larimo/cjeu-paragraph-retrieval huggingface dataset:
Eva Glawischnig v Bundesminister für soziale Sicherheit und Generationen.
Date: 2003-06-12
24.  The Community legislature's intention was to make the concept of   "information relating to the environment"   defined in Article 2(a) of Directive 90/313 a broad one, and it avoided giving that concept a definition which could have had the effect of excluding from the scope of that directive any of the activities engaged in by the public authorities (see   Mecklenburg  , paragraphs 19 and 20).
30.  In this respect, the measures of control at issue in the main proceedings relate to compliance with Regulation No 1139/98. As the Advocate General observes in point 32 of his Opinion, that regulation has a dual purpose: first, to remove potential obstacles to the free movement of products containing genetically modified soya and maize, and, second, to provide the final consumer with information.
31.  Thus the fourth recital in the preamble to Regulation No 1139/98 states that differences between the measures taken by certain Member States in respect of the labelling of foods and food ingredients produced from genetically modified products are liable to impede the free movement of those foods and food ingredients and thereby adversely affect the functioning of the internal market, so that it is necessary to adopt uniform Community labelling rules for those products. It follows from the sixth recital in the preamble that those labelling rules are intended to provide the final consumer with information.
33.  Regulation No 1139/98 is thus intended to add further information to that which must already be mentioned on the labelling of certain foodstuffs under Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer (OJ 1979 L 33, p. 1), which was not designed as a measure for protection of the environment.
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain.
Date: 2003-06-12
15.  In that regard, it is sufficient to point out that according to settled case-law the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion (see,   inter alia  , Case C-47/01   Commission   v   Spain   [2002] ECR I-8231, paragraph 15, and Case C-143/02   Commission   v   Italy   [2003] ECR I-2877, paragraph 11).
Fritsch, Chiari & Partner, Ziviltechniker GmbH and Others v Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungs-AG (Asfinag).
Date: 2003-06-19
19.  On the basis of the order for reference made by the Bundesvergabeamt on 11 July 2001 in another case concerning public procurement, registered at the Court Registry under number C-314/01 and currently pending before the Court, the Commission expresses doubts as to the judicial nature of the body making the reference on the ground that it acknowledged in the order that its decisions   "do not contain binding, enforceable directions addressed to the contracting authority"  . In those circumstances, the Commission has doubts as to the admissibility of the questions referred for a preliminary ruling by the Bundesvergabeamt in the present proceedings in the light of the case-law of the Court, in particular Case C-134/97   Victoria Film   [1998] ECR I-7023, paragraph 14, and Case C-178/99   Salzmann   [2001] ECR I-4421, paragraph 14, according to which a national court or tribunal may refer a question to the Court only if there is a case pending before it and if it is called upon to give judgment in proceedings intended to lead to a decision of a judicial nature.
30.  In that regard, it is appropriate to recall that, as is apparent from the first and second recitals in the preamble, Directive 89/665 is intended to strengthen the existing mechanisms, both at national and Community level, to ensure the effective application of Community directives relating to public procurement, in particular at a stage when infringements can still be remedied. To that effect, Article 1(1) of that directive requires Member States to guarantee that unlawful decisions of contracting authorities can be subjected to effective review which is as swift as possible (see, in particular,   Alcatel Austria  , cited above, paragraphs 33 and 34, and Case C-470/99   Universale-Bau and Others   [2002] ECR I-11617, paragraph 74).
Sante Pasquini v Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale (INPS).
Date: 2003-06-19
52.  It is important to bear in mind that the system set up by Regulation No 1408/71 is based on mere coordination of national laws in the field of social security and is not intended to harmonise them (see, to that effect, Case 313/86   Lenoir  [1988] ECR 5391, paragraph 13).
53.  The rules on limitation or on recovery of sums paid though not due must therefore be sought in the national law of the Member State concerned (with regard to the limitation of actions, see Case 35/74   Rzepa   [1974] ECR 1241, paragraphs 12 and 13, in relation to Regulation No 3 of the Council of 25 September 1958 concerning social security for migrant workers (Journal Officiel 1958 30, p. 561), and to Regulation No 4 of the Council of 3 December 1958 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of and supplementing the provisions of Regulation No 3 (Journal Officiel 1958 30, p. 597), but the result of which is applicable by analogy to Regulations Nos 1408/71 and 574/72).
56.  Although national law is applicable to a situation arising from the overpayment of a pension supplement by reason of the authorised maximum income's having been exceeded, it must however be stated that, with regard to a situation concerning a worker who has exercised his right to freedom of movement under the Treaty, it is a requirement of Community law that the detailed procedural rules governing that situation should observe the principles of equivalence and effectiveness (see, to that effect, Case C-261/95   Palmisani   [1997] ECR I-4025, paragraph 27 and Case C-231/96   Edis   [1998] ECR I-4951, paragraph 34).
