CELEX: C2000/247/40
Language: en
Date: 2000-08-26 00:00:00
Title: Case C-266/00: Action brought on 30 June 2000 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

C 247/26                 EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                     26.8.2000
C.    Does it make any difference for the answer to Question B                 chemical fertilisers. The provisions invoked by the Luxem-
      whether synonyms exist for each of the component parts                   bourg authorities (relating respectively to the fertiliser
      of the sign, with the result that competitors of the                     trade and to water management and protection) are of
      applicant for registration who wish to make it clear to the              too general a nature and do not provide farmers with
      public that their products too contain the combination of                sufficiently precise information as to the way in which
      qualities indicated by the new word can reasonably also                  they are to operate with regard to the land application of
      do so by using those synonyms?                                           chemical fertilisers with a view to avoiding pollution of
                                                                               surface waters.
(1) OJ 1989 L 40, p. 1.
                                                                          —    (As regards the land application of organic fertilisers in
                                                                               such a way as to take account of sloping ground)
                                                                               Article 5 of the Grand-Ducal regulation of 20 September
                                                                               1994, to which the Luxembourg authorities refer, does
                                                                               not take account of sloping ground independently of
                                                                               climatic conditions, contrary to the obligation laid down
                                                                               in Article 5(4) in conjunction with point 2 in part A
Action brought on 30 June 2000 by the Commission of
                                                                               of Annex II and point 3(a) in Annex III to Directive
the European Communities against the Grand Duchy of
                                                                               91/676/EEC.
                            Luxembourg
                          (Case C-266/00)                                 —    (As regards the land application of organic fertilisers in
                                                                               such a way as to take account of climatic conditions)
                          (2000/C 247/40)
                                                                               Inasmuch as, given the climatic situation in the Benelux
                                                                               countries, it is established that measures are necessary to
An action against the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was                            limit land application in the event of snow and that there
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-                   exists no objective reason to believe that the feared
ties on 30 June 2000 by the Commission of the European                         pollution risks in the event of land application on snow-
Communities, represented by Michel Nolin, of its Legal Service,                covered ground are lower when the snow conditions last
with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of                     for less than 24 hours, the provisions of Article 5, point
Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre,                 A(1)(a), fourth indent, of the Grand-Ducal regulation of
Kirchberg.                                                                     24 September 1994 must be regarded as contrary to
                                                                               Article 5(4) in conjunction with point 3 in part A of
The Commission of the European Communities claims that                         Annex II to Directive 91/676/EEC.
the Court should:
                                                                          —    (As regards the implementation of adequate monitoring
—     declare that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations              programmes)
      and administrative measures necessary in order to comply
      with Article 5(4) and (6) and Article 10(1) in conjunction
      with part A of Annex II, point 3 of Annex III and point                  In the Commission’s view, Luxembourg does not have a
      4(e) of Annex V to Council Directive 91/676/EEC of                       monitoring network covering all its surface waters and
      12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters                     groundwater subject to intensive farming which permits
      against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural                   an objective evaluation of the extent of pollution and
      sources (1), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has failed to                 of the impact of action programmes, as required by
      fulfil its obligations under that directive;                             Article 5(6) of the directive. More generally, the Com-
                                                                               mission has been provided with no evidence showing the
—     order the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to pay the costs.                    existence of any monitoring programme. Lastly, the
                                                                               competent authorities have not yet finalised any means
                                                                               of evaluating the effectiveness of the action programmes,
                                                                               and are thus unable to comply with the evaluation
Pleas in law and main arguments                                                obligation provided for in the first subparagraph of
                                                                               Article 5(6) of the directive.
—     (As regards the contents of action programmes and the
      failure to take chemical fertilisers into account)
      The Grand-Ducal regulation of 20 September 1994 is                  (1) OJ L 375 of 31.12.1991, p. 1.
      solely concerned with the use in agriculture of organic
      fertilisers, and the Luxembourg authorities have not
      adopted any provision in order to comply with all the
      obligations laid down in point 1(3) of Annex III and
      part A of Annex II to Directive 91/676/EEC as regards