Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1998:336
Date: 1998-07-07
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Milk products
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment
Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Milk and milk products — Additional
levy on milk — Temporary withdrawal of a percentage of the reference quantities exempt from
the levy —Conversion into a definitive reduction without compensation — Measure also affecting
additional quantities acquired by producers — Right to property — Principles ofproportionality
and protection of legitimate expectations — Whether breached — No such breach
(Council Regulation No 3950/92, Arts 3(1) and 4(1))
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SUMMARY— CASE C-186/96
In converting, without compensation for pro­
ducers, the temporary withdrawal of a per­
centage of the reference quantity exempt from
the levy on milk, within the meaning of Regu­
lation No 775/87, into a definitive reduction,
Articles 3(1) and 4(1) of Regulation No
3950/92 do not infringe either the general
principles of Community law or the funda­
mental right to property, specifically as regards
the additional quantities granted in return for
payment.
Additional reference quantities which, after
being withdrawn from the market, are read­
mitted to it before reallocation to other pro­
ducers are no different from initial reference
quantities, both being subject to the same
rules concerning temporary suspension and
definitive reduction and it would be contrary
to the spirit and purpose of the additional
levy scheme to exclude the former.
As regards the right to property, the regula­
tions in question — which further certain
aims pursued in the general interest, to remedy
the surpluses on the milk market — do not
affect the actual substance of that right.
Having regard to the persistence of surpluses,
a definitive withdrawal of the relevant per­
centage of the additional reference quantities
appears to be appropriate and necessary to
achieve the aim of that measure, namely an
enduring reduction of the surpluses.
As regards the principle of the protection of
legitimate expectations, the provisions at issue
disclose no factor of such a kind as to enable
producers who have acquired additional ref­
erence quantities in return for payment to
entertain legitimate expectations that such
additional reference quantities would be
treated differently by reason of the way in
which they were acquired and would there­
fore be excluded from the measure in ques­
tion.
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