The integration of environmental protection as a general rule for interpreting community law

Common Market Law Review

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 159-177

  Wasmeier, Martin ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG   (Germany)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035581530     PISSN: 01650750     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/A:1005634829393     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. nd edition 1989, pp. 72 et seq.
2. See, e.g. the working paper of the Commission for the European Council of Cologne SEC(99)777, which does not cover the question of interpretation of existing Community law.
3. See O'Keeffe and Twomey (Eds.), Legal Issues of the Maastricht Treaty (Chancery/Wiley, 1994), and Grabitz and Nettesheim in Grabitz and Hilf(Eds.), Kommentar zum EGV, Article 130r para 60; Krämer, in von Groeben, Thiesing and Ehlermann, Kommentar zum EWGV, Article 130r para 41 (1991).
4. See O'Keeffe and Twomey (Eds.), Legal Issues of the Maastricht Treaty (Chancery/Wiley, 1994), and Grabitz and Nettesheim in Grabitz and Hilf(Eds.), Kommentar zum EGV, Article 130r para 60; Krämer, in von Groeben, Thiesing and Ehlermann, Kommentar zum EWGV, Article 130r para 41 (1991).
5. See O'Keeffe and Twomey (Eds.), Legal Issues of the Maastricht Treaty (Chancery/Wiley, 1994), and Grabitz and Nettesheim in Grabitz and Hilf(Eds.), Kommentar zum EGV, Article 130r para 60; Krämer, in von Groeben, Thiesing and Ehlermann, Kommentar zum EWGV, Article 130r para 41 (1991).
6. See the examples in Dumon, The Case Law of the Court of Justice - A Critical Examination of the Methods of Interpretation, (1976), pp. 87 et seq.
7. Case 26/62, Van Gend & Loos, [1963] ECR, 1. See also Bredimas, Methods of Interpretation and Community Law (Amsterdam, North-Holland, 1978), pp. 76 et seq.
8. Case 26/62, Van Gend & Loos, [1963] ECR, 1. See also Bredimas, Methods of Interpretation and Community Law (Amsterdam, North-Holland, 1978), pp. 76 et seq.
9. It might be discussed, whether there could be a "priority in dubio", as mentioned in the Commentary of Nettesheim in Grabitz/Hilf, op. cit. supra note 3, Article 130r para 59.
10. For the reconciliation of interests, see Case 203/86, Spain v. Council, [1988] ECR 4563, para 10.
11. Case 218/82, Commission v. Council, [1983] ECR 4063.
12. For new regulations on financial programmes see the working paper SEC(99)777, p. 6 and annex.
13. The Commission has underlined this several times, e.g. in its Communication COM(97)9 final.
14. The value of such a competition, or of a "vertical division of labour" for Community purposes has been underlined by several authors, in particular Zuleeg in (1987) Neue Zeitschrift für Verwaltungsrecht, 280 et seq.; for further references see this author's Umweltabgaben und Europarecht (Munich, 1995), p 71 et seq.
15. The value of such a competition, or of a "vertical division of labour" for Community purposes has been underlined by several authors, in particular Zuleeg in (1987) Neue Zeitschrift für Verwaltungsrecht, 280 et seq.; for further references see this author's Umweltabgaben und Europarecht (Munich, 1995), p 71 et seq.
16. However, if it was derived from Art. 5(2) such an interpretation rule could not apply to primary Community law, because of the different wording and context of this Article. The principle of subsidiarity might also be less judiciable than Art. 6 EC.
17. Judgment of 10 June 1999, nyr.
18. O.J. 1992, L 316/12, hereinafter "Directive on mineral oil taxes".
19. Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 Feb. 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products (hereinafter "excise duty Directive"), O.J. 1992, L 76/1.
20. Indirect taxes are taxes applied directly or indirectly to the consumption of goods (Art. 1(1) of the excise duty Directive). A.G. Fennelly noted in his Opinion of 12 Nov. 1999, para 18, that Community law does not yet encompass any generally recognized definition of excise duties. His attempt at a definition is as follows: "Specific indirect taxes on the production, sale or consumption of goods, often luxury goods".
