Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2003:320
Date: 2003-06-03
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Beef and veal
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Actions for annulment — Purpose — Partial annulment — Conditions — Sever­
ability of the contested measures — Objective criterion 
(Art. 230 EC) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-239/01 
2. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Beef and veal — Special 
support measures — Article 5(5) of Regulation No 690/2001 — Compulsory co-
financing by the Member States — Illegality 
(Commission Regulation No 690/2001, Art. 5(5)) 
1. The partial annulment of a Community 
act is possible only if the elements 
whose annulment is sought may be 
severed from the remainder of the act. 
In that regard, whether partial annul­
ment would alter the substance of the 
contested measure is an objective cri­
terion and not a subjective criterion 
linked to the political intention of the 
authority which adopted the measure 
at issue. That authority cannot, there­
fore, argue that without the provision 
whose annulment is sought it would 
probably not have adopted the other 
provisions of the contested act. 
(see paras 33, 36-37) 
2. Article 5(5) of Regulation No 690/2001 
on special market support measures in 
the beef sector must be annulled in so 
far as that provision requires each 
Member State concerned to finance a 
percentage of the price of the meat 
purchased under that regulation. 
Regulation No 1254/1999 on the com­
mon organisation of the market in beef 
and veal does not contain any provi­
sion expressly authorising the Commis­
sion to derogate from the principle 
flowing from the basic legislation that 
all Community support measures in the 
beef and veal sector must be exclusively 
financed by the Community. It matters 
little, in that regard, that Regulation 
No 690/2001 provides that it is to 
apply only for a period limited to six 
months. 
(see paras 73-76, operative part) 
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