Action brought on 16 July 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic

(Case C-331/07)

(2007/C 247/06)

Language of the case: Greek

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: E. Tserepa-Lacombe and F. Erlbacher)

Defendant: Hellenic Republic

Form of order sought

Pleas in law and main arguments

By this action, the Commission asks the Court to find that by not having adopted the legal and administrative measures necessary first to comply with the obligation laid down by Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules (OJ 2004 L 165, p. 1 as amended in OJ 2004 L 191, p. 1) (‘Regulation 882/2004’) and the obligation to have a sufficient number of properly qualified and experienced staff to be able effectively to carry out the official controls, and secondly to comply with the obligation laid down by the provisions of the Community veterinary legislation relating to the financing of the staff necessary to carry out the prescribed veterinary controls, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that legislation.

The Commission states that the Community veterinary legislation requires Member States to ensure that there are carried out a substantial number of checks and controls relating to the application of the prescribed conditions and requirements. Thus, certain provisions, in particular Article 4(2)(c) of Regulation 882/2004, lay down that Member States must have a sufficient number of properly qualified and experienced staff to be able to carry out the veterinary controls. Further, many of those provisions either expressly provide that certain veterinary controls — the procedures for implementation of which are more or less detailed — must be carried out, or define the conditions and specifications which presuppose the existence of veterinary controls.

However, relying on a large number of inspection reports submitted by the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) of the Commission, the Commission states that on expiry of the period specified in the reasoned opinion and beyond that date, and despite certain efforts of the Greek authorities, the Hellenic Republic has not adopted all the measures necessary to remedy the failings for which it has been criticised. Since 1998, the FVO has made a large number of inspection visits to Greece, and has found a serious shortage of staff in the services responsible for carrying out the official controls prescribed by the Community legislation, at all levels of administration. The shortage discovered was such that, according to the Commission experts, the official controls which are essential to the effective application of the Community legislation relating to animal protection could not be carried out, the programmes to combat and eradicate animal diseases have not been completed, and the rules relating to animal welfare have not been complied with.

The majority of the recommendations addressed to the Greek authorities have been implemented either not at all or inadequately. Further, the inspection reports disclose a very worrying picture of the official controls carried out in Greece.