Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1998:68
Date: 1998-02-19
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Full Court
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Free movement of goods;Customs Union;Internal taxation;Charges having an equivalent effect
Concepts: Association of Overseas Countries and Territories
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment 
Association of the overseas countries and territories — Implementation by the Council — Econ­
omic and social development of the French overseas departments — Obligations of the institu­
tions — Council Decision authorising temporary exemptions, subject to monitoring by the Com­
mission, from the octroi de mer applied in the French overseas departments — Validity — 
Condition 
(EC Treaty, Arts 9, 12, 13, 95, 226 and 227(2); Council Decision 89/688) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-212/96 
In so far it authorises a system, subject to 
monitoring by the Commission, of exemp­
tions in favour of products from the French 
overseas departments from the charge 
termed octroi de mer, and provided that such 
exemptions are granted in accordance with 
the strict conditions which it lays down, 
Decision 89/688 concerning the dock dues 
(octroi de mer) in the French overseas 
departments is not incompatible with 
Articles 9, 12 and 13 of the Treaty, and the 
temporary derogations from Article 95 for 
which it provides are justified in accordance 
with Article 227(2), read in conjunction with 
Article 226, of the Treaty. 
Under the third subparagraph of Article 
227(2) of the Treaty, the institutions of the 
Community are required to make full use of 
the procedures provided for in the Treaty, in 
particular Article 226, in order to make the 
economic and social development of the 
French overseas departments possible. 
Article 226 specifies that urgent protective 
measures cannot be adopted unilaterally by 
the Member States but only with the inter­
vention of the Community institutions, 
which may authorise only strictly necessary 
derogations for limited periods, giving prior­
ity to such measures as least disturb the 
functioning of the common market. 
The imposition of the strict conditions laid 
down in Article 2(3) of Decision 89/688, 
interpreted in the light of the limits laid 
down in Article 226 of the Treaty for dero­
gations from the provisions of the Treaty, is 
such as to ensure that the system of precisely 
determined exemptions is compatible with 
the Treaty. 
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