natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Dette gælder også, når anskaffelse af varer under de nævnte omstændigheder er et led i en kommercielt begrundet og markedsført ordning, der er blevet organiseret og gennemført med gevinst for øje af en eller flere erhvervsdrivende.«
In their appeal the appellants submit that, in determining whether they were individually concerned by the contested decision within the meaning of Article 173 of the Treaty, the Court of First Instance erred in its interpretation and application of that provision and that, by applying the case­law developed by the Court of Justice in relation to economic issues and economic rights, according to which an individual must belong to a 'closed class' in order to be individually concerned by a Community act, the Court of First Instance failed to take account of the nature and specific character of the environmental interests underpinning their action.
Domstolen har udviklet i forbindelse med økonomiske spørgsmål og rettigheder, hvorefter en borger skal tilhøre en »sluttet kreds« for at være individuelt berørt af en fællesskabsretsakt, ikke derved tog hensyn til den særlige beskaffenhed og karakter af miljøinteresser, som er grundlaget for appellanternes sag.
In particular, the appellants argue, first, that the approach adopted by the Court of First Instance creates a legal vacuum in ensuring compliance with Community environmental legislation, since in this area the interests are, by their very nature, common and shared, and the rights relating to those interests are liable to be held by a potentially large number of individuals so that there could never be a closed class of applicants satisfying the criteria adopted by the Court of First Instance.
Appellanterne har for det første navnlig gjort gældende, at Rettens fortolkning fører til et retligt tomrum med hensyn til kontrol med overholdelse af fællesskabsreglerne på miljøområdet, idet interesserne på dette område i sagens natur er almene og fælles, og de respektive rettigheder kan indehaves af et potentielt stort antal borgere, hvorfor der aldrig kan være en sluttet kreds af sagsøgere, der kan opfylde Rettens kriterier.
The appellants submit further that environmental associations should be recognised as having locus standi where their objectives concern chiefly environmental protection and one or more of their members are individually concerned by the contested Community decision, but also where, independently, their primary objective is environmental protection and they can demonstrate a specific interest in the question at issue.
Under appelsagen har appellanterne gjort gældende, at Retten ved undersøgelsen af, om de var individuelt berørt af Kommissionens retsakt i traktatens artikel 173's forstand, fortolkede og anvendte denne bestemmelse forkert, og at Retten, da den anvendte den retspraksis,
Nor can that legal vacuum be filled by the possibility of bringing proceedings before the national courts. According to the appellants, such proceedings have in fact been brought in the present case, but they concern the Spanish authorities' failure to comply with their obligations under Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment ('Directive 85/337') and not the legality of the Commission measure, that is to say the lawfulness under Community law of the Commission's disbursement of structural funds on the ground that that disbursement is in breach of an environmental protection obligation.
Endvidere er de af den opfattelse, at dette retlige tomrum ikke kan udfyldes af muligheden for at anlægge sag ved de nationale retter.
Second, the appellants submit that the Court of First Instance was wrong to take the view that
I den foreliggende sag er der anlagt en sådan sag, men den vedrører de spanske myndigheders manglende overholdelse af de forpligtelser, der
Referring to the judgment of the Court of 15 July 1963 in Plaumann ν Commission [1963] ECR 95, the appellants conclude that Article 173 must not be interpreted æstrictively; its wording does not expressly require an approach based on the idea of a 'closed class', as affirmed in the case­law of the Court of Justice and the
Appellanterne har endelig under henvisning til Domstolens dom af 15. juli 1963 i sagen Plaumann mod Kommissionen anført, at artikel 173 ikke må fortolkes indskrænkende, idet opfattelsen af begrebet en »sluttet kreds« ikke kan støttes på ordlyden af artikel 173, hvilket er bekræftet i Domstolens og Rettens praksis.
Court of First Instance. Rather, it must be interpreted in such a way as to safeguard fundamental environmental interests and protect individual environmental rights effectively.
Appellanterne har for det andet gjort gældende, at Retten med urette i kendelsens præmis 51 fandt, at søgsmålsberettigelse i national ret var uden relevans for artikel 173.
In those circumstances, the contested decision, which concerns the Community financing of those power stations, can affect those rights only indirectly.
