Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 7 October 1982. - Greek Canners Association and others v Commission of the European Communities. - Validity of a Commission regulation. - Case 250/81.



European Court reports 1982 Page 03535



Summary

Parties

Subject of the case

Grounds

Decision on costs

Operative part



Keywords

APPLICATION FOR A DECLARATION OF NULLITY - NATURAL OR LEGAL PERSONS - MEASURES OF DIRECT AND INDIVIDUAL CONCERN TO THEM - CRITERIA

( EEC TREATY , ART . 173 , SECOND PARAGRAPH ; COMMISSION REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1962/81 )

Summary

REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1962/81 , WHICH FIXES THE COEFFICIENTS TO BE APPLIED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY TO THE PRODUCTION AID GRANTED TO ALL PRODUCERS OF TOMATO CONCENTRATES IN ORDER TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE DRY EXTRACT CONTENT AND THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF PACKING , IS EXCLUSIVELY LEGISLATIVE IN NATURE AND , ALTHOUGH IT MAY AFFECT CERTAIN UNDERTAKINGS , IT IS NOT OF DIRECT AND INDIVIDUAL CONCERN TO THEM WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY .

Parties

IN CASE 250/81

GREEK CANNERS ASSOCIATION ,

ASTERIS SA ,

ADELCAN KANAKARIS BROS , WHO ALL HAVE THEIR REGISTERED OFFICES IN ATHENS ,

REPRESENTED BY CHRISTOFOROS ARGYROPOULOS AND EMMANUEL KALDELLIS , OF THE ATHENS BAR , WITH AN ADDRESS FOR SERVICE IN LUXEMBOURG AT THE CHAMBERS OF ANDRE ELVINGER , ADVOCATE , 15 COTE D ' EICH ,

APPLICANTS ,

V

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , REPRESENTED BY RICHARD WAINWRIGHT , ACTING AS AGENT , ASSISTED BY FRANCOIS LAMOUREUX , BOTH MEMBERS OF ITS LEGAL DEPARTMENT , WITH AN ADDRESS FOR SERVICE IN LUXEMBOURG AT THE OFFICE OF ORESTE MONTALTO , JEAN MONNET BUILDING , KIRCHBERG ,

DEFENDANT ,

Subject of the case

APPLICATION FOR A DECLARATION THAT COMMISSION REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1962/81 OF 10 JULY 1981 FIXING , INTER ALIA , THE COEFFICIENTS TO BE APPLIED TO PRODUCTION AID FOR TOMATO CONCENTRATES IN THE 1981/1982 MARKETING YEAR ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL 1981 , L 192 , P . 13 ) IS VOID ,

Grounds

1 BY AN APPLICATION LODGED AT THE COURT REGISTRY ON 15 SEPTEMBER 1981 , THE GREEK CANNERS ASSOCIATION , TOGETHER WITH ASTERIS SA AND ADELCAN KANAKARIS BROS , UNDERTAKINGS ENGAGED IN THE PRODUCTION OF TOMATO CONCENTRATES , BROUGHT AN ACTION UNDER ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY FOR A DECLARATION THAT COMMISSION REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1962/81 OF 10 JULY 1981 , FIXING INTER ALIA THE COEFFICIENTS TO BE APPLIED TO PRODUCTION AID FOR TOMATO CONCENTRATES IN THE 1981/1982 MARKETING YEAR ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL 1981 , L 192 , P . 13 ), IS VOID IN SO FAR AS IT RELATES TO TOMATO CONCENTRATES PRODUCED IN GREECE .

2 THE APPLICANTS CONTEND THAT THE CONTESTED REGULATION IS CONTRARY TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 103 ( 3 ) OF THE ACT CONCERNING THE CONDITIONS OF ACCESSION OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC ( HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS ' ' THE ACT OF ACCESSION ' ' ) IN SO FAR AS IT TAKES INSUFFICIENT ACCOUNT OF THE PROCESSING COSTS FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF PACKINGS USED IN GREECE .

3 BY A DOCUMENT DATED 16 OCTOBER 1981 , THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES RAISED AN OBJECTION OF INADMISSIBILITY UNDER ARTICLE 91 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE .

4 ACCORDING TO THE COMMISSION , REGULATION NO 1962/81 IS LEGISLATIVE IN NATURE , THE RULES WHICH IT CONTAINS ARE EXPRESSED IN GENERAL TERMS , THEY APPLY TO ANYONE ENGAGED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TOMATO CONCENTRATES AND THEIR CONTENT WAS DETERMINED NOT BY SUBJECTIVE CONSIDERATIONS BUT BY REFERENCE TO OBJECTIVE CRITERIA RELATING TO ' ' DRY EXTRACT CONTENT ' ' AND ' ' IMMEDIATE PACKING ' ' .

