Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:649
Date: 2001-11-29
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Beef and veal;Veterinary legislation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Agriculture — Approximation of laws concerning animal health — Veterinary and 
zootechnical checks in intra-Community trade in live animals and products of animal 
origin — Directives 89/662 and 90/425 — Emergency measures to protect against 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-428/99 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy — Towers of the Member States — Compen­
sation for farmers following the slaughter of United Kingdom calves ordered during the 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis — Determination by national provisions of 
the amount of compensation to be paid to farmers — Limits 
(Council Directive 90/425, Art. 8(1)(a)) 
2. Agriculture — Approximation of laws concerning animal health — Veterinary and 
zootechnical checks in intra-Community trade in live animals and products of animal 
origin — Directives 89/662 and 90/425 — Emergency measures to protect against 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy — National measure to compensate farmers 
strictly ancillary to a measure ordering the slaughter of United Kingdom calves — 
Community rules relating to State aid not applicable 
(EC Treaty, Art. 93(3) (now Art. 88(3) EC); Council Regulation No 805/68, Art. 24; 
Council Directive 90/425, Art. 8(1) (a)) 
1. The Community provisions applicable 
to the common agricultural policy in 
the beef and veal sector are to be 
interpreted as meaning that, in 
response to information concerning a 
possible link between bovine spongi­
form encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-
Jakob disease in humans and to the 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy cri­
sis in the United Kingdom, the Member 
States were entitled, under Article 8(l)(a) 
of Directive 90/425 concerning veterin­
ary and zootechnical checks applicable 
in intra-Community trade in certain 
live animals and products with a view 
to the completion of the internal mar­
ket, as amended by Directive 92/118 
laying down animal health and public 
health requirements governing trade in 
and imports into the Community of 
products not subject to the said 
requirements laid down in specific 
Community rules referred to in 
Annex A (I) to Directive 89/662 and, 
as regards pathogens, to Directive 
90/425: 
— to order the slaughter of young 
bovine animals originating from 
the United Kingdom present in their 
territory and, 
— since there could be serious grounds 
for believing that, in the absence of 
fair compensation, farmers might 
conceal the origin of animals in 
their possession in order to avoid 
their, slaughter and the resulting 
financial loss, to adopt a compen­
sation measure ancillary to the 
measure requiring slaughter of the 
animals. 
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VAN DEN BOR 
Even though the Member States had 
the power to adopt compensation 
measures under Article 8(1)(a) of 
Directive 90/425, Community law, in 
particular Regulation No 717/96 
adopting exceptional support measures 
for the beef and veal market in Bel­
gium, France and the Netherlands, as 
amended by Regulation No 841/96, 
precluded the amount of compensation 
to farmers from being determined by 
national provisions from the date upon 
which that regulation became appli­
cable. 
(see paras 40-41, 49, 57 
and operative part 1-2) 
2. While a national measure providing for 
the grant of compensation to farmers 
through State resources is liable to give 
an advantage to the undertakings 
granted compensation by enabling 
them to avoid a loss which would 
otherwise be inescapable, and is there­
fore liable to distort competition, it 
cannot, however, be caught by 
Article 24 of Regulation No 805/68 
which in principle prohibits State aid in 
the beef and veal sector and by the 
corresponding obligation of prior 
notification laid down in Article 93(3) 
of the Treaty (now Article 88(3) EC) 
where it is strictly ancillary to a 
measure ordering the slaughter of ani­
mals adopted, during the bovine spon­
giform encephalopathy crisis, in 
accordance with Article 8(1)(a) of 
Directive 90/425 concerning veterinary 
and zootechnical checks applicable in 
intra-Community trade in certain live 
animals and products with a view to 
the completion of the internal market. 
(see paras 43-44) 
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