Criminal proceedings against Matteo Peralta.
Date: 1994-07-14
14 However, Article 84 does not exclude the application of the Treaty to transport, and marine transport remains, on the same basis as the other modes of transport, subject to the general rules of the Treaty (see the judgment in Case 167/73 Commission v France [1974] ECR 359, paragraphs 31 and 32).
Observance of international conventions on the discharge of harmful substances into the sea
16 In so far as the Italian court raises the question of the compatibility of the Italian legislation with the Marpol Convention, it is sufficient to find that the Community is not a party to that convention. Moreover, it does not appear that the Community has assumed, under the EEC Treaty, the powers previously exercised by the Member States in the field to which that convention applies, nor, consequently, that its provisions have the effect of binding the Community (see the judgment in Joined Cases 21/72 to 24/72 International Fruit Company and Others v Produktschap voor Groenten en Fruit [1972] ECR 1219, paragraph 18).
18 It must be borne in mind that Article 7 of the EEC Treaty (Article 6 of the EC Treaty), which lays down as a general principle a prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality, applies independently only to situations governed by Community law in regard to which the Treaty lays down no specific rules prohibiting discrimination (see the judgment in Case C-179/90 Merci Convenzionali Porto di Genova v Siderurgica Gabrielli [1991] ECR I-5889, paragraph 11. The question whether legislation of the kind in question in the main proceedings is compatible with the Treaty must therefore be examined with reference to the specific rules implementing that principle.
Article 3(f) of the Treaty
20 The competition rules laid down in the Treaty, and, in particular, Articles 85 to 90, apply to the transport sector (see the judgment in Joined Cases 209 to 213/84 Ministère Public v Asjes and Others [1986] ECR 1425, paragraph 45, and the judgment in Case C-185/91 Bundesanstalt fuer den Gueterfernverkehr v Gebr. Reiff [1993] ECR I-5801, paragraph 12). The same is true, in particular, for the field of sea transport (see in particular Council Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86 of 22 December 1986 laying down detailed rules for the application of Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty to maritime transport, OJ 1986 L 378, p. 4).
21 It must be pointed out that, for the purposes of the interpretation of Articles 3(f), the second paragraph of Article 5 and Article 85 of the Treaty, Article 85 of the Treaty, taken on its own, is concerned only with the conduct of undertakings and not with legislative or regulatory measures of the Member States. However, according to settled case-law, Article 85, read in conjunction with Article 5 of the Treaty, requires the Member States not to introduce or maintain in force measures, even of a legislative or regulatory nature, which may render ineffective the competition rules applicable to undertakings. Such is the case, according to that case-law, if a Member State requires or favours the adoption of agreements, decisions or concerted practices contrary to Article 85 or reinforces their effects, or deprives its own legislation of its official character by delegating to private traders responsibility for taking decisions affecting the economic sphere (see the judgment in Case 267/86 Van Eycke v ASPA [1988] ECR 4769, paragraph 16, and the judgment in Case C-2/91 Meng [1993] ECR I-5751, paragraph 14).
22 However, those provisions may not be relied upon as against legislation like the Italian legislation. That legislation does not require or foster anti-competitive conduct since the prohibition which it lays down is sufficient in itself. Nor does it reinforce the effects of a pre-existing agreement (see, to this effect, the judgment in Meng, cited above, paragraphs 15 and 19).
Article 30 of the Treaty
24 On this point, it is sufficient to observe that legislation like the legislation in question makes no distinction according to the origin of the substances transported, its purpose is not to regulate trade in goods with other Member States and the restrictive effects which it might have on the free movement of goods are too uncertain and indirect for the obligation which it lays down to be regarded as being of a nature to hinder trade between Member States (see the judgment in Case C-69/88 Krantz v Ontranger der Directe Belastingen [1990] ECR I-583, paragraph 11, and the judgment in Case C-93/92 CMC Motorradcenter v Pelin Baskiciogullari [1993] ECR I-5009, paragraph 12).
