Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2012:610
Date: 2012-10-04
Language of the case: Czech
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Sugar
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Czechia

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 4 October 2012 1. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Temporary scheme for restructuring the sugar industry — Restructuring aid — Application for restructuring aid — Undertaking by the producer to cease delivery of a certain quantity of quota sugar beet — Definition — Unilateral declaration of the producer — Inclusion (Council Regulation No 320/2006, as amended by Regulation No 1261/2007, Art. 4a(1)) 2. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Temporary scheme for restructuring the sugar industry — Restructuring aid — Application for restructuring aid — Undertaking by the producer to cease delivery of a certain quantity of quota sugar beet — Position not as such rendering the contractual obligations of that producer towards the sugar company inapplicable (Council Regulation No 320/2006, as amended by Regulation No 1261/2007, Art. 4a(1)) 1. Article 4a(1) of Regulation No 320/2006 establishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the European Community and amending Regulation No 1290/2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy, as amended by Regulation No 1261/2007, must be interpreted as meaning that the undertaking to cease delivery of a certain quantity of sugar beet during the marketing year 2008/2009 may take the form of a unilateral declaration by the producer. The attainment of the objective of reducing sugar production quotas, which underlies that legislation, would risk being compromised if such a reduction could be made subject to the collaboration of the sugar companies, in the form, in particular, of the prior termination, by mutual agreement, of the delivery contract binding the producer to the undertaking. Moreover, neither Article 4a of Regulation No 320/2006 nor any other provision of EU law provides that applications for restructuring aid must be preceded by the prior termination of such delivery contracts. (see paras 19, 20, 25, operative part 1) 2. Article 4a(1) of Regulation No 320/2006 establishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the European Community and amending Regulation No 1290/2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy, as amended by Regulation No 1261/2007, must be interpreted as meaning that the unilateral undertaking by the producer to cease delivery of a certain quantity of sugar beet during the marketing year 2008/2009 does not as such render inapplicable its contractual obligations towards the sugar company. (see para. 28, operative part 2)