Det konstateres indledningsvis, at den fortolkning af traktatens artikel 173, stk. 4, som Retten har lagt til grund for afgørelsen af, at appellanterne ikke havde søgsmålsberettigelse, er i overensstemmelse med Domstolens faste praksis.
The interpretation of the fourth paragraph of Article 173 of the Treaty that the Court of First Instance applied in concluding that the appellants did not have locus standi is consonant with the settled case-law of the Court of Justice.
Med hensyn til fysiske personer følger det af den i kendelsens præmis 48 nævnte retspraksis, at når der som i den foreliggende sag ikke er taget hensyn til sagsøgerens særlige situation ved udfærdigelsen af retsakten, og retsakten vedrører sagsøgeren på en almen og abstrakt måde ganske som enhver anden person i samme situation, er sagsøgeren ikke individuelt berørt af retsakten.
As far as natural persons are concerned, it follows from the case-law, cited at paragraph 48 of the contested order, that where, as in the present case, the specific situation of the applicant was not taken into consideration in the adoption of the act, which concerns him in a general and abstract fashion and, in fact, like any other person in the same situation, the applicant is not individually concerned by the act.
For det fjerde har appellanterne foreslået en anden fortolkning af traktatens artikel 173, stk. 4. For at afgøre, om en sagsøger er individuelt berørt af en retsakt fra Fællesskabet, der indebærer en tilsidesættelse af fællesskabsretlige forpligtelser på miljøområdet, skal den pågældende kunne godtgøre at opfylde følgende tre betingelser: a)
Although the subject-matter of those proceedings and of the action brought before the Court of First Instance is different, both actions are based on the same rights afforded to individuals by Directive 85/337, so that in the circumstances of the present case those rights are fully protected by the national courts which may, if need be, refer a question to this Court for a preliminary ruling under Article 177 of the Treaty.
Det forholder sig på samme måde med foreninger, der til støtte for deres søgsmålsberettigelse påberåber sig, at de personer, som de repræsenterer, er individuelt berørt af den anfægtede beslutning.
The same applies to associations which claim to have locus standi on the basis of the fact that the persons whom they represent are individually concerned by the contested decision.
Den anfægtede afgørelse vedrørende fællesskabsfinansiering af disse elektricitetsværker, findes herefter kun at kunne være af indirekte betydning for disse rettigheder.
The Court of First Instance did not therefore err in law in determining the question of the appellants' locus standi in the light of the criteria developed by the Court of Justice in the case-law set out at paragraph 7 of this judgment.
For så vidt angår miljøbeskyttelsesorganisationer har appellanterne gjort gældende, at organisationerne skal anses for søgsmålsberettigede, når deres formål
In appraising the appellants' arguments purporting to demonstrate that the case-law of the Court of Justice, as applied by the Court of First Instance, takes no account of the nature and specific characteristics of the environmental interests underpinning their action, it should be emphasised that it is the decision to build the two power stations in question which is liable to affect the environmental rights arising under Directive 85/337 that the appellants seek to invoke.
den foreliggende sag fuldt ud er beskyttet af de nationale retter, der eventuelt kan forelægge Domstolen et præjudicielt spørgsmål i medfør af traktatens artikel 177.
In those circumstances the appeal must be dismissed.
Appellen må derfor forkastes.
The Court held:
Appellanterne betaler appelsagens omkostninger.
The appellants are ordered to pay the costs;
Kongeriget Spanien bærer sine egne omkostninger.*
The Kingdom of Spain is ordered to bear its own costs.'
Generaladvokat G. Cosmas fremsatte forslag til afgørelse i retsmødet (Domstolens plenum) den 23. september 1997.
Advocate General G. Cosmas delivered his Opinion at the sitting of the Full Court on 23 September 1997.
— at dømme sagsøgerne til at betale sagens omkostninger.«
He proposed that the Court should dismiss the appeal and order the appellants to pay the costs.
»Appel —statsstøtte — klage fra en konkurrent —Kommissionens forpligtelser i forbindelse undersøgelsen af en klage og med hensyn til begrundelsen for at afvise denne* (Domstolens plenum)
base and its range of activities. On 30 September 1987 a framework agreement was concluded between the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications and Sécuripost.
Ved stævning af 2. marts 1994 anlagde klagerne sag ved Retten med påstand om annullation af denne afgørelse.
Between 1987 and 1989 Sofipost granted two loans to Sécuripost, in the sums of FF 5 000 000 and FF 15 000 (XX), and increased the latter's capital.
