Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2000:78
Date: 2000-02-10
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Milk products
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Milk and milk products — 
Additional levy on milk — Award of reference quantities exempt from the levy — 
Producers who suspended deliveries under the non-marketing premium scheme — Grant 
of a special reference quantity — Definitive allocation to a producer holding an original 
reference quantity but who has not himself used the provisional special reference quantity 
in order to increase current milk production on his holding — Excluded 
(Council Regulation No 857/84, Art. 3(3), first sentence, as amended by Regulation 
No 1639/91) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-273/98 
The first sentence of Article 3a(3) of Reg­
ulation No 857/84 adopting general rules 
for the application of the additional levy on 
milk, as amended by Regula t ion 
No 1639/91, must be interpreted in the 
light of the principles governing the system 
for the grant of a special reference quantity 
as meaning that a producer holding an 
original reference quantity who provision­
ally receives a special reference quantity in 
addition may not be definitively allocated 
that special reference quantity, regardless of 
the other conditions required, when he 
himself has not used it in order to increase 
current milk production on his holding. 
That is the case where a producer leases out 
his original reference quantity and pro­
duces on his holding only his provisional 
special reference quantity of milk. 
(see para. 40 and operative part) 
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