10.5.2022

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 191/25

(Case C-214/22)

(2022/C 191/33)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: E. Manhaeve, A. Azéma, I. Zaloguin, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

—declare that, by failing to adopt, by 4 October 2016 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Article 8(7), Article 9 and Article 10(2) of Directive 2014/42/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime in the European Union (1) or, in any event, by not communicating those provisions to the Commission, Luxembourg has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 12 of that directive;

—impose on Luxembourg, in accordance with Article 260(3) TFEU, a penalty payment in the amount of EUR 7 096,50 per day from the date of delivery of the judgement in the present case for failure to fulfil its obligation to communicate to the Commission the measures transposing Article 8(7), Article 9 and Article 10(2) of Directive 2014/42;

—order Luxembourg to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Directive 2014/42/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime in the European Union allows Member States to recover more easily the benefits attained by criminals as a result of serious organised crime. Member States were obliged to transpose the directive by 4 October 2016. The Commission opened the infringement procedure against Luxembourg in November 2016 and then sent it a reasoned opinion in March 2019. To date, Luxembourg has not notified the Commission of complete transposition of the directive into its national law.

(1) OJ 2014 L 127, p. 39.