Det anføres i den appellerede dom, at genstanden for den af klagerne anlagte sag var en annullation af den omtvistede afgørelse »om ikke at imødekomme sagsøgernes anmodning om, at Kommissionen fastslår, at Den Franske Republik har tilsidesat traktatens artikel 92 og 93 ved at yde støtte til Sécuripost«.
circumstances require an exchange of views and arguments with the complainant, since, in order to justify to the requisite legal standard its assessment of the nature of a measure characterised by the complainant as State aid, the Commission needs to ascertain what view the complainant takes of the information obtained by it in the course of its inquiry.
Det fremgår af den appellerede dom, at det franske postvæsen (herefter »postvæsenet«) indtil 1987 selv varetog transporten af penge og værdipapirer tilhørende postvæsenet.
The Court of First Instance considered that, in those circumstances, that obligation constitutes a necessary extension of the Commission's obligation to deal diligently and impartially with its inquiry into the matter by eliciting all such views as may be necessary.
I 1986 besluttede postvæsenet at udøve en række af sine aktiviteter gennem privatretlige selskaber. I overensstemmelse hermed blev selskabet Société holding des filiales de la Poste (herefter »Sofipost«), som den franske stat ejer 99% af, stiftet den 16. december 1986. Den 16. april 1987 stiftede Sofipost Sécuripost, som Sofipost ejer 99,92% af.
On 4 September 1989, various French undertakings and associations of undertakings, including the complainants, submitted to the Commission two requests for the initiation of a proceeding, one made pursuant to Articles 85,86 and 90 of the EEC Treaty, and the other pursuant to Articles 92 and 93 of that Treaty.
Sécuripost's selskabsformål er pengetransport, opbevaring og beskyttelsesforanstaltninger samt overvågning. Postvæsenet har udlånt mere end 220 tjenestemænd til Sécuripost.
The Court of First Instance held that the contested decision must be annulled, since the reasons stated for the decision did not bear out the conclusion that the measures complained of by the complainants did not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 92 of the Treaty.
Retten antog, at når Kommissionen beslutter at afvise en klage angående en foranstaltning, som klageren anser for ikke-anmeldt statsstøtte, uden at give klageren lejlighed til, før den endelige afgørelse træffes, at udtale sig om oplysninger, som Kommissionen har indhentet som led i sin undersøgelse, er den forpligtet til af egen drift at undersøge de klagepunkter, som klageren utvivlsomt ville have rejst, såfremt den pågældende havde haft kendskab til de nævnte oplysninger.
On 31 December 1993, the Commission wrote to the complainants, informing them that the investigation which it had carried out provided no grounds for concluding that State aid within the meaning of Article 92 of the Treaty had been granted in this case, and that it had therefore decided to close the file.
Sécuripost skulle herefter udvide sin kundekreds og sine aktiviteter. Den 30. september 1987 blev der indgået en rammeaftale mellem Ministeriet for Post og Telekommunikation og Sécuripost.
The Commission submits that, in holding that the contested decision constituted a rejection of a complaint, the Court of First Instance misconstrued the nature of that decision.
I sådanne tilfælde måtte den nævnte forpligtelse være et nødvendigt supplement til Kommissionens forpligtelse til at sikre en påpasselig og upartisk behandling af sagen ved at indhente enhver fornøden udtalelse.
By application of 2 March 1994 the complainants brought an action before the Court of First Instance for annulment of that decision.
Den 4. september 1989 indgav flere franske virksomheder og sammenslutninger af virksomheder, herunder klagerne, to anmodninger til Kommissionen om, at der blev iværksat nogle procedurer, nærmere bestemt en procedure i henhold til EF-traktatens artikel 85, 86 og 90, og en procedure i henhold til traktatens artikel 92 og 93. Det er alene sidstnævnte anmodning, der er genstand for denne sag.
On that point, neither the Treaty nor Community legislation lays down the procedural system for dealing with complaints objecting to grants of State aid.
Retten udtalte, at den omtvistede afgørelse burde annulleres, idet begrundelsen til den ikke i tilstrækkelig grad støttede den konklusion, at de af klagerne påtalte forhold ikke var udtryk for statsstøtte i henhold til traktatens artikel 92.
