Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1999:183
Date: 1999-04-20
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Freedom to provide services;Transport
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Belgium;Luxembourg

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Transport — Maritime transport — Cargo-sharing agreement between a Member State 
and a non-member country — Future agreement within the meaning of Article 5(1) of 
Regulation No 4055/86 — Meaning 
(Council Regulation No 4055/86, Arts 3, 4 and 5(1)) 
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SUMMARY — JOINED CASES C-171/98, C-201/98 AND C-202/98 
2. Transport — Maritime transport — Cargo-sharing agreement between a Member State 
and a non-member country — Obligation to adjust existing agreements before the 
entry into force of Regulation No 4055/86 — Deadlines for adjustment 
(Council Regulation No 4055/86, Art. 4(1)) 
1. An agreement between a Member State 
and a non-member country, containing 
cargo-sharing arrangements between 
the contracting parties, is a future 
agreement within the meaning of Arti­
cle 5(1) of Regulation No 4055/86 
applying the principle of freedom to 
provide services to maritime transport 
between Member States and between 
Member States and third countries if it 
entered into force only after 1 January 
1987, the date of entry into force of 
that Regulation. On the other hand, 
agreements which entered into force 
before that date constitute agreements 
subject to Articles 3 and 4 of Regula­
tion No 4055/86. 
2. Article 4(1) of Regulation No 4055/86 
applying the principle of freedom to 
provide services to maritime transport 
between Member States and between 
Member States and third countries 
draws a distinction — as regards deter­
mination of the date from which exist­
ing cargo-sharing agreements between 
Member States and non-member coun­
tries should have been adjusted — 
between trades governed by the United 
Nations Code of Conduct for Liner 
Conferences and trades not so gov­
erned. Only with respect to the latter 
does Regulation No 4055/86 allow 
Member States a period for adjust­
ment, the deadline being 1 January 
1993. In the case of trades governed 
by the Code of Conduct, no period is 
allowed for adjustment of such an 
agreement. 
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