Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:586
Date: 2001-10-25
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Oils and fats
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Oils and fats — Compen­
satory payments for oil-seeds — Regulation establishing the value of the final regional 
reference amounts for certain oil-seeds 
(Council Regulation No 3766/91; Commission Regulation No 525/93) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-328/00 
2. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Regu­
lation establishing the value of the final regional reference amounts for certain oil-seeds 
(EC Treaty, Art. 190 (now Art. 253 EC); Commission Regulation No 525/93) 
1. In the context of Regulat ion 
No 3766/91 establishing a support sys­
tem for producers of soya beans, rape 
seed and colza seed and sunflower seed 
which was used as the basis for Regu­
lation No 525/93 establishing the value 
of the final regional reference amounts 
for producers of soya beans, rape seed, 
colza seed and sunflower seed, the 
Commission did not commit a manifest 
error or misuse of power or manifestly 
exceed the limits of its discretion, when 
in order to ensure that the observed 
reference prices were comparable with 
the projected reference price, the Com­
mission made estimates in order to 
include forward prices which, being 
calculated on the basis of a longer 
period, were therefore a more stable 
element than spot prices, and took no 
account of prices which related to a 
small number of transactions and were 
therefore not representative of the 
equilibrium price throughout the 
1992/93 marketing year. 
(see paras 34, 37) 
2. The statement of reasons required by 
Article 190 of the Treaty (now 
Article 253 EC) must be appropriate 
to the nature of the measure in question 
and must show clearly and unequivo­
cally the reasoning of the institution 
which enacted the measure, so as to 
inform the persons concerned of the 
justification for the measure adopted 
and to enable the Court to exercise its 
powers of review. It is not necessary, 
however, for details of all relevant 
factual and legal aspects to be given, 
in so far as the question whether the 
statement of grounds for a measure 
meets the requirements of Article 190 
of the Treaty must be assessed with 
regard not only to its wording but also 
to its context and to all the legal rules 
governing the matter in question. 
(see para. 42) 
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