Action brought on 2 December 2009 — European Commission v Hellenic Republic

(Case C-500/09)

2010/C 37/27

Language of the case: Greek

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: L. Lozano Palacios and D. Triantafillou, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Hellenic Republic

Form of order sought

The Court is asked to:

Pleas in law and main arguments

The Hellenic Republic is hindering the liberalisation of postal services, the objective of Directive 97/67, which provides in that connection for the grant of general authorisations and individual licences in an open manner and without discrimination.

The Greek legislation requires of authorised carriers, when licences are issued for postal transport vehicles, that they should themselves be postal undertakings entered in the appropriate register as holders of a general authorisation. That necessitates radical restructuring of postal networks and makes it impossible for the principal undertakings to employ franchisees, unless they opt to convert themselves into undertakings leasing vehicles with the costs that that implies.

Moreover, the Greek legislation allows the transport of heavy loads only by certain commercial vehicles, reserved to a regulated profession, which prevents other undertakings from providing the same service.

The Hellenic Republic has not submitted sufficient justification for those restrictions.

(1)  OJ L 15 of 21.1.1998, p. 14.