28As for the question of whether such legislation may be justified under Article 18 of Directive 96/67, it should be noted that the Court has held that, whilst Member States retain the power to ensure an adequate level of social protection for the staff of undertakings providing groundhandling services, it is also true that that power does not confer an unlimited jurisdiction and must be exercised in a manner that does not prejudice the effectiveness of that directive and the objectives it pursues (see Case C-460/02 Commission v Italy [2004] ECR I-11547, paragraphs 31 and 32).
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