According to the contested judgment, the complainants' action sought annulment of the contested decision 'rejecting the applicants' request for a declaration by the Commission that the French Republic has infringed Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty by granting aid to Sécuripost'.
Den 31. december 1993 fremsendte Kommissionen en skrivelse til klagerne, og meddelte, at det ikke på grundlag af dens undersøgelse kunne antages, at der forelå en statsstøtte i henhold til traktatens artikel 92, hvorfor Kommissionen havde besluttet at henlægge sagen.
Where the Commission adopts such a decision and proceeds, in accordance with its duty of sound administration, to inform the complainants of its decision, it is the decision addressed to the Member State which must form the subject-matter of any action for annulment which the complainant may bring,
Kommissionen har gjort gældende, at Retten har anlagt en urigtig vurdering af karakteren af den
The Court of First Instance considered, moreover, that the Commission's obligation to state reasons for its decisions may in certain
omtvistede afgørelse ved at antage, at der var tale om en beslutning om at afvise en klage.
did not commit an error in law such as to invalidate its judgment.
Det tiltrædes herved, at der hverken ved traktaten eller fællesskabslovgivningen er blevet fastlagt nogen nærmere ordning med hensyn til proceduren i forbindelse med klager, hvorved det gøres gældende, at der ydes statsstøtte.
and not the letter to that complainant informing him of the decision.
traktatens artikel 92, afslog Kommissionen således forudsætningsvis at iværksætte proceduren i henhold til traktatens artikel 93, stk. 2.
The Commission submits that the error of the Court of First Instance as to the addressee of the Commission's decision resulted in an incorrect assessment of the obligations to state reasons and to investigate complaints.
Det fremgår af Domstolens praksis, at de parter, der har krav på de i sidstnævnte bestemmelse fastsatte proceduremæssige garantier, under disse omstændigheder kun kan gennemtvinge, at de respekteres, hvis de har adgang til at indbringe den pågældende beslutning for Fællesskabets retsinstanser i medfør af traktatens artikel 173, stk. 4.
Consequently, whilst it may be regrettable that the Commission did not inform the complainants of its position by sending them a copy of a properly reasoned decision addressed to the Member State concerned, the Court of First Instance erred in law in finding that the contested decision constituted a decision addressed not to that State but to the complainants, rejecting their application for a declaration by the Commission that the French Republic had infringed Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty by granting the aid to Sécuripost.
Dette princip gælder såvel i tilfælde, hvor den pågældende beslutning træffes under henvisning til, at Kommissionen finder, at støtten er forenelig med fællesmarkedet, som i tilfælde, hvor Kommissionen er af den opfattelse, at der overhovedet ikke foreligger en støtte.
It is necessary to examine the scope of the obligations incumbent of the Commission when it receives a complaint objecting to national measures such as State aid.
Da klagerne ubestrideligt havde krav på de omhandlede proceduremæssige garantier, måtte de i denne egenskab betragtes som umiddelbart og individuelt berørt af den omtvistede afgørelse. De kunne derfor påstå denne annulleret.
As regards, first, the proposition that the Commission is under an obligation in certain circumstances to conduct an exchange of views and arguments with the complainant, flowing, according to the contested judgment, from the Commission's obligation to state reasons for its decisions, it must be stated that there exists no basis for the imposition of such an obligation on the Commission.
Når henses hertil, må det antages, at adressaterne for beslutninger vedrørende statsstøtte, som Kommissionen træffer, er de berørte medlemsstater.
The error of law thus committed by the Court of First Instance does not, however, invalidate its judgment, since, as the Commission has conceded, the decision in question was of direct and individual concern to the complainants.
Dette gælder også beslutninger af denne art vedrørende statslige foranstaltninger, der ifølge klager er udtryk for statsstøtte i strid med traktaten, og hvoraf det fremgår, at Kommissionen ikke agter at iværksætte proceduren i henhold til artikel 93, stk. 2, enten fordi den skønner, at de påtalte foranstaltninger ikke er udtryk for statsstøtte som forudsat i traktatens artikel 92, eller fordi den finder, at foranstaltningerne er forenelige med fællesmarkedet.
In finding in its decision that the investigation had revealed no grounds for concluding that State aid existed within the meaning of Article 92 of the Treaty, the Commission implicitly refused to initiate the procedure under Article 93(2).
