the implementation in
the Community of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (OJ 1982 L 384,
p. 1), in particular Articles 6 and 15, Council Regulation (EC)            (1) OJ C 47 of 19.2.2000.
No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species
of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (OJ 1997
L 61, p. 1) and the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora concluded in
Washington on 3 March 1973, in particular Articles VII
and XIV — the Court, composed of: F. Macken, President of