25.1.2016

Official Journal of the European Union

C 27/4

(Case C-498/15)

(2016/C 027/05)

Language of the case: Hungarian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Spirál-Gép Kft.

Defendant: Budapest Rendőrfőkapitánya

Questions referred

1)Must the requirement for proportionality laid down in Article 9a of Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (1) (‘the Eurovignette Directive’) be interpreted as meaning that it precludes a system of penalties such as that laid down in Annex 9 to Decree No 410/2007 of 29 December on the list of traffic offences subject to the penalty of an administrative fine, the amount of the fines that may be imposed in the event of breach of the relevant provisions, the system of imposing those fines and the conditions for participating in controls [a közigazgatási bírsággal sújtandó közlekedési szabályszegések köréről, az e tevékenységekre vonatkozó rendelkezések megsértése esetén kiszabható bírságok összegéről, felhasználásának rendjéről és az ellenőrzésben történő közreműködés feltételeiről szóló 410/2007. (XII. 29.) Korm. Rendelet] (‘the Law on penalties’) which provides for the imposition of a fine at a certain amount — unrelated to the gravity of the offence — in the event of failure to comply with the requirements relating to the acquisition of a route ticket?

2)Does Paragraph 9 of the Law on penalties comply with the requirement imposed by Article 9a of the Eurovignette Directive, according to which penalties established under national law must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive?

3)Must the requirement for proportionality laid down in Article 9a of the Eurovignette Directive be interpreted as precluding, on the one hand, a system of penalties such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which provides for the strict liability of the person responsible for an offence and, on the other hand, the amount of the fine laid down under that system?

Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (OJ 1999 L 187, p. 42).