HAVET & VANHUFFEL – Association d’avocats
By a judgment of 16 July 2017 (C-140/14 – Commission v Slovenia), the Court held that the Republic of Slovenia had breached its obligations by authorising the dumping of excavated material on plot No 115/1 in the municipality of Teharje (Bukovžlak) without ensuring that no other waste had been previously or simultaneously admitted to that site, and since no measures had been taken to remove from the site waste not covered by the permit issued (violation of Article 13 and Article 36(1) of Directive 2008/98; of Article 5(3)(e) and Article 6 of Directive 1999/31, read in conjunction with Council Decision 2003/33/EC of 19 December 2002 establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste). waste in landfills, in accordance with Article 16 and Annex II of Directive 1999/31/EC (OJ 2003 L 11, p. 27), as well as Articles 7 to 9, 11 and 12 of Directive 1999/31 and Annexes I to III thereto.
Following delays in implementing this judgment, after serving formal notice on the Republic of Slovenia, the Commission brought a new action for failure to fulfil obligations before the Court of Justice of the European Union on 24 May 2023.
By its application, the European Commission requested the Court:
– to declare that, by failing to adopt all the measures necessary to comply with the judgment of 16 July 2015, Commission v Slovenia (C‑140/14, EU:C:2015:501, hereinafter the „Commission v Slovenia judgment“), with regard to plot No 115/1 in the municipality of Teharje (Bukovžlak), the Republic of Slovenia has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 260(1) TFEU;
– to order the Republic of Slovenia to pay the Commission a penalty payment of EUR 4,500 for each day of delay from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case until the date of execution of the judgment in Commission v Slovenia in respect of plot no. 115/1 in the municipality of Teharje (Bukovžlak);
– order the Republic of Slovenia to pay the Commission a lump sum corresponding to a daily amount of EUR 500 multiplied by the number of days elapsed between the date of delivery of the judgment in Commission v Slovenia and the earlier of the two following dates, namely the date of compliance with that judgment or the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, provided that the lump sum amounts to a minimum of EUR 280,000.
By letters of 30 July and 6 September 2024, the Republic of Slovenia requested permission, pursuant to Article 128(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court, to produce new evidence after the closure of the written part of the procedure, taking into account all the progress made in cleaning up the landfill.
On 18 December 2024, the Commission informed the Court that the Republic of Slovenia can be considered to have fully complied with the judgment in Commission v Slovenia since 14 November 2024, the date on which it considers that all the requested remediation works have been completed and has withdrawn its application for a periodic penalty payment.
The Court (Eighth Chamber) hereby declares and orders:
- By failing to adopt the measures necessary to comply with the judgment of 16 July 2015, Commission v Slovenia (C‑140/14, EU:C:2015:501), in relation to plot No 115/1 in the municipality of Teharje (Bukovžlak), the Republic of Slovenia has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 260(1) TFEU;
- Orders the Republic of Slovenia to pay the European Commission a lump sum of EUR 1,200,000;
- Orders the Republic of Slovenia to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission.
The Court’s decision is available via the following link: https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=299095&pageIndex=0&doclang=fr&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=241359.