ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Tax provisions - Harmonisation of laws - Turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax - Deduction of input tax - Introduction of special derogating measures - Measures to combat tax evasion or avoidance - Decision 89/487 - Exclusion of the right to deduct tax on certain expenditure in respect of accommodation, food, hospitality and entertainment - Breach of the principle of proportionality - Unlawful

(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 27; Council Decision 89/487)

2. Community law - Principle of the protection of legitimate expectations - Reliance on the principle by a Member State to avoid the consequences of a decision of the Court declaring a Community measure invalid - Not permissible

Summary

1. Council Decision 89/487, adopted on the basis of Article 27 of Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, which provides that a Member State may be authorised to introduce special measures for derogation from the Sixth Directive in order to simplify the procedure for charging the tax or to prevent certain types of tax evasion or avoidance, and authorising the French Republic to apply a measure derogating from the second subparagraph of Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive, is invalid under the general principle of proportionality, in so far as it authorises that State to deny traders the right to deduct the value added tax on expenditure which they are able to show to be of a strictly business nature.

Since the measure excludes as a matter of principle all expenditure in respect of accommodation, hospitality, food and entertainment from the right to deduct value added tax, which is a fundamental principle of the value added tax system established by the Sixth Directive, although appropriate means less detrimental to that principle than the exclusion of the right of deduction in the case of certain expenditure can be contemplated or already exist in the national legal order, it is not a means proportionate to that objective and has a disproportionate effect on the objectives and principles of the Sixth Directive.

( see paras 35, 57, 61-62 and operative part )

2. The principle of the protection of legitimate expectations, which is the corollary of the principle of legal certainty and which is generally relied upon by individuals (traders) in a situation where they have legitimate expectations created by the public authorities, cannot be relied on by a Member State in order to avoid the consequences of a decision of the Court declaring a Community provision invalid, since it would jeopardise the possibility for individuals to be protected against conduct of the public authorities based on unlawful rules.

( see para. 67 )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Member States - Obligations - Failure to fulfil obligations - Retention of a provision of national law which is incompatible with Community law

Summary

$$If a provision of national law that is incompatible with a provision of Community law, even one directly applicable in the legal order of the Member States, is retained unchanged, this creates an ambiguous state of affairs by keeping the persons concerned in a state of uncertainty as to the possibility of relying on Community law. Maintaining such a provision in force therefore amounts to a failure by the State in question to comply with its obligations under the Treaty.

( see para. 22 )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Officials - Conditions of employment of other servants - Local staff - Fixed-term contract of employment - Conversion into contract for an indefinite period - Whether or not national legislation applicable

(Conditions of employment of other servants, Art. 79)

Summary

$$On a proper construction of Article 79 of the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities, that provision precludes the possibility for a Community institution to conclude a fixed-term contract of employment with a member of its local staff where that is contrary to its own rules applicable to the conditions of employment of local staff and drawn up in accordance with the rules and practice of the State in which the duties are performed.

With regard to a dispute concerning a local staff contract concluded by the European Training Foundation which applies the rules governing the conditions of employment of local staff serving in Italy adopted by the Commission, it is for the national court to determine whether, in accordance with Article 3 of those rules, the circumstances surrounding the work, or the nature of that work, make it necessary for the local-staff contract between the parties to the main proceedings to be concluded for a fixed term. If not, it is for the national court to convert that contract into a contract of employment for an indefinite period.

( see para. 31 and operative part )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Approximation of laws - Prepackaging of liquids - Directive 75/106, as amended - Partial harmonisation - Prohibition by Member States of the marketing of any prepackage having a nominal value not mentioned in Annex III, Column I, to the directive - Not permissible

(Council Directive 75/106, as amended by Directives 79/1005, 85/10, 88/316 and 89/676, Annex III, Column I)

2. Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measures having equivalent effect - National rules prohibiting the marketing of prepackages having a nominal volume not included in the Community range, as amended by Directives 79/1005, 85/10, 88/316 and 89/676 - Not permissible - Justification - Consumer protection - Conditions - Assessment by the national court

(EC Treaty, Art. 30 (now, after amendment, Art. 28 EC); Council Directive 75/106, as amended by Directives 79/1005, 85/10, 88/316 and 89/676, Annex III, Column I)

Summary

1. Directive 75/106 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making-up by volume of certain prepackaged liquids, amended by Directives 79/1005, 85/10, 88/316 and 89/676, must be construed as not allowing Member States to prohibit the marketing of any prepackage having a nominal volume which is not mentioned in Annex III, Column I, to that directive.