27 The Court has consistently held that the provisions of the Treaty concerning the free movement of workers may not be applied to a situation purely internal to a Member State. In particular, the mere fact that, under the legislation of a Member State, a foreign worker is in a more favourable situation than a national of that Member State is not sufficient to confer on that national the benefit of the Community rules on the free movement of workers if all the circumstances characterizing his situation are confined within a single Member State of which he is a national (see, to this effect, the judgment in Case 44/84 Hurd v Jones (Her Majesty' s Inspector of Taxes) [1986] ECR 29, paragraphs 55 and 56, and the judgment in Case C-332/90 Steen v Deutsche Bundespost [1992] ECR I-341, paragraphs 5, 9 and 10).
31 Even though, according to their wording, the provisions of the Treaty guaranteeing freedom of establishment are directed in particular to ensuring that foreign nationals and companies are treated in the host Member State in the same way as nationals of that State, they also prohibit the Member State of origin from hindering the establishment in another Member State of one of its nationals or of a company incorporated under its legislation which comes within the definition contained in Article 58. For the rights guaranteed by Article 52 et seq. would be rendered meaningless if the Member State of origin could prohibit undertakings from leaving in order to establish themselves in another Member State (see the judgment in Case 81/87 The Queen v Treasury and Commissioners of Inland Revenue, ex parte Daily Mail and General Trust [1988] ECR 5483, paragraph 16).
33 It should also be recalled that, according to the judgment in Case C-221/89 The Queen v The Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame and Others [1991] ECR I-3905, paragraph 23, the conditions laid down for the registration of vessels must not form an obstacle to freedom of establishment. The legislation of the kind in question does not, however, concern the registration of vessels.
39 It is clear, first, from the very wording of that article that it applies to maritime transport operations between Member States of the kind in question in the main proceedings. It defines the persons enjoying freedom to provide services in terms which are substantially the same as those used in Article 59 of the Treaty.
40 Second, in a judgment delivered on 17 May 1994 in Case C-18/93 Corsica Ferries v Corpo dei Piloti del Porto di Genova, not yet published in the ECR, paragraph 30, the Court held that the freedom to provide maritime transport services between Member States may be relied on by an undertaking as against the State in which it is established, if the services are provided for persons established in another Member State.
41 Furthermore, the Court has held that the purpose of Article 59 of the Treaty was to abolish restrictions on the freedom to provide services offered by persons not established in the State in which the service was to be provided and that, consequently, the provisions of Article 59 had to apply in all cases in which a person providing services offers those services in a Member State other than that in which he is established (judgment in Case C-154/89 Commission v France [1991] ECR I-659, paragraphs 9 and 10).
48 Moreover, as the Court repeated in its judgment in Case 155/80 Oebel [1981] ECR 1993, paragraph 9, the application of national legislation cannot be held contrary to the principle of non-discrimination merely because other Member States allegedly apply less strict rules (see also the judgment in Case 14/68 Walt Wilhem and Others v Bundeskartellamt [1969] ECR 1, paragraph 13).
The existence of restrictions on the freedom to provide maritime transport services
54 Consequently, the reference made by the national court to Article 62, to which Article 1(3) of the regulation refers, does not call for a specific response. Article 62, which is complimentary to Article 59, cannot prohibit restrictions which do not fall within the scope of Article 59 (see the judgment in Case C-159/90 Society for the Protection of Unborn Children Ireland v Grogan and Others [1991] ECR I-4685, paragraph 29).
Article 130r of the Treaty
57 Secondly, Article 130r is confined to defining the general objectives of the Community in the matter of the environment. Responsibility for deciding what action is to be taken is conferred on the Council by Article 130s. Moreover, Article 130t states that the protective measures adopted pursuant to Article 130s are not to prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective measures compatible with the Treaty.
58 Article 130r does not therefore preclude legislation of the kind in question in the main proceedings.