57.  In accordance with the principle of equivalence, the procedural rules governing such cases must be no less favourable than those governing purely internal situations (see, to that effect,   Palmisani  , paragraph 32, and   Edis  , paragraph 34). Otherwise, there would be a breach of the principle of equal treatment for workers who have exercised their right to freedom of movement and those who have spent their entire working life in a single Member State.
58.  In accordance with the principle of effectiveness, those procedural rules must not render virtually impossible or excessively difficult the exercise of rights conferred by Community law (see, to that effect,   Palmisani  , paragraphs 28 and 29, and   Edis  , paragraph 34).
Commission of the European Communities v French Republic.
Date: 2003-06-19
6.  Since the Commission considered that the French Republic had not fulfilled its obligations under the Directive, it brought the present action.
9.  It is settled case-law that the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the period laid down by the reasoned opinion and that the Court may not take account of any subsequent changes.
Commission of the European Communities v Portuguese Republic.
Date: 2003-06-24
17.  As regards the claims made by the Commission other than that alleging failure to implement Article 12 of Directive 79/409, it is not disputed that Article 3(3), Article 10, Article 11 and Article 12(4) of Directive 92/43 and Article 7 and Article 8 of Directive 79/409 have not been implemented in Portuguese law.  Nor is it disputed that Article 1, Article 6(1) to (4) and Article 12(1)(d) of Directive 92/43 and Article 2, Article 4(1) and (4) and Article 6 of Directive 79/409 were not correctly implemented in national law by the Portuguese authorities.  Accordingly, the action brought by the Commission must be held to be well founded, in so far as it concerns those provisions.
The alleged failure to implement Article 12 of Directive 79/409
18.  It should be recalled that, according to settled case-law, each of the Member States to which a directive is addressed is obliged to adopt, within the framework of its national legal system, all the measures necessary to ensure that the directive is fully effective, in accordance with the objective it pursues (see in particular Case C-336/97   Commission   v   Italy   [1999] ECR I-3771, paragraph 19, Case C-97/00   Commission   v   France   [2001] ECR I-2053, paragraph 9, and Case C-478/99   Commission   v   Sweden   [2002] ECR I-4147, paragraph 15).
19.  Article 12(1) of Directive 79/409 requires the Member States to draw up every three years a report on the implementation of national provisions taken under that directive and forward it to the Commission so that it can check that the directive has been complied with by the Member States.  That provision thus concerns only the relations between those Member States and the Commission.
20.  In the present case, the Commission has not established that compliance with that obligation requires the adoption of specific implementing measures in national law.
Glencore Grain Rotterdam BV v Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung.
Date: 2003-06-26
49.  Moreover, Article 47(4) of that regulation accords the national authorities the possibility of granting the operator an extension of the deadline for the submission of the documents required, that is to say the proof that the goods exported have arrived at their destination, where he has been unable to produce those documents within the statutory 12-month period, despite having acted with diligence in seeking to obtain and communicate them within that period (Case C-54/95   Germany   v   Commission   [1999] ECR I-35, paragraph 146).
50.  It is therefore not the purpose of the second indent of the second subparagraph of Article 8(2) of Regulation No 2372/95 automatically to deprive exporters of the refunds provided for under the Community rules or, in a case such as that before the national court, of the securities provided at the time of sale of the cereals held by the intervention agencies, where the exporters, despite having made every effort required of them, have been prevented, as a result of circumstances beyond their control, from producing the requisite documents within the 12-month period (Germany   v   Commission  , cited above, paragraph 148).
KapHag Renditefonds 35 Spreecenter Berlin-Hellersdorf 3. Tranche GbR v Finanzamt Charlottenburg.
Date: 2003-06-26
36.  It follows from Article 2 of the Sixth Directive, which defines the scope of VAT, that within a Member State only activities of an economic nature are subject to VAT.  Under Article 4(1) of that directive, a taxable person means any person who independently carries any economic activity.  Economic activities are defined in Article 4(2) of the Sixth Directive as encompassing all activities of producers, traders and persons supplying services, in particular the exploitation of tangible or intangible property for the purpose of obtaining income therefrom on a continuing basis.
37.  According to the Court's case-law (Case C-60/90   Polysar Investments Netherlands   [1991] ECR I-1311, paragraph 12, and Case C-80/95   Harnas  & Helm   [1997] ECR I-745, paragraphs 13 and 14), Article 4 of the Sixth Directive confers a very wide scope on VAT.  The Court has held that the concept of   "exploitation"   within the meaning of Article 4(2) refers, in accordance with the requirements of the principle of neutrality of the system of VAT, to all transactions, whatever their legal form, by which it is sought to obtain income from the property in question on a continuing basis.
