Frankrijk schendt machtigingsrichtlijn

HvJ EU 27 juni 2013, zaak C-485/11(Vodafone Malta en Mobisle Communications) - dossier - persbericht
Niet-nakoming – Schending van artikel 12 van richtlijn 2002/20/EG van het Europees Parlement en de Raad van 7 maart 2002 betreffende de machtiging voor elektronische-communicatienetwerken en -diensten (PB L 108, blz. 21) – Bijdragen en vergoedingen voor ondernemingen met een algemene machtiging – Verenigbaarheid van een nationale wettelijke regeling waarbij een bijkomende bijdrage wordt opgelegd aan operatoren van elektronische telecommunicatie. Beroep wordt afgewezen.

Uit het persbericht: The Authorisation Directive does not preclude either the special charge levied in France on electronic communications operators or the Maltese excise duty on mobile telephony services. That directive does not restrict Member States’ powers to impose non-administrative charges in respect of the provision of electronic communications services.

(...) In its judgment today, the Court points out, first, that the administrative charges covered by the Directive represent remuneration and that the only purpose of such charges is to cover the administrative costs incurred in the issue, management, control and enforcement of the general authorisation scheme in the field of electronic communications. Thus, a charge the trigger3 for which is linked to the general authorisation procedure for access to the electronic

telecommunications services market constitutes an administrative charge within the meaning of the Directive and may be imposed only in accordance with the requirements set out in the Directive.

However, the Court finds that the trigger for the charge in question is linked neither to the general authorisation procedure for access to the electronic telecommunications services market nor to the grant of a right to use radio frequencies or numbers. Indeed, that charge relates to the operator’s activities, which consist in providing electronic communications
services to end users in France.

The Court observes in that regard that the charge at issue is not levied on all electronic communications operators holding a general authorisation or a right to use radio frequencies or numbers but only on operators holding a general authorisation who already provide their services on the electronic communications services market to end users. It is not therefore levied simply on the basis of the fact that the operator holds a general authorisation or has the right to use radio
frequencies or numbers but is linked to the operator’s business of providing communications services.
In those circumstances, the Court finds that the charge at issue does not constitute an administrative charge within the meaning of the Directive and does not therefore fall within its scope. Consequently, the Court dismisses the Commission’s action.