5.1.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 3/7 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Draft Commission recommendation on the establishment of preferential treatment for 
debts in respect of the levies referred to in Articles 49 and 50 of the Treaty 
COM(84) 652 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 5 December 1984) 
(85/C3/10) 
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Coal and Steel Community, and in 
particular Articles 49 and 50 thereof, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Council, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Whereas the power to impose levies on the 
production of coal and steel and to determine the 
mode of assessment and collection, conferred on the 
High Authority by Articles 49 and 50 of the Treaty, 
involves the power to take all necessary steps to 
ensure collection of the levies, inter alia in cases 
where the person liable is insolvent; 
Whereas the Court of Justice of the European 
Communities, in its judgment of 17 May 1983 in 
Case 168/82 ('), affirmed the importance of the fiscal 
power thus conferred on the High Authority to 
enable it to perform as effectively as possible the task 
entrusted to it by the Treaty; 
Whereas in all the Member States, with the exception 
of Denmark, tax debts due to the State enjoy pref­
erential treatment in enforcement proceedings 
involving competition between creditors; whereas to 
ensure the effective recovery of levies, which are the 
principal source of revenue of the ECSC, on a basis 
of parity with Member States' tax debts, debts due in 
respect of levies should be given the same preferential 
treatment; 
Whereas the existence, in some Member States, of 
several ranks of tax preference means that it is 
O [1983] ECR 1681. necessary to choose, from among the various national 
taxes, that with which ECSC levies are to be equated; 
whereas a reference to a tax common to all the 
Member States is desirable in order that such 
reference may have the same meaning in all national 
laws; whereas value added tax satisfies this condition; 
Whereas it appears necessary that the preferential 
treatment of ECSC levies should be of sufficient 
duration and uniformity throughout the Community 
to enable the Commission to exercise its preferential 
right with equal effectiveness in all Member States; 
Whereas the surcharges for delay provided for in 
Article 50 (3) of the Treaty form an integral part of 
the tax debt due to the ECSC; 
Whereas the Commission must be able to exercise its 
preferential right in proceedings involving 
competition between creditors still in progress at the 
date of implementation of this recommendation, in 
order to ensure the most extensive possible recovery 
of debts arising from the application of levies in the 
years preceding the adoption of the recommendation, 
without prejudice to the rights of other creditors of 
the person liable which are considered vested under 
national law; 
Whereas by virtue of Article 50 (2) of the Treaty, the 
mode of assessment and collection of the levies is to 
be determined by a general decision of the High 
Authority taken after consulting the Council; whereas 
under the last paragraph of Article 14, where the 
High Authority is empowered to take a decision, it 
may confine itself to making a recommendation; 
whereas that legal instrument appears the most appro­
priate to the method chosen, which consists in 
extending to ECSC levies the treatment applied in 
each Member State's legal system to its own tax 
debts, 
No C 3/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 1.85 
HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION: 
Article 1 
Those Member States which confer on tax debts due 
to the State preferential treatment in respect of all or 
part of the debtor's assets shall, in all cases of 
competition between creditors provided for by their 
national laws, confer the same preferential treatment 
on debts arising from the application of the levies 
referred to in Articles 49 and 50 of the Treaty. 
Article 2 
Those Member States in which tax debts due to the 
State enjoy general or special preference of a 
different rank depending on the tax involved shall 
confer on debts arising from the application of ECSC 
levies general or special preference of the same rank 
as that conferred by the law of each of those States 
on debts in respect of value added tax. 
Article 3 
The preferential treatment referred to in Articles 1 
and 2 shall continue until the debts in respect of levies 
are time-barred. The preferential treatment shall extend to the amount 
of the principal of the levy plus the surcharges for 
delay provided for in Article 50 (3) of the ECSC 
Treaty and Article 6 of High Authority Decision 
No 3/52 of 23 December 1952 ('). 
Article 4 
The Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this recommendation not later than 
(2). They shall forthwith inform the 
Commission thereof. 
The Member States shall provide that Articles 1, 2 
and 3 are to be applied to recovery proceedings in 
progress on the date of implementation of this 
recommendation. 
Article 5 
This recommendation is addressed to the Member 
States. 
(') OJ of the ECSC No 1, 30. 12. 1952, p. 4. 
(2) Date to be inserted, being one year after the date of 
adoption of the recommendation.