Notice for the OJ
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
(Grand Chamber)
of 14 December 2004
in Case C-463/01: Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany 1 (Environment - Free movement of goods - Packaging and packaging waste - Directive 94/62/EC - Exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters - Directive 80/777/EEC - Deposit and return obligations for non-reusable packaging that depend on the overall percentage of reusable packaging)
(Language of the case: German)
In Case C-463/01: action under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 3 December 2001, Commission of the European Communities (Agent: G. zur Hausen) supported by French Republic (Agents: G. de Bergues, E. Puisais and D. Petrausch) and by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Agent: initially P. Ormond and subsequently C. Jackson) v Federal Republic of Germany (Agents: W.-D. Plessing and T. Rummler, assisted by D. Sellner) - the Court (Grand Chamber), composed of V. Skouris, President, P. Jann and K. Lenaerts (Rapporteur), Presidents of Chambers, C. Gulmann, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen, N. Colneric, S. von Bahr and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, gave a judgment on 14 December 2004, in which it:
Declares that, by establishing, through Paragraphs 8(1) and 9(2) of the Verordnung über die Vermeidung und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen (Regulation on the Avoidance and Recovery of Packaging Waste), a system seeking the re-use of packaging for products which, under Council Directive 80/777/EEC of 15 July 1980 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters, must be bottled at source, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste in conjunction with Article 28 EC;
Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs;
Orders the French Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to bear their own costs.
____________1 - OJ C 56 of 02.03.2002.