Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2003:493
Date: 2003-09-23
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Full Court
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of capital;Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties;Anti-discrimination;Non-discrimination on grounds of nationality
Concepts: Free movement of capital and freedom of payments
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Austria

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Free movement of capital — Restrictions on the acquisition of agricultural and 
forestry plots placed on nationals of Member States of the European Economic Area — 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-452/01 
Assessment in the light of the Agreement on the European Economic Area — Legal 
scope identical to that of Community provisions 
(EC Treaty, Art. 73b (now Art. 56 EC); EEA Agreement, Art. 40 and Annex XII) 
2. Free movement of capital — Restrictions on the acquisition of immovable property — 
System of prior authorisation for the acquisition of farmland — Whether permis­
sible — Limits — Conditions as to residence and involvement in farming not 
permissible 
(Arts 73b, 73c, 73d, 73f, and 73g of the EC Treaty (now Arts 56 EC, 57 EC, 58 EC, 
59 EC and 60 EC)) 
1. National rules making transactions 
relating to agricultural and forestry 
plots subject to administrative restric­
tions must, in the case of a transaction 
between nationals of States party to the 
Agreement on the European Economic 
Area (EEA), be assessed in the light of 
Article 40 of and Annex XII to that 
Agreement, which are provisions with 
the same legal scope as Article 73 b of 
the Treaty (now Article 56 EC), which 
is identical in substance. 
It is apparent from those provisions 
that the rules laid down in them pro­
hibiting restrictions on the movement 
of capital and discrimination, so far as 
concerns relations between the States 
party to the EEA Agreement, irrespec­
tive of whether they are members of the 
Community or members of EFTA, are 
identical to those under Community 
law with regard to relations between 
the Member States. National measures 
governing the acquisition of agricul­
tural and forestry plots are therefore no 
more exempt from the abovementioned 
rules than under Community law. 
(see paras 28, 32, operative part 1) 
2. Art icle 73b of the T rea ty (now 
Article 56 EC) in conjunction with 
Articles 73c, 73d, 73f and 73g of the 
Treaty (now Articles 57 EC to 60 EC) 
do not preclude the acquisition of 
agricultural land being made subject 
to the grant of prior authorisation. 
However, they do preclude such auth­
orisation being refused in every case in 
which the acquirer does not himself 
farm the land concerned as part of a 
holding and on which he is not resi­
dent. 
(see para. 54, operative part 2) 
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