CELEX: C2003/112/18
Language: en
Date: 2003-05-10 00:00:00
Title: Case C-85/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Polimeles Protodikio Athinon by judgment of that Court of 27 April 2001 in the case of Anastasia Mavrona kai Sia O.E. against Delta Etairia Simmetokhon Anonimos Etairia

C 112/10                EN                       Official Journal of the European Union                                         10.5.2003
Despite the absence from the directive of guidelines and                 4.    If the answer is in the negative, may the courts of the
criteria for determining whether there is any need to conduct                  Member States extend the meaning of a commercial agent
an assessment of the environmental impact of a given project,                  to cover the foregoing person, by analogical application
Article 4(2) cannot be regarded as having been correctly                       of their national legislation which incorporated the
applied where there is no reasonable justification for a decision              directive into their domestic law, or is that impermissible
not to subject a project to that procedure.                                    because it runs counter to the uniformity of Community
                                                                               law?
( 1) OJ L 175 of 5.7.1985, p. 40.
                                                                         (1 ) OJ L 372 of 31.12.1986, p. 1.
                                                                         Action brought on 26 February 2003 by the Hellenic
                                                                         Republic against the Commission of the European Com-
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Polimeles
Protodikio Athinon by judgment of that Court of 27 April                                                munities
2001 in the case of Anastasia Mavrona kai Sia O.E. against
        Delta Etairia Simmetokhon Anonimos Etairia                                                   (Case C-86/03)
                                                                                                    (2003/C 112/19)
                          (Case C-85/03)
                         (2003/C 112/18)                                 An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
                                                                         ties was brought before the Court of Justice of the European
                                                                         Communities on 26 February 2003 by the Hellenic Republic,
                                                                         represented by Ekaterini Samoni-Radou and Panayiotis Milon-
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                   opoulos, acting as Agents, with an address for service in
European Communities by judgment of the Polimeles Protodi-               Luxembourg.
kio Athinon (Court of First Instance, Athens) of 27 April 2001,
received at the Court Registry on 26 February 2003, for a                The applicant claims that the Court should:
preliminary ruling in the case of Anastasia Mavrona kai Sia
O.E. against Delta Etairia Simmetokhon Anonimos Etairia on               1.    annul Commission Decision C(2002) 2575 final of
the following questions:                                                       17 December 2002 on a request by Greece for authoris-
                                                                               ation to use heavy fuel oils with a maximum sulphur
1.    Does the definition of a commercial agent in Article 1(2)                content of 3 % by mass in part of its territory; (1)
      of Council Directive 86/653/EEC (1) extend to a self-
      employed intermediary who purchases in his own name                2.    declare Directive 1999/32/EC inapplicable on the basis
      goods from the principal, deducting his commission from                  of Article 241 of the EC Treaty; and
      the purchase price, and subsequently sells those goods to
      third parties, but acting on behalf of the principal?              3.    order the Commission to pay the costs.
2.    If the answer is in the negative, in the present instance
      has the definition of commercial agent laid down by                Pleas in law and main arguments
      that article been laid down in contradistinction to the
      foregoing person (that is to say to a self-employed                —     Infringement of rights of defence;
      intermediary who purchases in his own name goods
      from the principal, deducting his commission from the
                                                                         —     Infringement of the principle of effectiveness (effet utile);
      purchase price, and subsequently sells those goods to
      third parties, but acting on behalf of the principal), or is
                                                                         —     Infringement of the principle of protection of legitimate
      there in fact a lacuna?
                                                                               expectations;
3.    If there is a lacuna, is it possible, on the basis of the          —     Infringement of the principle of proportionality;
      principles of equity, for the foregoing definition in
      Article 1(2) of the directive to be applied by analogy to a        —     Infringement of Article 252 EC.
      self-employed intermediary who purchases in his own
      name goods from the principal, deducting his com-
      mission from the purchase price, and subsequently sells            (1 ) OJ L 4, 9.1.2003, p. 16.
      those goods to third parties, but acting on behalf of the
      principal?