CELEX: C2000/102/20
Language: en
Date: 2000-04-08 00:00:00
Title: Case C-25/00: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Commissione Tributaria Regionale di Venezia — Sezione No 31, by order of that court of 9 December 1999 in the case of Ufficio delle Entrate di Venezia 2 against Hôtel Plaza SpA

C 102/12              EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                         8.4.2000
Appeal brought on 27 January 2000 by the Council of                    Pleas in law and main arguments
the European Union against the judgment delivered on
1 December 1999 by the Second Chamber of the Court
of First Instance of the European Communities in Joined                In accordance with the terms of the judgment, the Council has
Cases T-125/96 Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH                     been entirely successful in its defence of all claims raised before
and C.H. Boehringer Sohn Ltd, supported by Fédération                  the Court, namely, in the action for partial annulment of
Européenne de la Santé Animale (Fedesa) and the United                 Council Directive 96/22/EC (3) and the claim for compensation
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the                 arising from the adoption of the said directive in Case
Council of the European Union, supported by Stichting                  T-125/96 and the related plea of illegality raised in the context
Kwaliteitsgarantie Vleeskalverensector (SKV) and the                   of the action for the partial annulment of Commission
Commission of the European Communities, and T-152/96                   Regulation 1312/96 (4) in Case T-152/96.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH and C.H. Boeh-
ringer Sohn Ltd, supported by Fédération Européenne de
la Santé Animale (Fedesa), and the Commission of the                   Notwithstanding the apparently successful outcome of the
European Communities, supported by Stichting Kwali-                    action, the Council lodges the present appeal in relation to the
teitsgarantie Vleeskalveren sector (SKV) and the Council               judgment in Case T-125/96, as it considers that the Court of
                   of the European Union                               First Instance committed a fundamental error of law by failing
                                                                       to properly examine the Council’s plea of inadmissibility. In
                                                                       the submission of the Council, failure by the Court to firstly
                                                                       rule on the right of a natural or legal person to bring annulment
                                                                       proceedings against a directive, prior to its consideration of
                        (Case C-23/00 P)
                                                                       the merits of the case, is in contradiction with the letter and
                                                                       the spirit of Article 230(4)EC and in contradiction with the
                                                                       Court’s own case-law.
                        (2000/C 102/19)
                                                                       (1) OJ C 318 of 26.10.1996, p. 15.
                                                                       (2) OJ C 354 of 23.11.1996, p. 32.
An appeal against the judgment delivered on 1 December                 (3) Of 29 April 1996 concerning the prohibition on the use in
1999 by the Second Chamber of the Court of First Instance of               stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyro-
the European Communities in Joined Cases T-125/96 (1)                      static action and of beta-agonists, and repealing Directives
                                                                           81/602/EEC, 88/146/EEC and 88/299/EEC (OJ L 125, 23.05.96,
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH and C.H. Boehringer
                                                                           p. 3).
Sohn Ltd, supported by Fédération Européenne de la Santé
                                                                       (4) Of 8 July 1996 amending Annex III of Council Regulation (EEC)
Animale (Fedesa) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
                                                                           No 2377/90 laying down a Community procedure for the
Northern Ireland, and the Council of the European Union,                   establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal
supported by Stichting Kwaliteitsgarantie Vleeskalverensector              products in foodstuffs of animal origin (OJ L 170 of 9.7.1996,
(SKV) and the Commission of the European Communities, and                  p. 8).