Although Directive 75/106, as originally drafted, undertook full harmonisation of the national regulations in question, once it had been amended by Directive 79/1005 it became a directive of partial harmonisation.

( see paras 42, 43, 57 and operative part )

2. Article 30 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC) must be construed as precluding a Member State from prohibiting the marketing of a prepackage having a nominal volume not included in the Community range set out in Directive 75/106 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making-up by volume of certain prepackaged liquids, amended by Directives 79/1005, 85/10, 88/316 and 89/676, which is lawfully manufactured and marketed in another Member State, unless such a prohibition is designed to meet an overriding requirement relating to consumer protection, applies without distinction to national and imported products alike, is necessary in order to meet the requirement in question and is proportionate to the objective pursued, and that objective cannot be achieved by measures which are less restrictive of intra-Community trade.

In order to determine whether there is in fact a risk that consumers will be misled by excessively close nominal volumes of the same liquid, a national court must have regard to all relevant factors, taking as its reference point the average consumer, reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect.

( see paras 51-53, 57 and operative part )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Agriculture Common organisation of the markets Principles Criterion for determining the origin of an agricultural product No general principle defining that origin by reference to the geographical area where it was grown

(Council Regulations Nos 2392/89 and 2081/92)

2. Agriculture Common organisation of the markets Oils and fats Olive oil Marketing within the Community Conditions Commission's discretion Judicial review Limits

(Council Regulation No 136/66, Art. 35a)

Summary

1. The specific criteria laid down by Regulation No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs with regard to geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products refer to specified homogeneous geographical areas and cannot be converted into general rules applicable irrespective of the size and heterogeneity of the areas concerned. Similarly, the rules laid down by Regulation No 2392/89 laying down general rules for the description and presentation of wines and grape musts were established having regard to the specific characteristics of those products and cannot be regarded as applicable to all agricultural products in general. It follows that it is not possible to derive from those provisions a general principle that the origin of different agricultural products should be defined in uniform and mandatory terms by reference to the geographical area in which they were grown.

( see para. 24 )

2. Where the Commission enjoys significant freedom of assessment, as in the case of the powers conferred on it by Article 35a of Regulation No 136/66 on the establishment of a common organisation of the market in oils and fats, as amended by Regulation No 1915/87, the Community judicature, when examining the lawfulness of the exercise of such freedom, cannot substitute its own assessment of the matter for that of the competent authority but must restrict itself to examining whether the assessment of the competent authority contains a manifest error or constitutes a misuse of powers.

( see paras 25-26 )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Tax provisions Harmonisation of laws Indirect taxes on the raising of capital Directive 69/335 Capital duty and tax having the same characteristics as such a duty Concept Minimum tax on capital companies payable as an advance on the amount actually owing in respect of corporation tax Not included

(Council Directive 69/335, Arts 4 and 10(a),(b) and (c))

Summary

$$On its proper construction, Article 10 of Directive 69/335 concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital, which sets out the other indirect taxes having the same characteristics as capital duty and the levying of which is prohibited, does not preclude the levying, as against insolvent capital companies lacking own revenue or whose annual revenue does not exceed a certain amount, of a minimum tax payable for each quarter in respect of which those companies have unlimited liability to corporation tax, in so far as such a tax does not have the same characteristics as the taxes prohibited by the provision in question.

Such a minimum tax on capital companies, which follows directly from the fact that a capital company has unlimited liability to corporation tax and constitutes an advance on the amount actually owing by way of corporation tax in respect of a given tax period, does not presuppose any transaction involving the movement of capital or assets whether in the form of transfer or increase and therefore does not correspond to any of the taxable transactions mentioned in Article 4 of the directive and to which Article 10(a) and (b) of the directive refers. Nor does it come under Article 10(c) inasmuch as it has no formal connection with the registration of companies subject to it, as registration of a company in the companies' register is not conditional on payment of that tax and non-payment thereof does not entail the company's removal from that register, and inasmuch as it is not connected to the completion of formalities required before the commencement of business, to which such a company may be subject by reason of its legal form.

( see paras 19, 20, 22, 23, 26-28 and operative part )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Tax provisions Harmonisation of laws Turnover taxes Common system of value added tax Taxable amount Service charges Included

(Council Directive 77/388, Arts 2(1) and 11A(1)(a))

Summary

$$A Member State which authorises, under certain conditions, the exclusion from the taxable amount for the purposes of value added tax of the compulsory price supplements claimed by certain taxable persons by way of remuneration for the service provided (service charges) is in breach of its obligations under Articles 2(1) and 11A(1)(a) of the Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes.

