Commission v Greece (Environment and consumers) [2003] EUECJ C-83/02 (05 June 2003)

Judgment By application lodged at the Court Registry on 12 March 2002, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 226 EC for a declaration that, by failing to draw up or, in any event, to communicate to the Commission within the prescribed period (by 16 September 1999) the plans, outlines and summaries required under Articles 4(1) and 11 of Council Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT) (OJ 1996 L 243, p. 31, 'the Directive'), the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive and the EC Treaty. Article 1 of the Directive states: 'The purpose of this directive is to approximate the laws of the Member States on the controlled disposal of PCBs, the decontamination or disposal of equipment containing PCBs and/or the disposal of used PCBs in order to eliminate them completely on the basis of the provisions of this directive.' Article 4(1) of the Directive provides: 'In order to comply with Article 3, Member States shall ensure that inventories are compiled of equipment with PCB volumes of more than 5 dm , and shall send summaries of such inventories to the Commission at the latest three years after the adoption of this directive. In the case of power capacitors, the threshold of 5 dm shall be understood as including all the separate elements of a combined set.' Article 11 of the Directive provides: '1. Member States shall, within three years of the adoption of this directive, draw up: - plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein; - outlines for the collection and subsequent disposal of equipment which is not subject to inventory in accordance with Article 4(1), as referred to in Article 6(3). 2. Member States shall communicate these plans and outlines to the Commission without delay.' Pursuant to Article 13(1), the Directive entered into force on the date of its adoption, namely 16 September 1996. It follows that the Hellenic Republic should have drawn up the summaries of inventories, plans and projects required by Articles 4(1) and 11 of the Directive at the latest by 16 September 1999. In accordance with the procedure laid down in the first paragraph of Article 226 EC, the Commission, after giving formal notice to the Hellenic Republic to submit its observations, sent a reasoned opinion by letter of 1 August 2000 calling on that Member State to take the measures necessary to fulfil its obligations arising under the Directive within two months of notification of the reasoned opinion. Since the information sent to the Commission by the Hellenic Republic showed that that State had not complied with its obligations under Articles 4(1) and 11 of the Directive, the Commission decided to bring the present action. In its application the Commission submits that the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Directive, since it did not draw up and/or communicate, within the prescribed period, the summaries of inventories, plans or outlines provided for in Articles 4(1) and 11 of the Directive. In its defence the Greek Government contends, with regard to Article 4(1) of the Directive, that the inventories required by that provision which it had already sent to the Commission during the pre-litigation procedure, but in an incomplete form, have meanwhile been completed. After indicating the amount of equipment inventoried, the Greek Government undertakes to send to the Commission, as soon as possible,summaries of those inventories in order to comply with its obligations under that provision. As regards Article 11 of the Directive, the Greek Government states that completing the inventories was a fundamental and necessary preparatory step for the purpose of drawing up the plans and outlines required by that provision. It adds that plans have already been considered by the competent staff of the Ministry of the Environment, Regional Planning and Public Works and should be submitted shortly for the approval of the competent minister. In those circumstances, it submits that the Hellenic Republic will rapidly fulfil its obligations under that provision. In that regard, it must be pointed 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 and the Court cannot take account of any subsequent changes (see, inter alia , Case C-177/01 Commission v France [2002] ECR I-5137 paragraph 13, and Case C-173/01 Commission v Greece [2002] ECR I-6129 , paragraph 7). It is clear from the foregoing that the summaries of inventories, plans and outlines required by Articles 4(1) and 11 of the Directive had not been drawn up by the Hellenic Republic within the time-limit provided by the reasoned opinion. In those circumstances, the action brought by the Commission must be considered to be well founded. It must therefore be declared that, by failing to draw up, within the prescribed period, summaries of inventories of equipment with PCB volumes of more than 5 dm , plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein, and outlines for the collection and subsequent disposal of equipment which is not subject to inventory, in accordance with Articles 4(1) and 11 of the Directive, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that Directive. Costs Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the successful party's pleadings. Since the Commission applied for costs and the Hellenic Republic has been unsuccessful, the latter must be ordered to pay the costs. On those grounds, THE COURT (Fourth Chamber), hereby: 1. Declares that, by failing to draw up, within the prescribed period, summaries of inventories of equipment with PCB volumes of more than 5 dm , plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein, and outlines for the collection and subsequent disposal of equipment which is not subject to inventory, in accordance with Articles 4(1) and 11 of Council Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT), the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive. 2. Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs. Timmermans La Pergola von Bahr Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 5 June 2003. R. Grass C. W. A. Timmermans Registrar President of the Fourth Chamber 1: Language of the case: Greek. BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII