Opinion of Advocate General Lenz delivered on 12 July 1994

1 Original language: German.

2 Council Regulation of 22 December 1986 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport between Member States and between Member States and third countries (OJ 1986 L 378, p. 1).

3 See also the second recital in the preamble to Regulation No 4055/86.

4 Consistent case-law; see, most recently, the judgment in Case C-18/93 Corsica Ferries Italia [1991] ECR I-1783, paragraph 24.

5 Those provisions incidentally provide the explanation for Article 9 of the regulation, which is modelled on Article 65 of the Treaty.

6 Council Regulation of 7 December 1992 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage) (OJ 1992 L 364, p. 7).

7 See the codified version in accordance with Decree No 78-487 (Journal officiel de la République française (/ORF), 2 April 1978).

8 The reasoned opinion is dated 25 January 1993. It stated that the Member State concerned was to comply within two months from notification of the reasoned opinion. I presume that the document was notified immediately after being drawn up.

9 Decree No 92-1089 (JORF, 7 October 1992).

10 The second paragraph provided for various reductions, which are, however, of no relevance for the present case.

11 Judgment in Case C-49/89 Corsica Ferries France v Direction générale des douanes françaises [1989] ECR 4441.

12 See paragraph 14 of the judgment cited in the previous note.

13 See point I.1, second paragraph, of the Report for the Hearing in Case C-49/89.

14 See paragraph 17 above.

15 Judgment in Joined Cases 62 and 63/81 Seco v EVl [1932] ECK 223, paragraph 8. See, more recently, the judgments in Case C-288/89 Collectieve Antennevoorzicmng Gondii [1991] ECR I-1007, paragraph 10 and Case C-353/89 Commission v Netherlands [1991] ECR I-1069, par.lgrapli 14.

16 See paragraph 19 above.

17 A single charge only (on embarking) was levied in traffic between Corsica and Italy between 27 January 1969 and 12 March 1981: see the third paragraph of point I.1 of the Report for the Hearing in Case C-49/89.

18 See JORF, 28 May 1994.

19 On freedom to provide services see, for example, the judgment in Case C-41/90 Höfner and Elser [1991] ECR I-1979, paragraph 37.

20 Judgment in Case 15/79 Groenveld v Produktschap voor Vee en Vlees [1979] ECR 3409, paragraph 7.

21 Opinion delivered on 11 May 1994 in Case C-379/92 Criminal proceedings against Maneo Peralta, [1994] ECR I-3453, paragraphs 90 to 93.

22 Judgment in Case 81/87 Daily Mail [1988] ECR 5483, paragraph 16.

23 Paragraph 19 above.

24 Opinion in Case C-49/89 [1989] ECR 4447, at p. 4450, paragraph 17.

25 See paragraphs 9 and 10 of the judgments in Case C-154/89 Commission v France [1991] ECR I-659 and Case C-198/89 Commission v Greece [1991] ECR I-727; paragraphs 8 and 9 of the judgment in Case C-180/89 Commission v Italy [1991] ECR I-709. See also my Opinion in the Peralta case (cited in note 20), paragraphs 74 and 75.

26 See also paragraph 23 in my Opinion in Case C-49/89 (cit-ed in note 23 above).

27 While in the case of free movement of goods, the process of export concerns the State in which the goods (before being exported) are in free circulation, the State of export in the case of freedom to provide services is, for the purpose of the above considerations, the State of establishment from which the service is provided. On the problem of services which are provided from an establishment in another Member State for the purpose of circumventing domestic legislation, see my Opinion in Case C-23/93 TV 10 v Commissariaat voor de Media [1994] ECR I-4795, I-4797, and the case-law discussed there.

28 See paragraph 21 above and note 14.

29 See the judgments cited in note 14, in particular Collectieve Antennevoorziening Gonda, paragraphs 10 and 11, and Commission v Netherlands, paragraphs H and 15.

30 See also paragraph 8 of the Corsica Ferries 1 judgment (note 10).

31 See paragraph 27 above.

32 See note 17 above.

33 See for example the judgment in Case 154/85 Commission v Italy [1987] ECR 2717, paragraph 6.