The total sum demanded from the customer, or appearing on the bill presented to him, constitutes in its entirety the consideration for the service supplied to him by the service provider. That consideration, which includes the service charge, is by definition expressed in money.

( see paras 39, 52 and operative part )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Approximation of laws Procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations Technical regulations within the meaning of Directive 83/189 Meaning National rules prohibiting commercial advertising for transmitting equipment of a non-approved type Not covered

(Council Directive 83/189, Art. 1(1))

Summary

$$National legislation which prohibits commercial advertising for transmitting equipment of a non-approved type does not constitute, for the purposes of Directive 83/189 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, a technical regulation which should have been notified to the Commission prior to its adoption.

Technical specifications for the purposes of Directive 83/189 must thus refer to the product as such. However, legislation which merely prohibits a marketing method, does not lay down the characteristics required of a product.

( see paras 20, 22 and operative part )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Common Customs Tariff - Tariff headings - Child-carrier designed for carrying a child in a seated position on an adult's back - Classification under heading 6307 of the Combined Nomenclature

Summary

$$The Combined Nomenclature, set out in Annex I to Regulation No 1359/95 amending Annexes I and II to Regulation No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, and repealing Regulation No 802/80, is to be interpreted in such a way that a product called a child carrier, which is designed for carrying a child in a seated position on an adult's back, consists essentially of a support frame of aluminium tubing and a child's seat of synthetic material, is assembled by being sewn together, is padded at the sides and at head level, and fitted out with safety belts, padded shoulder straps and a textile waist band, and which includes a pocket for storing small items under the seat, is to be classified under tariff heading 6307, in application of general rule 3(b) for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. The textile parts that give such a product its essential character fall under that heading.

( see paras 28, 31 and operative part )
Keywords



Keywords

1. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations - Subject-matter of the dispute - Determination during the pre-litigation procedure - Initial complaints set out in greater detail in the application instituting proceedings - Whether permissible

(Art. 226 EC; Rules of Procedure of the Court, Arts 38(1)(c) and 42)

2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations - Examination of the merits by the Court - Situation to be taken into account - Situation prevailing at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion

(Art. 226 EC)

3. Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations - Justification based on the delay by the Commission in establishing a format intended for the submission of certain data by Member States - Not permissible

(Art. 226 EC)
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Obligations of the Member States - Failure to fulfil an obligation - Proceedings under Article 88 CS - Purpose - Obtaining a change in behaviour on the part of the recalcitrant State - Commission decision establishing a failure which has already exhausted its effects - Irregularity

(Art. 88 CS)

Summary

$$The purpose of the Article 88 CS procedure is to bring about a change in behaviour on the part of the recalcitrant State, and not to record in abstracto that a failure existed in the past. That interpretation also follows from the wording of the second sentence of the first paragraph and the first sentence of the third paragraph of that provision, which expressly provide that the Member State in question must fulfil its obligation.

Where, on the date on which the Commission initiated the procedure, the failure to fulfil obligations which was alleged by the Commission had exhausted all its effects, with the result that the Member State in question was no longer able to take effective action to put an end to that failure even if it had wished to, the Commission's decision establishing that failure must be regarded as not taken in accordance with the purpose of Article 88 CS and, therefore, flawed in that the essential purpose of the procedure under that article could not objectively be achieved at any stage of the procedure.

( see paras 24, 26-27, 31 )
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Procedure — Division of jurisdiction between the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance — Referral to the Court of Justice — Expiry of time-limit for bringing proceedings — No effect on admissibility — (EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 47, second para.)

Summary

Where an action is brought before the Court of Justice within the prescribed period and, pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 47 of the Statute of the Court of Justice, the Court refers it to the Court of First Instance, the action is validly brought before the latter even if the time-limit for bringing the action has expired. The same principle applies where the Court of First Instance refers a case to the Court of Justice.

see para. 53
Case C-198/99 P





Empresa Nacional Siderúrgica SA (Ensidesa)

v

Commission of the European Communities





«(Appeal – Agreements and concerted practices – European producers of beams)»

Opinion of Advocate General Stix-Hackl delivered on 26 September 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 2 October 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Appeals – Grounds – Erroneous assessment of the facts – Inadmissible – Appeal dismissed

( Art. 32d(1) CS; ECSC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51)

2.. Procedure – Measures of inquiry – Request for production of a document – Discretion of the Court of First Instance

( Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Arts 49 and 65(b))

