Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1998:133
Date: 1998-03-25
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Competition;Agreements, decisions and concerted practices;Dominant position
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary of the Judgment 
Competition — Undertakings to which Member States grant special or exclusive rights — 
Meaning — Situation where only 'recognised dockers' are acknowledged as having the 
right to perform certain dock duties — Not covered 
(EC Treaty, Arts 6 and 48 (now, after amendment, Arts 12 EC and 39 EC) and Arts 85, 86 
and 90 (now Arts 81 EC, 82 EC and 86 EC)) 
I - 5665 
SUMMARY — CASE C-22/98 
Article 90(1) of the Treaty (now Arti­
cle 86(1) EC), read in conjunction with 
the first paragraph of Article 6 of the 
Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 12, 
first paragraph, EC) and Articles 85 and 86 
thereof (now Articles 81 EC and 82 EC), 
must be interpreted as meaning that it does 
not confer on individuals the right to 
oppose the application of legislation of a 
Member State which requires them to have 
recourse, for the performance of dock 
work, exclusively to dockers recognised 
under that legislation and to pay those 
dockers remuneration far in excess of the 
wages of their own employees or the wages 
which they pay to other workers. 
Article 90(1) of the Treaty, read in con­
junction with any other provision of the 
Treaty, is applicable only to undertakings. 
Even taken collectively, the recognised 
dockers in a port area cannot be regarded 
as constituting an undertaking for the 
purposes of Community competition law, 
in so far as the employment relationship 
which they have with the undertakings for 
which they perform dock work is charac­
terised by the fact that they perform the 
work in question for and under the direc­
tion of each of those undertakings, so that 
they must be regarded as 'workers' within 
the meaning of Article 48 of the EC Treaty 
(now, after amendment, Article 39 EC). 
I - 5666