38.  However, the Court has also specified that the mere acquisition and holding of shares in a company is not to be regarded as an economic activity, within the meaning of the Sixth Directive, conferring on the holder the status of a taxable person.  The mere acquisition of financial holdings in other undertakings does not amount to the exploitation of property for the purpose of obtaining income therefrom on a continuing basis because any dividend yielded by that holding is merely the result of ownership of the property (see   Harnas  & Helm  , cited above, paragraph 15).
40.  If the taking of shares does not in itself constitute an economic activity within the meaning of the Sixth Directive, the same must be true of activities consisting in the transfer of such shares (Case C-155/94   Wellcome Trust   [1996] ECR I-3013, paragraph 33).
43.  In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the first question must be that a partnership which admits a partner in consideration of payment of a contribution in cash does not effect towards that person a supply of services for consideration within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Sixth Directive.
Second question
Kingdom of Belgium v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 2003-07-03
55.  In that regard, in order to determine the recipient of State aid, it is necessary to identify the undertakings which have actually benefited from it.
72.  For reasons of legal certainty and equal treatment, the Commission considers as a general rule that it is legitimate to apply the reference rate in force during a given period to all the loans granted during that period.
99.  In any event, if the Kingdom of Belgium had had serious doubts in that regard it could, like any Member State which encounters unforeseen difficulties in implementing an order for recovery, have submitted those problems for consideration by the Commission. In such a case the Commission and the Member State concerned must, in accordance with the duty of genuine cooperation stated in particular in Article 10 EC, work together in good faith with a view to overcoming the difficulties whilst fully observing the Treaty provisions, in particular the provisions on aid (Case C-303/88   Italy   v   Commission   [1991] ECR I-1433, paragraph 58).
102.  As regards the fourth and final allegation, it is common ground that it was not raised by the Kingdom of Belgium until the reply stage. However, the lack or inadequacy of a statement of reasons such as to impede judicial review by the Community judicature constitutes a matter of public interest which may, and even must, be raised by that judicature of its own motion (Case C-166/95 P   Commission   v   Daffix   [1997] ECR I-983, paragraph 24). It is therefore also appropriate to examine that last allegation.
103.  In that respect, whilst in certain cases the very circumstances in which the aid has been granted may show that it is liable to affect trade between Member States and to distort or threaten to distort competition, the Commission must at least set out those circumstances in the statement of the reasons for its decision (Joined Cases C-329/93, C-62/95 and C-63/95   Germany and Others   v   Commission   [1996] ECR I-5151, paragraph 52).
Chronopost SA, La Poste and French Republic v Union française de l'express (Ufex), DHL International, Federal express international (France) SNC and CRIE SA.
Date: 2003-07-03
34.  La Poste is entrusted with a service of general economic interest within the meaning of Article 90(2) of the EC Treaty (now Article 86(2) EC) (see Case C-320/91   Corbeau   [1993] ECR I-2533, paragraph 15). Such a service essentially consists in the obligation to collect, carry and deliver mail for the benefit of all users throughout the territory of the Member State concerned, at uniform tariffs and on similar conditions as to quality.
38.  Accordingly, in the absence of any possibility of comparing the situation of La Poste with that of a private group of undertakings not operating in a reserved sector,   "normal market conditions"  , which are necessarily hypothetical, must be assessed by reference to the objective and verifiable elements which are available.
Joseph Lennox v Industria Lavorazione Carni Ovine.
Date: 2003-07-03
68.  According to settled case-law, where Community directives provide for harmonisation of the measures necessary to ensure the protection of animal and human health and establish Community procedures to check that they are observed, recourse to Article 36 of the Treaty is no longer justified and the appropriate checks must be carried out and the measures of protection adopted within the framework outlined by the harmonising directive (see,   inter alia  , Case C-241/01   National Farmers' Union   [2002] ECR I-9079, paragraph 48).
70.  Pending adoption by the Commission of measures pursuant to Article 10(4) of Directive 90/425, the fourth subparagraph of Article 10(1) of that directive allows a Member State of destination to take, on serious public or animal health grounds, interim protective measures such as a measure prohibiting imports (see, by way of analogy, with regard to the fourth subparagraph of Article 9(1) of Council Directive 89/662, Case C-477/98   Eurostock   [2000] ECR I-10695, paragraphs 57 and 79).
72.  With regard, next, to the question whether there was, in the case in the main proceedings, an   "outbreak ... of any zoonoses, diseases or other cause likely to constitute a serious hazard to animals or to human health"   within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 10(1) of Directive 90/425, it should be recalled, as follows from the Court's case-law, that this condition is likely to be met when new information significantly alters the perception of the danger represented by the disease (see, along these lines, Case C-157/96   National Farmers' Union and Others   [1998] ECR I-2211, paragraphs 29 to 32, and Case C-180/96   United Kingdom   v   Commission   [1998] ECR I-2265, paragraphs 50 to 53).