T-152/96 (2) Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH and
C.H. Boehringer Sohn Ltd, supported by Fédération Européen-
ne de la Santé Animale (Fedesa), and the Commission of the
European Communities, supported by Stichting Kwaliteitsga-
rantie Vleeskalverensector (SKV) and the Council of the
European Union, was brought before the Court of Justice of
the European Communities on 27 January 2000 by the
Council of the European Union, represented by Mrs Moyra
Sims-Robertson and Mr Ignacio Dı́ez Parra, Legal Advisers,
acting as agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg at         Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Commissione
the office of Mr Alessandro Morbilli, Director of the Legal            Tributaria Regionale di Venezia — Sezione No 31, by
Affairs Directorate of the European Investment Bank, 100               order of that court of 9 December 1999 in the case of
Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, Kirchberg.                                  Ufficio delle Entrate di Venezia 2 against Hôtel Plaza SpA
                                                                                                 (Case C-25/00)
The Appellant claims that the Court should:
                                                                                                (2000/C 102/20)
— rule on the objection of inadmissibility raised by the               Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
    Council in Case T-125/96;                                          European Communities by order of the Commissione Tributa-
                                                                       ria Regionale di Venezia 2 — Sezione 31 (Regional Tax Court,
                                                                       Venice — Section 31) of 9 December 1999, received at the
— set aside that part of the decision of the Court of First            Court Registry on 28 January 2000, for a preliminary ruling
    Instance dispensing with the need to rule on the objection         in the case of Ufficio delle Entrate di Venezia 2 against Hôtel
    of inadmissibility raised by the Council.                          Plaza SpA on the following questions:
 ---pagebreak--- 8.4.2000                 EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                           C 102/13
a) Is a direct, extraordinary, periodic tax (0.75 % per annum;             imposed by the Regulation but aeroplanes wholly re-engined
     Decree-Law No 394/92, converted into Law No 461/92,                   with engines having a by-pass ratio of less than three are
     extended by Decree-Law No 564/94, converted into Law                  subject to prohibitions, having regard in particular to:
     No 656/94 and extended by Law No 549/95) compatible
     with Community law, and in particular with Directive
     No 69/335/EEC? (1)                                                    (i) the duty to give reasons under Article 253 of the EC
                                                                                 Treaty;
b) Having regard to the teleological criterion which, EEC                  (ii) the general principle of proportionality;
     case-law shows, is to be preferred to literal and systematic
     criteria, is it lawful to levy the tax on assets upon capital,
     as defined under the heading ‘Passivo/A) Patrimonio netto/I           (iii) such rights as private parties may derive from the General
     Capitale’ in Article 2424(2) of the Civil Code, as amended                  Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and/or the Agreement on
     by Article 5 of Decree-Law No 127/91, where that capital                    Technical Barriers to Trade?
     has already been assessed to an initial tax on contributions
     in accordance with Presidential Decree No 131/86?
                                                                           (1) On the registration and operation within the Community of
                                                                                certain types of civil subsonic jet aeroplanes which have been
                                                                                modified and recertificated as meeting the standards of volume 1,
(1) Council Directive of 17 July 1969 (OJ, English Special Edition              Part II, Chapter 3 of Annex 16 to the Convention on International
    1969 (II), p. 405).                                                         Civil Aviation, third edition (July 1993) (OJ L 115 of 4.5.1999,
(2) Article 2424 of the Civil Code sets out a number of balance sheet           p. 1) and Corrigendum (OJ L 120 of 8.5.1999, p. 47).
    items.
                                                                           Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster
                                                                           Gerichtshof by order of that court of 14 December 1999
                                                                           in the case of Liselotte Kauer v Pensionsversicherungsan-
                                                                                                    stalt der Angestellten
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the High Court of
Justice (England & Wales), Queen’s Bench Division
(Crown Office), by order of that court of 21 December                                                   (Case C-28/00)
1999, in the case of The Queen against Secretary of State
for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, ex parte:
                                                                                                       (2000/C 102/22)
                           Omega Air Ltd
                                                                           Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
                            (Case C-27/00)                                 European Communities by an order of the Oberster Gerichts-
                                                                           hof (Supreme Court), Austria, of 14 December 1999, which
                                                                           was received at the Court Registry on 1 February 2000, for a
                          (2000/C 102/21)                                  preliminary ruling in the case of Liselotte Kauer v Pensionsver-
                                                                           sicherungsanstalt der Angestellten on the following question:
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
European Communities by an order of the High Court of                      Is Article 94(1) to (3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71
Justice (England & Wales), Queen’s Bench Division (Crown                   of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes
Office), of 21 December 1999, which was received at the                    to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to
Court Registry on 31 January 2000, for a preliminary ruling                members of their families moving within the Community (1),
in the case of the Queen against Secretary of State for the                as amended and updated by Council Regulation (EEC)
Environment, Transport and the Regions, ex parte: Omega Air                No 2001/83 of 2 June 1983 (2), as amended by Council
Ltd, on the following question:                                            Regulation (EEC) No 1249/92 of 30 April 1992 (3), to be
                                                                           interpreted as precluding a national provision under which,
                                                                           for the purpose of pension insurance, periods of child-rearing
                                                                           in the country are to be regarded as substitute qualifying
Is Article 2(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 925/1999 (1)                 periods but such periods in a Member State of the EEA (in this
invalid insofar as it defines ‘recertificated civil subsonic jet           case Belgium) are to be regarded as such only where they occur
aeroplanes’ so that re-engined aeroplanes ‘with engines having             after that Agreement entered into force (1 January 1994) and,
a by-pass ratio of three or more’ are not subject to prohibitions          in addition, only on condition that entitlement to a cash benefit