Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions)

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1 . Member States - Obligations - Article 5 of the EEC Treaty - Unilateral national measure reducing the national salaries paid to teachers seconded to the European Schools - Interference with the system adopted for financing the Community and apportioning financial burdens among the Member States - Not acceptable
( EEC Treaty, Art . 5 )
2 . Member States - Obligations - Failure to fulfil obligations - Justification - Not acceptable
( EEC Treaty, Art . 169 )

1 . As the Court has already held ( see the judgment of 15 January 1986 in Case 44/84 Hurd v Jones (( 1986 )) ECR 29 ), the Statute of the European School and the Protocol on the setting-up of European Schools are to be viewed in the context of a whole series of agreements, decisions and other acts by which the Member States collaborate and coordinate their activities so as to contribute to the proper functioning of the Community institutions and to facilitate the achievement of the tasks of those institutions . The unilateral decision of a Member State to reduce the national salary paid to teaching staff seconded to the European Schools entails a corresponding increase in the Communities' share of their financing . For that reason, such a decision interferes with the system adopted for financing the Community and apportioning financial burdens among the Member States .
As the Court has already held ( see the judgment cited above ), consequences of that kind cannot be accepted . The conduct giving rise to them fails to take account of the duty of genuine cooperation and assistance which Member States owe the Community and which finds expression in the obligation laid down in Article 5 of the EEC Treaty to facilitate the achievement of the Community' s tasks and to refrain from jeopardizing the attainment of the objectives of the Treaty .
2 . As the Court has consistently held, a Member State may not plead provisions, practices or circumstances existing in its own legal system in order to justify a failure to comply with obligations arising under Community law .

In Case C-6/89
Commission of the European Communities, represented by Sean van Raepenbusch, a member of its Legal Department, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Georgios Kremlis, also a member of its Legal Department, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg,
applicant,
v
Kingdom of Belgium, represented by Jan Devadder, Deputy Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Aid, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Belgian Embassy, 4 rue des Girondins,
defendant,
APPLICATION for a declaration that by adopting Article 2 of Royal Decree No 471 of 24 October 1986 reducing by 50% the secondment pay or the salary allowance granted to members of the teaching staff seconded to the European Schools in circumstances which lead to an increase in the burden on the Community budget, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of the EEC Treaty,
THE COURT
composed of : O . Due, President, Sir Gordon Slynn, C . N . Kakouris and F . A . Schockweiler ( Presidents of Chambers ), G . F . Mancini, R . Joliet and G . C . Rodríguez Iglesias, Judges,
( the grounds of the judgment are not reproduced )
hereby :

( 1 ) Declares that by adopting Article 2 of Royal Decree No 471 of 24 October 1986, reducing by 50% the secondment pay or the salary allowance granted to members of the teaching staff seconded to the European Schools, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of the EEC Treaty;
( 2 ) Orders the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs .