Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:1997:199
Date: 1997-12-17
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Tobacco
Concepts: Raw tobacco
Procedure: Action for damages - unfounded;Action for damages - inadmissible
Origin: Greece

Summary of the Judgment
1. Agriculture — Common organization of the markets — Raw tobacco — Disposal of stocks
held by intervention agencies — Commission's discretion — Scope— Consequences
(Commission Regulation No 3389/73)
2. Agriculture — Common organization of the markets — Raw tobacco — Disposal of stocks
held by intervention agencies — Decision to award a contract — Time-limit — Not observed
— Commission not liable except in the event of negligence
(Commission Regulation No 3389/73, Art. 6(1))
II - 2427
SUMMARY — CASE T-152/95
3. Agriculture — Common organization of the markets — Raw tobacco — Disposal of stocks
held by intervention agencies — Guarantee conditions imposed on undertakings taking part
in a tendering procedure — Exclusion of undertakings not meeting those conditions — Dis­
crimination — None
(Commission Regulation No 3389/73, Art. 5(1))
1. In managing the common organization of
the market for tobacco, and more particu­
larly with regard to the disposal of
tobacco held by intervention agencies, the
Commission is required to adopt a com­
mercial approach. It must decide whether
or not to accept tenders for lots offered
for sale by tender, having regard to all the
information in its possession when it
makes its decision. It enjoys considerable
latitude in that regard since the decisions
concerned must balance various factors,
such as the prices tendered for the various
lots and the costs of storing unsold lots.
In those circumstances, even decisions
which may subsequently prove to be
open to criticism do not necessarily cause
the Commission to incur liability in the
absence of a manifest error of assessment
on its part.
2. Since no sanction is imposed for failure
by the Commission to comply with the
time-limit for taking decisions to award
contracts imposed by Article 6(1) of
Regulation No 3389/73 laying down the
procedure and conditions for the sale of
tobacco held by intervention agencies,
that time-limit cannot be regarded as
mandatory and failure to comply with it
does not cause the Commission to incur
liability unless it is the outcome of negli­
gence on its part.
3. In its management of the common orga­
nization of the market for tobacco, the
Commission is required in particular to
ensure that disposal of tobacco held by
intervention agencies does not disturb the
market. The Commission's insistence on
strict financial guarantees from undertak­
ings wishing to take part in tendering
procedures is indicative of the fact that it
is properly fulfilling its duty. That
requirement necessarily means that
undertakings not in a position to meet
those conditions are shut out and such an
effect, which is inherent in any guarantee
condition, does not therefore constitute a
breach of the principle of equal treatment.
II - 2428