Euro-Team Kft. and Spirál-Gép Kft v Budapest Rendőrfőkapitánya.
Date: 2017-03-22
38


However, it is clear that that directive does not contain more precise rules with regard to the establishment of those national penalties and, in particular, that it does not establish any express criterion for the assessment of the proportionality of such penalties.
39


According to settled case-law, in the absence of harmonisation of EU legislation in the field of penalties applicable where conditions laid down by arrangements under that legislation are not complied with, Member States are empowered to choose the penalties which seem to them to be appropriate. They must, however, exercise that power in accordance with EU law and its general principles, and consequently in accordance with the principle of proportionality (see, in particular, judgments of 9 February 2012, Urbán, C‑210/10, EU:C:2012:64, point 23, and of 19 October 2016, EL-EM-2001, C‑501/14, EU:C:2016:777, paragraph 37).
40


In the present case, the measures imposing penalties permitted under the national legislation at issue in the main proceedings must not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to attain the objectives legitimately pursued by that legislation; when there is a choice between several appropriate measures, recourse must be had to the least onerous, and the disadvantages caused must not be disproportionate to the aims pursued (see judgment of 19 October 2016, EL-EM-2001, C‑501/14, EU:C:2016:777, paragraph 39 and the case-law cited).
42


In that context, the Court has held that the severity of penalties must be commensurate with the seriousness of the infringements for which they are imposed, in particular by ensuring a genuinely deterrent effect, while respecting the general principle of proportionality (judgment of 19 October 2016, EL-EM-2001, C‑501/14, EU:C:2016:777, paragraph 40).
43


Furthermore, the Court has held that Member States are required to comply with the principle of proportionality not only as regards the determination of factors constituting an infringement and the determination of the rules concerning the severity of fines, but also as regards the assessment of the factors which may be taken into account in the fixing of a fine (judgment of 19 October 2016, EL-EM-2001, C‑501/14, EU:C:2016:777, paragraph 41).
49


The Court has previously held that the imposition of flat-rate fines for all breaches of certain obligations laid down by law, without adjustment of the amount of the penalty in line with the seriousness of the breach, appears to be disproportionate in the light of the objectives pursued by the EU legislation (see judgment of 9 February 2012, Urbán, C‑210/10, EU:C:2012:64, paragraph 41).
53


With regard, firstly, to the compatibility of the institution of strict liability with the principle of proportionality, the Court has already ruled on a number of occasions that such a system penalising breaches of EU law is not in itself incompatible with that law (see, inter alia, judgment of 9 February 2012, Urbán, C‑210/10, EU:C:2012:64, paragraph 47 and the case-law cited).
54


According to the Court, the imposition of a system of strict liability is not disproportionate in relation to the objectives pursued if that system is such as to encourage the persons concerned to comply with the provisions of a regulation and where the objective pursued is a matter of public interest which may justify the introduction of such a system (judgment of 9 February 2012, Urbán, C‑210/10, EU:C:2012:64, paragraph 48 and the case-law cited).
59


It must be recalled in that regard that the Member States are required to comply with the principle of proportionality not only as regards the determination of factors constituting an infringement and the determination of the rules concerning the severity of fines, but also as regards the assessment of the factors which may be taken into account in the fixing of a fine (see, inter alia, judgments of 9 February 2012, Urbán, C‑210/10, EU:C:2012:64, paragraph 54, and of 19 October 2016, EL-EM-2001, C‑501/14, EU:C:2016:777, paragraph 41).