5 IT FOLLOWS THAT THE PROVISIONS IN QUESTION CONSTITUTE A REGULATION , WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 189 OF THE EEC TREATY , CONTAINING RULES OF GENERAL APPLICATION AND CONCERNING ALL PRODUCERS OF TOMATO CONCENTRATES IN THE COMMUNITY ; IT IS NOT A DECISION WHICH , ALTHOUGH IN THE FORM OF A REGULATION , IS OF DIRECT AND INDIVIDUAL CONCERN TO THE APPLICANTS . THEREFORE , THE APPLICANTS MAY NOT SEEK TO HAVE IT DECLARED VOID UNDER ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY .

6 THE APPLICANTS MAINTAIN THAT THE REGULATION IN QUESTION IS OF DIRECT AND INDIVIDUAL CONCERN TO THEM SINCE BOTH ASTERIS SA AND ADELCAN KANAKARIS BROS ARE UNDERTAKINGS ENGAGED IN THE PRODUCTION OF TOMATO CONCENTRATES AND HAVE PRODUCED TOMATO CONCENTRATES IN PACKINGS WEIGHING LESS THAN 5 KG .

7 IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 516/77 OF 14 MARCH 1977 ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL 1977 , L 73 , P . 1 ), AS MOST RECENTLY AMENDED BY COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1118/81 OF 28 APRIL 1981 ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL 1981 , L 118 , P . 10 ), ESTABLISHED A SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION AID FOR TOMATO CONCENTRATES AND PROVIDED THAT THE AMOUNT OF AID IS TO BE DETERMINED BY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE MINIMUM PRICE PAYABLE TO TOMATO PRODUCERS AND THE PROCESSING COSTS AND THAT THE PRICE PAYABLE TO PRODUCERS AND THE AMOUNT OF AID ARE TO BE FIXED BY THE COMMISSION FOR EACH MARKETING YEAR .

8 AS REGARDS GREECE , ARTICLE 103 OF THE ACT OF ACCESSION PROVIDES THAT THE MINIMUM PRICE PAYABLE IS TO BE ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF PRICES PAID IN GREECE TO PRODUCERS FOR A PRODUCT FOR PROCESSING , RECORDED OVER A REPRESENTATIVE PERIOD TO BE DETERMINED . THE AMOUNT OF AID GRANTED IN GREECE IS TO BE DETERMINED BY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE MINIMUM PRICE FIXED FOR GREECE AND THE PROCESSING COSTS OBTAINING IN GREECE .

9 COMMISSION REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1963/81 OF 10 JULY 1981 ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL 1981 , L 192 , P . 16 ) FIXES THE MINIMUM PRICE TO BE PAID TO PRODUCERS PER 100 KG NET WEIGHT OF TOMATOES FOR THE MEMBER STATES OTHER THAN GREECE , ON THE ONE HAND , AND FOR GREECE , ON THE OTHER . THE SAME REGULATION FIXES THE AMOUNT OF AID FOR TOMATO CONCENTRATES IN AN IMMEDIATE PACKING OF 15 KG OR MORE AND MAINTAINS THE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN GREECE AND THE OTHER MEMBER STATES .

10 REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1962/81 , WHICH THE APPLICANTS SEEK TO HAVE DECLARED VOID , FIXES THE COEFFICIENTS TO BE APPLIED TO THE PRODUCTION AID IN ORDER TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE DRY EXTRACT CONTENT AND THE METHOD OF PACKING . THE COEFFICIENTS ARE THE SAME FOR GREECE AND FOR THE OTHER MEMBER STATES .

11 ACCORDINGLY , IT IS CLEAR THAT THE CONTESTED MEASURE IS A REGULATION WHICH FIXES THE COEFFICIENTS TO BE APPLIED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY TO ALL PRODUCERS OF TOMATO CONCENTRATES IN ORDER TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE DRY EXTRACT CONTENT AND THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF PACKING . SUCH A REGULATION IS EXCLUSIVELY LEGISLATIVE IN NATURE AND , ALTHOUGH IT MAY AFFECT THE APPLICANTS , IT IS NOT OF DIRECT AND INDIVIDUAL CONCERN TO THEM WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY . THE APPLICATION FOR A DECLARATION THAT THE REGULATION IS VOID IS THEREFORE INADMISSIBLE .

Decision on costs

COSTS

12 UNDER ARTICLE 69 ( 2 ) OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE , THE UNSUCCESSFUL PARTY IS TO BE ORDERED TO PAY THE COSTS .

Operative part

ON THOSE GROUNDS ,

THE COURT ( FIRST CHAMBER )

HEREBY :

1 . DISMISSES THE APPLICATION AS INADMISSIBLE ;

2.ORDERS THE APPLICANTS TO PAY THE WHOLE OF THE COSTS .