3.. Appeals – Jurisdiction of the Court – Whether it may order measures of inquiry – Excluded

( ECSC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 54, para. 1)

4.. ECSC – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Prejudicial to competition – Anti-competitive object – Sufficient to establish the existence thereof

(ECSC Treaty, Art. 65(1))

5.. ECSC – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Fines – Amount – Method of calculation – Fixing of fines in ecus for all the undertakings which participated in the infringement on the basis of turnover, expressed in ecus, of the last full year of the period of the infringement – Whether permissible

(ECSC Treaty, Art. 65(5))

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
Case C-334/99





Federal Republic of Germany

v

Commission of the European Communities





«(ECSC and EC Treaties – State aid – Composition of the Commission – Notification to the Commission of aid and planned aid – Concept and substance of notification – Scope of the ECSC Treaty – Fifth Steel Aid Code – Powers of the Commission ratione temporis – Article 87(2)(c) EC – Privatisation procedure – Private investor test – Invitation to bid – Transparency)»

Opinion of Advocate General Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer delivered on 24 January 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court, 28 January 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Commission – Composition – One of its Members granted leave of absence – No effect on the legality of decisions adopted by the College in accordance with the provisions of its Rules of Procedure

(Arts 9(1), second subpara., CS and 12, paras 1, 2 and 4 CS; Arts 213(1), second subpara., EC and 215, paras 1, 2 and 4 EC)

2.. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Aid granted in breach of the procedural rules in Article 88 EC – Possibility of legitimate expectation on the part of recipients – Protection – Conditions and limits

(Arts 87 EC and 88 EC)

3.. ECSC – Steel aid – Planned aid – Examination by the Commission – Preliminary stage – Limited to two months unless the Member State concerned agrees to an extension

(Art. 88(3) EC; General Decision No 2496/96, Art. 6(5) and (6))

4.. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – ECSC decision – Commission decision on State aid

(Art. 5, second para., CS and Art. 15, first para., CS; Art. 253 EC)

5.. ECSC – Scope of the Treaty – Undertakings engaged in production in the coal and steel industry – Included

(Arts 4(c) CS, 80 CS and 81 CS; Annex I CS)

6.. ECSC – Aid – Prohibited – Conditions – Impairment of competition – Excluded

(Art. 4(c) CS)

7.. ECSC – Production – Products – Definition – Consequences

(Art. 4(c) CS and 80 CS; Annex I CS)

8.. ECSC – Scope of the Treaty – Rules on State aid – Application to all the activities of a steel undertaking – Conditions

(Art. 4(c) CS)

9.. ECSC – Steel aid – Authorisation by the Commission – Conditions – Notification – Time-limit not complied with – Effects

(General Decisions Nos 257/80, 3484/85, 3855/91 and 2496/96)

10.. State aid – Special system applicable to the activities of the Treuhandanstalt – Scope

11.. State aid – Prohibition – Derogations – Aid granted to certain areas affected by the division of Germany – Scope of the derogation – Strict interpretation – Economic disadvantages caused by the isolation created by the frontier established between the two zones

(Art. 87(1) and 2(c) EC)

12.. State aid – Definition – Assessment on the basis of the private investor criterion

(Art. 87(1) EC)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measures having equivalent effect - Prohibition of the sale of bakery products whose salt content is higher than 2% - Not permissible - Justification - Protection of public health - No justification

(Arts 28 EC and 30 EC)

2. Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measures having equivalent effect - National legislation prohibiting advertising attributing particular qualities to foodstuffs when all similar products have the same qualities - Whether permissible

(Art. 28 EC)

Summary

1. A rule of a Member State prohibiting the marketing of bread and other bakery products whose salt content by reference to the dry matter exceeds the maximum permitted level of 2%, when applied to products which have been lawfully manufactured and marketed in another Member State, constitutes a measure having equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction within the meaning of Article 28 EC and cannot be regarded as justified under Article 30 EC on the ground of protecting public health.

( see para. 12, and operative part 1 )

2. Article 28 EC does not preclude a national rule which prohibits giving the impression that the branded product possesses particular qualities when in fact all similar foodstuffs display the same qualities, in so far as the rule is designed to transpose correctly a Community rule harmonising the national rules on consumer protection against misleading practices by means of specifically-defined measures.

( see paras 21-22, and operative part 2 )
Keywords



Keywords

1. Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations - Justification - Not permissible

(Art. 226 EC)

2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations - Examination of the merits by the Court - Situation to be taken into account - Situation at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion

(Art. 226 EC)