CELEX: C2002/131/22
Language: en
Date: 2002-06-01 00:00:00
Title: Case C-131/02: Action brought on 9 April 2002 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Republic of Austria

C 131/12               EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                        1.6.2002
The Commission of the European Communities claims that                   The Commission claims that the Court should:
the Court should:
                                                                         1.    Declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations
—     declare that, by failing to communicate to the Com-                      and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
      mission any information concerning the quality of bath-                  Commission Directive 2000/24/EC (1) of 28 April 2000
      ing waters in France for the 1999 bathing season, the                    amending the Annexes to Council Directives 76/895/
      French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under               EEC, 86/362/EEC, 86/363/EEC and 90/642/EEC on the
      Article 13 of Council Directive 76/160/EEC of 8 Decem-                   fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on
      ber 1975 concerning the quality of bathing water (1);                    cereals, foodstuffs of animal origin and certain products
                                                                               of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables respectively,
                                                                               the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obligations
—     order the French Republic to pay the costs.                              under the EC Treaty;
                                                                         2.    Order the defendant to pay the costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                         Pleas in law and main arguments
The Commission considers that the social conflict giving rise
to the omission which has been established cannot justify that           In view of the binding nature of the provisions of the third
omission. Although, according to a general principle common              paragraph of Article 249 EC and of the first paragraph of
to the laws of the Member States, force majeure is deemed to             Article 10 EC, the Member States to which a directive is
arise in the event of an occurrence possessing, simultaneously,          addressed are obliged to transpose it into national law in such
the characteristics of being beyond the control of the State,            a way that it becomes fully effective on expiry of the period
being unforeseeable and being irresistible in its effects, the           for transposition. The period prescribed in Article 5(2) of the
social conflict in issue here does not fulfil those criteria. The        directive expired on 31 December 2000 without the Republic
fact that checks continued to be carried out on the ground, in           of Austria having adopted the necessary provisions.
accordance with the requirements of the directive, cannot
absolve France of its obligations under Article 13 of the
directive, which has its own particular purpose. The Com-                (1) OJ L 107, 2000, p. 28.
mission further notes that, as at the expiry of the period stated
in the reasoned opinion, the French authorities had not sent
the Commission any information concerning the quality of
bathing waters in France for the 1999 bathing season, and that
it had still not done so as at the date of the present application.
                                                                         Action brought on 9 April 2002 by the Commission
(1) OJ L 31 of 5.2.1976, p. 1.                                           of the European Communities against the Kingdom of
                                                                                                       Belgium
                                                                                                   (Case C-132/02)
                                                                                                   (2002/C 131/23)
Action brought on 9 April 2002 by the Commission
of the European Communities against the Republic of                      An action against the Kingdom of Belgium was brought before
                               Austria                                   the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 9 April
                                                                         2002 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                                                                         represented by M. Patakia, acting as Agent, with an address for
                         (Case C-131/02)                                 service in Luxembourg.
                         (2002/C 131/22)                                 The Commission of the European Communities claims that
                                                                         the Court should:
                                                                         (1) declare that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations
An action against the Republic of Austria was brought before                   and administrative measures necessary in order to comply
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 9 April                    with Directive 98/5/EC of the European Parliament and
2002 by the Commission of the European Communities,                            of the Council of 16 February 1998 to facilitate practice
represented by Gerald Braun, of the Legal Service of the                       of the profession of lawyer on a permanent basis in a
Commission of the European Communities, with an address                        Member State other than that in which the qualification
for service in Luxembourg at the office of Luis Escobar                        was obtained (1), the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to
Guerrero, of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre C 254, Kirchberg.                fulfil its obligations under that directive;