Action brought on 23 May 2023 – European Commission v Republic of Croatia
(Case C315/23)
Language of the case: Croatian
Parties
Applicant: European Commission (represented by: M. Escobar Gómez, M. Mataija, P. Ondrůšek, Agents)
Defendant: Republic of Croatia
Form of order sought
Declare that the Republic of Croatia has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 260(1) TFEU, in that it has failed to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C250/18, Commission v Croatia (Biljane Donje landfill);
Order the Republic of Croatia to pay the Commission a lump sum of EUR 840 multiplied by the number of days which have expired from the date of delivery of the judgment in Case C250/18 on 2 May 2019 until the date on which the Republic of Croatia complies with that judgment, or the date of delivery of the judgment in the present proceedings, depending on which occurs first, the minimum lump sum to be EUR 392 000;
Order the Republic of Croatia to pay the Commission a periodic penalty payment of EUR 7560 per day from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present proceedings until the date of compliance by the Republic of Croatia with the judgment in Case C250/18; and
Order the Republic of Croatia to pay the costs of the present proceedings.
Pleas in law and main arguments
In Case C250/18, Commission v Croatia (Biljane Donje landfill), the Court of Justice found that the Republic of Croatia had failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5(1) of Directive 2008/98 by failing to acknowledge that stone aggregate deposited in the Biljane Donje landfill is waste, rather than a by-product, and that it must be processed as waste; its obligations under Article 13 of that directive by failing to take all necessary measures to ensure that management of the waste stored in Biljane Donje was carried out without endangering human health and without harming the environment; and its obligations under Article 15(1) of that directive by failing to take the necessary measures to ensure that the holder of waste stored in Biljane Donje carried out the treatment of waste himself or had the treatment handled by a dealer or an establishment or undertaking which carries out waste treatment operations or arranged by a private or public waste collector. Since the Republic of Croatia has failed to take the measures necessary to bring to an end that failure to fulfil those obligations and to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice, the Commission has decided to bring the matter before the Court of Justice.1
In accordance with Article 260 TFEU, the Commission proposes in the application that the Republic of Croatia pay a lump sum of EUR 840 multiplied by the number of days from the date of delivery of the judgment in Case C250/18 to the date on which that judgment is complied with, or the date of delivery of the judgment in the present proceedings, depending on which occurs first, the minimum lump sum to be EUR 392 000, and a periodic penalty payment of EUR 7560 per day, calculated from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case until the date on which the Republic of Croatia complies with the judgment in Case C250/18.
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1Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (OJ 2008 L 312, p. 3).