Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1998:199
Date: 1998-05-05
Language of the case: Swedish
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Beef and veal;Free movement of goods;Measures having equivalent effect;Quantitative restrictions
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Sweden

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Agriculture — Harmonisation of laws — Directives 77/504 and 87/328 on the acceptance for 
breeding purposes of pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species with a view to elimi­
nating zootechnical barriers to the free movement of semen — Requirement of authorisation 
for the distribution of and insemination with imported semen — Whether permitted, with 
reference also to Article 30 of the Treaty — Condition — Requirement imposed for the purpose 
of controls not provided for in the harmonised system — Not permissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 30; Council Directives 77/504 and 87/328, Art. 2(1)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-162/97 
2. Agriculture — Harmonisation of laws — Directives 87/328 and 91/174 on the acceptance for 
breeding purposes of pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species with a view to elimi­
nating zootechnical barriers to the free movement of semen — Prohibition or subjection to 
authorisation of the use of semen from bulls accepted for artificial insemination in another 
Member State — Refusal on grounds relating to characteristics inherent to the breed concerned 
— Not permissible — Preamble to Directive 87/328 not authorising such a rule 
(Council Directives 87/328, Art. 2(1), and 91/174; Commission Decision 86/130) 
1. Article 2(1) of Directive 87/328 on the 
acceptance for breeding purposes of pure­
bred breeding animals of the bovine spe­
cies does not preclude national rules under 
which authorisation is required for the 
distribution of and insemination with 
semen of bovine animals from another 
Member State, provided that the sole pur­
pose of that authorisation is to ensure that 
the person authorised possesses the neces­
sary qualifications for the operation 
intended. Such rules do not fall within the 
scope of Article 30 of the Treaty. 
O n the other hand, the requirement of 
authorisation for insemination activities 
may not be used for the purpose of con­
trolling the genetic quality of breeding 
animals in a manner not provided for in 
that directive or Directive 77/504, since 
those directives have harmonised the con­
ditions of acceptance for breeding of pure­
bred breeding animals of the bovine spe­
cies and their semen with a view to 
eliminating zootechnical barriers to the 
free movement of bovine semen, so that a 
requirement whose purpose or effect is to 
control or verify imports of bovine semen 
by reference to zootechnical or pedigree 
considerations could be laid down only in 
conformity with the directives. 
2. Since the zootechnical and pedigree con­
ditions relating to intra-Community trade 
in bovine semen have been fully harmon­
ised under Directives 87/328 and 91/174, 
Article 2(1) of the former directive pre­
cludes national rules which prohibit or 
subject to authorisation the use in the ter­
ritory of that Member State of semen from 
bulls of the Belgian Blue breed, where they 
have been accepted for artificial insemina­
tion in another Member State on the basis 
of tests carried out in accordance with 
Decision 86/130 laying down performance 
monitoring methods and methods for 
assessing cattle's genetic value for pure­
bred breeding animals of the bovine spe­
cies. 
More particularly, the national authorities 
are not entitled to reject the use of semen 
of that breed on the ground that it carries 
the muscular hypertrophy gene, or that 
use of the semen would be likely to entail 
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NILSSON AND OTHERS 
suffering for the animals or affect their 
natural behaviour, or that the breed is 
regarded by those national authorities as 
carrying genetic defects, since the genetic 
peculiarities and defects of an animal may 
be defined only in the Member State in 
which the breed of cattle has been accepted 
for artificial insemination, by the bodies 
officially authorised to determine those 
characteristics, in agreement with the 
breeders' organisations or associations 
which maintain herd-books for pure-bred 
breeding animals of the bovine species. 
Such rules cannot, moreover, be autho­
rised by the preamble to Directive 87/328, 
since, first, the preamble to a Community 
act has no binding legal force and cannot 
be relied on as a ground for derogating 
from the actual provisions of the act in 
question and, second, the passage in ques­
tion does not show any contradiction 
between it and the actual provisions of the 
directive. 
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