Når Kommissionen træffer sådanne beslutninger og i overensstemmelse med sin pligt til at udvise god forvaltningsskik giver klagerne meddelelse herom, er det den til den pågældende medlemsstat rettede beslutning, som en klager i givet fald må anfægte under et annullationssøgsmål, og ikke den skrivelse, hvorved klageren får meddelelse om beslutningen.
The Court's case-law shows that, in such a situation, the persons intended to benefit from the procedural guarantees afforded by Article 93(2) may secure compliance therewith only if they are able to challenge the decision in question before the Community judicature under the fourth paragraph of Article 173 of the Treaty.
Det må herefter fastslås, at Retten ikke har foretaget en urigtig retsanvendelse, der kan medføre en ophævelse af den appellerede dom, ved efter omstændighederne i sagen at lægge til grund, at den omtvistede afgørelse var en afgørelse rettet til klagerne om ikke at imødekomme deres anmodning om, at Kommissionen fastslog, at der var sket en tilsidesættelse af traktatens artikel 92 og 93.
That principle is of equal application, whether the ground on which the decision is taken is that the Commission regards the aid as compatible with the common market or that, in its view, the very existence of aid must be discounted.
Det andet og det tredje anbringende
Such an obligation cannot be founded solely on Article 190 of the Treaty.
Kommissionen har gjort gældende, at Rettens fejlagtige antagelse med hensyn til spørgsmålet om adressaten for Kommissionens beslutning har ført til en fejlagtig vurdering for så vidt angår spørgsmålet om begrundelsespligten og Kommissionens forpligtelser i forbindelse med behandlingen af klagen.
Moreover, it follows from the case-law that the Commission is not obliged to give the complainants an opportunity to state their views at the stage of the initial review provide»* for by Article 93(3) of the Treaty.
Det må følgelig fastslås, at selv om det kan kritiseres, at Kommissionen ikke gav klagerne meddelelse om sin stillingtagen ved at fremsende en genpart af den til den pågældende medlemsstat rettede behørigt begrundede beslutning, har Retten foretaget en urigtig retsanvendelse ved at antage, at den omtvistede afgørelse ikke var rettet til denne medlemsstat, men var en til klagerne rettet afgørelse om ikke at imødekomme disses anmodning om, at Kommissionen fastslog, at Den Franske Republik havde tilsidesat traktatens artikel 92 og 93 ved at yde støtte til Sécuripost.
Furthermore, those judgments show that, in the context of an examination under Article 93(2), the Commission is merely required to give notice to the parties concerned to submit their comments. Consequently, the imposition on the Commission of an obligation requiring it to conduct an exchange of views and arguments with the complainant in the context of the initial review provided for by Article 93(3) of the Treaty could lead to conflict between the procedural regime established by that provision and that laid down by Article 93(2).
Der bør ske en undersøgelse af omfanget af de forpligtelser, der påhviler Kommissionen, når den modtager en klage, hvori det gøres gældende, at nationale foranstaltninger er udtryk for statsstøtte.
Since the complainants undeniably qualify as persons entitled to the benefit of the procedural guarantees in question, they must, as such, be regarded as directly and individually concerned by the contested decision.
Denne urigtige retsanvendelse fra Rettens side kan dog ikke føre til en ophævelse af den appellerede dom, da klagerne, således som Kommissionen da også har erkendt, var umiddelbart og individuelt berørt af den omtvistede afgørelse. Ved i denne at anføre, at det ikke på grundlag af undersøgelsen kunne antages, at der forelå en statsstøtte i henhold til
In the light of those considerations, it must be held that, by holding that, in the circumstances of the present case, the contested decision was a decision addressed to the complainants rejecting their application for a declaration by the Commission that Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty had been infringed, the Court of First Instance
Hvad for det første angår den forpligtelse, der angiveligt påhviler Kommissionen til under visse omstændigheder at gennemføre en kontradiktorisk sagsbehandling over for klageren,
Next, as regards the statement that the Commission is obliged to examine certain objections of its own motion, it must be stated, contrary to what was held by "ne Court of First Instance, that the Commissie- is under no obligation to examine of its own motion objections which the complainant would certainly have raised had it been given the opportunity of
omstændigheder, som klageren ikke udtrykkeligt har henvist til.
taking cognisance of the information obtained by the Commission in the course of its investigation.