Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2016:7
Date: 2016-01-14
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Eggs and poultry
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: France

summary statement of reasons is sufficient — Decision fixing the amount of export refunds (Art. 296(2) TFEU) (see paras 156, 157, 161, 163, 228, 230) 11. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Fixing of amounts — Fixing of the amount at zero for the first time for the products concerned — Lawfulness (Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3); Commission Regulation No 689/2013) (see paras 178, 179) 12. Actions for annulment — Contested act — Assessment of legality in the light of the information available at the time of adoption of the measure (Art. 263 TFEU) (see paras 195, 340) 13. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Fixing of amounts — No obligation on the Commission to adopt a new regulation where the amount previously fixed maintained (Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(2)) (see paras 199, 204) 14. EU law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Limits — Modification of rules governing a common organisation of the market — Export refunds scheme not maintained at a level allowing competitiveness of exports — No legitimate expectation on the part of operators active in the sectors concerned (Art. 39 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3)) (see paras 240, 246, 247, 265) 15. Actions for annulment — Grounds — Breach of legitimate expectations — Economic operators invoking legitimate expectation in the maintenance of an existing situation — Rejection (Art. 263 TFEU) (see paras 251-253, 255, 257) 16. Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — Discretion of the EU institutions — Scope — Judicial review — Limits (Arts 40 TFEU to 43 TFEU) (see para. 269) 17. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Purpose (Art. 39 TFEU) (see para. 284) 18. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Fixing of amounts — Account taken of the market situation — Theoretical calculation based on the difference between prices on the EU market and prices on the world market — No obligation to consider the particular situation of exporting undertakings (Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3)(a)) (see paras 289, 317, 328) 19. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Fixing of amounts — Account taken of the market situation — Theoretical calculation based on the difference between prices on the EU market and prices on the world market — No requirement that the amount of export refunds and the result of the theoretical calculation be the same (Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3)(a)) (see paras 294-296) 20. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Fixing of amounts — No obligation on the Commission to take account of all the criteria laid down by Article 164(3) of Regulation No 1234/2007 (Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3) (see para. 354) 21. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Poultrymeat — Export refunds — Fixing of amounts — Account taken of the market situation — Possibility of the Commission taking account of the cost of poultryfeed in the Union (Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3)(a) and (b)) (see paras 361, 362, 365) 22. Acts of the institutions — Temporal application — Immediate entry into force — Lawfulness — Conditions (Art. 297 TFEU; Commission Regulation No 689/2013) (see paras 378-380) 23. Actions for annulment — Grounds — Misuse of powers — Concept — Commission regulation fixing the amount of export refunds at zero in order to ensure market balance in the Union — No misuse of power (Art. 263 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3)) (see paras 387, 390) 24. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Fixing of amounts — Account taken of the objective of ensuring market balance — Possibility of the Commission taking account of the reduced number of potential beneficiaries of refunds (Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 164(3)(b)) (see para. 393) Re: APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 689/2013 of 18 July 2013 fixing the export refunds on poultry meat (OJ 2013 L 196, p. 13). Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Doux SA to bear its own costs and those incurred by the European Commission; 3. Orders Tilly-Sabco to bear its own costs.