75.  The fifth subparagraph of Article 10(1) of Directive 90/425 requires that the measures taken by Member States be notified to the Commission and to the other Member States without delay.  That was what happened in the case in the main proceedings.  According to the Italian Government, the order of 24 December 1996 was notified to the other Member States and the Commission by memorandum of 10 January 1997.  In reply to a question put by the Court, the United Kingdom Government confirmed that this order and the memorandum of 3 January 1997 had been notified to it.
76.  So far as the proportionality of the measure is concerned, it must be recalled that the principle of proportionality, which is one of the general principles of Community law, requires that measures adopted do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to attain the objectives legitimately pursued by the legislation in question; 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 Joined Cases C-13/91 and C-113/91   Debus   [1992] ECR I-3617, paragraph 16, and Case C-180/96   United Kingdom   v   Commission  , cited above).
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Date: 2003-07-10
60.  As regards, first, the compulsory nature of the registration provided for by the Netherlands legislation, it is appropriate to recall that Article 1(2) of Directive 91/439 provides for mutual recognition of driving licences issued by other Member States and that the Court has held that that recognition is to be carried out without any formality (see   Skanavi and Chryssanthakopoulos  , paragraph 26, and   Awoyemi  , paragraph 41).
61.  In addition, as indicated in paragraph 41 of   Awoyemi  , the obligation of mutual recognition of driving licences is a clear and unconditional obligation and the Member States have no discretion as to the measures to be adopted in order to comply with the requirement.
72.  As regards, second, the cumbersomeness of the registration procedure, it is important to emphasise that it follows from Article 109(5) of the WVW 1994 and from Articles 11, 28 and 33 of the RR, adopted to ensure the application of the WVW 1994, that the supporting documents to be submitted for a registration or an exchange of a driving licence are almost identical. Since, as noted in paragraph 53 of this judgment, the registration procedure must be completed if holders of driving licences issued by another Member State who have taken up residence in the Netherlands wish to operate a motor vehicle in the Netherlands without being subject to a sanction, it is clear that the system at issue in this case is similar to the system for exchanging driving licences, a system which Directive 91/439 is expressly intended to abolish, as evidenced by its ninth recital.
75.  The Court notes, from a reading of Articles 7(1)(b) and 9 together of Directive 91/439, that it is for the authorities who issue driving licences to ensure that applicants have their normal residence in the State issuing the licence or that they are enrolled at a school or university there. Accordingly, if a person holds a driving licence issued by a Member State, that should be deemed to be proof that the licence holder has fulfilled the conditions for the issue of a licence provided for in Directive 91/439; the host Member State cannot then require the holder to prove again that he or she actually satisfied the conditions laid down in Articles 7(1)(b) and 9 of Directive 91/439, without violating the principle of mutual recognition of driving licences.
Betriebsrat der Vertretung der Europäischen Kommission in Österreich v Europäische Gemeinschaften, Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften.
Date: 2003-07-10
39.  As the Court held in Case C-126/99   Vitari   [2000] ECR I-9425, paragraph 23, it follows that the national law of the State in which a member of the local staff performs his duties is not applicable as it stands to the employment relationship between a Community institution and a member of the local staff.
Commission of the European Communities v Artegodan GmbH and Others.
Date: 2003-07-24
52.  In those circumstances, and without it being necessary to rule on the other pleas and arguments put forward by the Commission, the Court finds that the Court of First Instance was right to hold that the Commission lacked the competence to adopt the decisions at issue and that, accordingly, those decisions had to be annulled.
Katharina Rinke v Ärztekammer Hamburg.
Date: 2003-09-09
25. However, as all the parties who presented observations in the present case have stated, the elimination of discrimination on grounds of sex forms part of the fundamental rights the observance of which, as general principles of Community law, the Court has a duty to ensure (Case 149/77  Defrenne III  [1978] ECR 1365, paragraphs 26 and 27, and Case C-13/94  P.  v  S. and Cornwall County Council  [1996] ECR I-2143, paragraph 19).
It is also common ground that the respect of fundamental rights is a condition of the legality of Community acts (Opinion 2/94 [1996] ECR I-1759, paragraph 34, and Case C-249/96  Grant  [1998] ECR I-621, paragraph 45).
33. According to settled case-law, a provision involves indirect discrimination against female workers when, although worded in neutral terms, it works to the disadvantage of a much higher percentage of women than men, unless that difference in treatment is justified by objective factors unrelated to any discrimination on grounds of sex (see, to that effect, Case C-226/98  Jørgensen  [2000] ECR I-2447, paragraph 29).