Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 25 January 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat des Landes Oberösterreich (Austria)) — Michael Neukirchinger v Bezirkshauptmannschaft Grieskirchen

(Case C-382/08) (1)

(Air transport - Licence for the organisation of commercial balloon flights - Article 12 EC - Condition of residence or company seat - Administrative sanctions)

2011/C 80/02

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat des Landes Oberösterreich

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Michael Neukirchinger

Defendant: Bezirkshauptmannschaft Grieskirchen

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat des Landes Oberösterreich — Interpretation of Article 49 et seq. of the EC Treaty — National legislation prohibiting, on pain of administrative criminal penalties, the organisation of commercial balloon flights without a national licence, the issue of which is subject to the condition that the applicant for the licence has a place of residence or registered office within the country

Operative part of the judgment

Article 12 EC precludes legislation of a Member State, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which, for the organisation of balloon flights in that Member State and subject to administrative sanctions in the event of failure to comply with that legislation,

requires a person resident or established in another Member State, who is licensed in that second Member State to operate commercial balloon flights, to have a place of residence or company seat in the first Member State, and

obliges that person to obtain a new licence, without due account being taken of the fact that the conditions of issue are, essentially, the same as those which apply to the licence already issued to that person in the second Member State.

(1)  OJ C 285, 8.11.2008.