CELEX: C2005/132/24
Language: en
Date: 2005-05-28 00:00:00
Title: Case C-109/05: Action brought on 3 March 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Republic of Austria

28.5.2005   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 132/12
            
         Action brought on 3 March 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Republic of Austria
   (Case C-109/05)
   (2005/C 132/24)
   Language of the case: German
   An action against the Republic of Austria was brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 3 March 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities, represented by Minas Konstantinidis and Bernard Schima, with an address for service in Luxembourg.
   The Commission claims that the Court should:
   
               1.
            
            
               declare that by restricting, in Paragraph 5(1) of the Verordnung über die Abfallvermeidung, Sammlung und Behandlung von Altfahrzeugen (Regulation on waste prevention, collection and treatment of end-of life vehicles), the obligation to take end-of-life vehicles back free of charge to:
               
                           (1)
                        
                        
                           end-of-life vehicles of those makes which have been put into circulation by the existing manufacturers and importers, and
                        
                     
                           (2)
                        
                        
                           vehicles registered in Austria,
                        
                     the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles; (1)
               
            
         
               2.
            
            
               order the Republic of Austria to pay the costs.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments
   The provision of the Austrian regulation on end-of-life vehicles stating that manufacturers or importers have to take back end-of-life vehicles of those makes which they have put into circulation, in so far as those vehicles were registered in Austria, infringes Article 5 of Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000.
   The directive obliges the Member States to set up return systems in such a way that all end-of-life vehicles are taken back irrespective of their make and establishes an obligation to take back end-of-life vehicles free of charge. These objectives are not achieved by the Austrian legislation since it has a dual restriction: the obligation to take vehicles back is limited to makes which the relevant manufacturer or importer has put into circulation, and it is limited to vehicles registered in Austria.
   The Commission is unable to subscribe to the view of the Republic of Austria that the distinction drawn on the basis of registration in Austria is objectively justified because that is the only way of avoiding a disproportionately heavy burden being placed on individual manufacturers by the obligation to take vehicles back. It states, on the contrary, that if it should turn out in practice that a disproportionate burden is placed on individual manufacturers or importers or the collectors in a Member State because end-of-life vehicles registered abroad are taken back free of charge, account is to be taken of that within the framework of the procedure under the fourth subparagraph of Article 5(4). This provision states that the Commission is to monitor regularly implementation of the obligation to take vehicles back in order to ensure that it does not result in market distortions.
   
      (1)  OJ L 269, 21.10.2000, p. 34.