Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 14 June 2012 — Brouwer
(Case C-355/11)
Directive 91/629/EEC — Minimum standards for the protection of calves — Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 — Common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy — National legislation transposing Directive 91/629/EEC and declaring the management requirements provided for by that directive
to be applicable to, inter alia, calves which are kept confined in the context of a dairy farming operation
1.                     European Union law — Interpretation — Texts in several languages — Uniform interpretation — Consideration of different language
versions — Directive 91/629 — Definition of ‘rearing’ and ‘fattening’ (Council Directive 91/629, Arts 1 and 4) (see paras
36-39)
2.                     European Union law — Interpretation — Texts in several languages — Uniform interpretation — Differences between the various
language versions — General scheme and purpose of the rules in question as a reference point — Directive 91/629 (Council Directive
91/629, Art. 1) (see paras 40-42)
3.                     Agriculture — Approximation of laws — Minimum standards for the protection of calves — Directive 91/629 — Scope — Calves kept
confined in the context of a dairy farming operation for agricultural purposes — Included (Council Directive 91/629, Arts
1 and 4) (see paras 44-46, operative part)
Re:
Reference for a preliminary ruling — College van Beroep voor het Bedrijfsleven — Interpretation of Council Directive 91/629/EEC
of 19 November 1991 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves (OJ 1991 L 340, p. 28) and of Articles 4 and
6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under
the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No 2019/93,
(EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001, (EC) No 1454/2001, (EC) No 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000,
(EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001 (OJ 2003 L 270, p. 1) — National legislation transposing the Directive by stating that
the management requirements apply not only to calves confined for rearing and fattening, but also to calves confined for dairy
farming.
Operative part:
Council Directive 91/629/EEC of 19 November 1991 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves, as amended by
Council Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 of 14 April 2003, must be interpreted as meaning that the requirement, referred to in
Article 4 of that directive, according to which the conditions relating to the rearing of calves must comply with the general
provisions set out in the annex to that directive, including point 8 of that annex, which prohibits, subject to exceptions,
the tethering of calves, applied to calves kept confined by a farmer in the context of a dairy farming operation for agricultural
purposes.