21. See Case C-434/97, Commission v. France, Judgment of 24 Feb. 2000, nyr, para 24 and - regarding the next sentence - paras. 18 et seq.
22. The wording is as follows: "A specific excise duty calculated per 1,000 litres of product at a temperature of 15°C".
23. See Opinion of A.G. Fennelly, para 21 and the more recent judgment in case C-434/97, cited supra note 16, at paras. 18 et seq.
24. See also Communication of the Commission COM(99)640 final.
25. See the Fifth Action Program for the Environment, COM(95)624, p. 90; Report of the Commission to the Council and the EP, COM(96)549 final; COM (98)466 final.; COM(2000) 110 final.
26. See para 24 of the judgment.
27. Paras. 20 et seq.
28. COM(96)549 final of 14 Nov. 1996.
29. See also by this author, op. cit. supra note 11, p. 292;id., "Einführung einer Energiesteuer im nationalen Alleingang", (1996) RIW, 316 et seq.; id., "Die Integration des Umweltschutzes als allgemeine Auslegungsregel des Gemeinschaftsrechts" (2000) Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts-und Steuerrecht, 47 et seq. See also Lienemeyer, Europarecht (1998) p. 486 et seq., who considers the exemption contrary to ex Art. 130r(2) EC.
30. See also by this author, op. cit. supra note 11, p. 292;id., "Einführung einer Energiesteuer im nationalen Alleingang", (1996) RIW, 316 et seq.; id., "Die Integration des Umweltschutzes als allgemeine Auslegungsregel des Gemeinschaftsrechts" (2000) Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts-und Steuerrecht, 47 et seq. See also Lienemeyer, Europarecht (1998) p. 486 et seq., who considers the exemption contrary to ex Art. 130r(2) EC.
31. See also by this author, op. cit. supra note 11, p. 292;id., "Einführung einer Energiesteuer im nationalen Alleingang", (1996) RIW, 316 et seq.; id., "Die Integration des Umweltschutzes als allgemeine Auslegungsregel des Gemeinschaftsrechts" (2000) Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts-und Steuerrecht, 47 et seq. See also Lienemeyer, Europarecht (1998) p. 486 et seq., who considers the exemption contrary to ex Art. 130r(2) EC.
32. This would lead to the conclusion that, for example, a tax as recently proposed, on the Community level, by the German Green Party (Proposal for a European Aviation Levy to Internalise External Costs of Climate Change by Brockhagen and Lienemeyer, September 1999), would also be possible at national level. The study is available via the internet http://www.gruene-fraktion.de/publik/l&s14/01_30/index.htm (Vorschlag für eine Europäische Flugverkehrsabgabe (March 2000) or by post from: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Bundestagsfraktion, Deutscher Bundestag, 10870 Berlin.
33. Possible consequences of the integration principle for the other Treaties, in particular the ECSC and the EAEC, will be left aside here. However, if the ECSC expires, as expected, in 2001, the principles of the EC will have to be applied to the coal and steel sector.
34. Case 302/86, [1988] ECR 4607.
35. Case 120/78, [1979] ECR 649.
36. Case C-2/90, Commission v. Belgium, [1990] ECR 1-4431, annotated by Hancher and Sevenster in 30 CML Rev., 351-367.
37. For a detailed analysis of this judgment, see this author, op. cit. supra note 11, pp. 140 et seq. There are, of course, also cases where the Court considered restrictions of cross-border transfer of waste incompatible with the Treaty, because such restrictions did not seem necessary for protection of the environment (e.g. case C-203/96 Duesseldorp, judgment of 25.6.1998, on export restrictions in the Netherlands, annotated by Notaro in 36 CML Rev., 1309-1323). The basic assumptions of the Wallonia case remain, however, applicable.
38. O.J. 1994, C 72/3 et seq. A new version is being prepared.
39. See also Arts. 137(5) and 153(5) EC.