CELEX: C2006/048/26
Language: en
Date: 2006-02-25 00:00:00
Title: Case C-422/05: Action brought on  28 November 2005  by the Commission of the European Communities against the Kingdom of Belgium

25.2.2006   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 48/13
            
         Action brought on 28 November 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Kingdom of Belgium
   (Case C-422/05)
   (2006/C 48/26)
   Language of the case: French
   An action against the Kingdom of Belgium was brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 28 November 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities, represented by Frank Benyon and Mikko Huttunen, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg.
   The Commission of the European Communities claims that the Court should:
   
               1.
            
            
               Declare that, by adopting the Royal Decree of 14 April 2002 regulating night flights of certain types of civil subsonic jet aircraft, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Directive 2002/30/EC (1) and under the second paragraph of Article 10 EC in conjunction with the third paragraph of Article 249 EC;
            
         
               2.
            
            
               Order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments
   The Decree specifies certain types of aircraft which cannot operate in Belgian airports between 11 pm and 6 am. As it is based on the by-pass ratio, the Royal Decree takes a different approach to that of Directive 2002/30/EC, which is based on a certification procedure. This approach corresponds to that taken in Regulation (EC) No 925/1999, which was repealed by Directive 2002/30/EC.
   According to Article 16 of Directive 2002/30/EC, which entered into force on 28 March 2002, the Member States were required to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by 28 September 2003 at the latest. The Royal Decree was adopted before the deadline for transposition of the Directive. The Commission cites the case-law of the Court of Justice according to which it follows from Articles 10 EC and 249 EC in conjunction with a directive itself that, during the period allowed for transposition, Member States must refrain from taking any measures liable seriously to compromise the result prescribed by the directive in question in question. By taking an approach involving operating restrictions aimed at the withdrawal of recertified civil subsonic jet aircrafts, which is completely different from that taken by the Directive, the Royal Decree seriously compromises the result prescribed by the Directive.
   
      (1)  OJ L 85, 28.3.2002, p. 40.