CELEX: C2002/084/93
Language: en
Date: 2002-04-06 00:00:00
Title: Case C-50/02: Action brought on 19 February 2002 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Italian Republic

6.4.2002                EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                           C 84/53
Terza Sezione (Rome District Court, Third Employment                        The applicant claims that the Court should:
Chamber) of 24 January 2002, received at the Court Registry
on 8 February 2002, for a preliminary ruling in the case of
Sante Pasquini against INPS (Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza            —     Declare that, by not adopting the laws, regulations
Sociale [National Social Welfare Institution]) on the following                   and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
questions:                                                                        Commission Directive 1999/48/EC(1) of 21 May 1999
                                                                                  adapting for the second time to technical progress
                                                                                  Council Directive 96/49/EC (2) on the approximation of
                                                                                  the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport
Is a provision of national law, which provides, without any                       of dangerous goods by rail or in any event by not
time-limit and thus, in breach of the principle of legal certainty,               notifying the same to the Commission, the Italian Repub-
for the recovery of an undue payment arising from the                             lic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;
application of Community legislation, compatible with the
objectives of Council Regulations No 1408/71 (1) and
574/72 (2)?                                                                 —     Order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.
Are the Community provisions cited in (1) to be interpreted as
precluding the application of a provision of national law which             Pleas in law and main arguments
does not lay down time-limits for the recovery of undue
payments arising from the belated or improper application of
the relevant Community provisions?
                                                                            Article 189 of the EC Treaty (now Article 249 EC), which
                                                                            provides that a directive is to be binding as to the result to be
                                                                            achieved on each Member State to which it is addressed,
Is it possible, given that the transitional rules for the application       implies an obligation that the Member States comply with the
of the social security regulations provide for a time-limit of              time-limits for transposition prescribed by directives. In the
two years in which to claim, with retrospective effect, the                 present case the prescribed period expired on 1 July 1999
rights conferred by those regulations, to apply a contrario the             without the Italian Republic having adopted the provisions
same time-limit of two years from notification of recovery of               necessary to comply with the directive referred to in the
undue payment in cases of reduction of rights previously                    Commission’s claim.
conferred, except where more favourable time-limits are laid
down by national law, and provided that the person concerned
is not guilty of improper conduct?
                                                                            (1) OJ 1999 L 169, p. 58.
                                                                            (2) OJ 1996 L 235, p. 25.
(1) OJ, English Special Edition 1971 (II), p. 416.
(2) OJ, English Special Edition 1972 (I), p. 159.
                                                                                    Removal from the register of Case C-18/99 (1)
Action brought on 19 February 2002 by the Commission                                                   (2002/C 84/94)
of the European Communities against the Italian Republic
                           (Case C-50/02)
                                                                            By order of 6 November 2001 the President of the Fourth
                                                                            Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Communities
                           (2002/C 84/93)                                   ordered the removal from the register of Case C-18/99:
                                                                            Commission of the European Communities v Aiolika Parka
                                                                            Siteias AE.
An action against the Italian Republic was brought before the
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 19 February                 (1) OJ C 86 of 27.3.1999.
2002 by the Commission of the European Communities,
represented by M. Wolfcarius and R. Amorosi, acting as
Agents.