Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1 . ECSC - PRODUCTION - QUOTA SYSTEM FOR STEEL PRODUCTION - DETERMINATION ON AN EQUITABLE BASIS - EQUITY CLAUSE - CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION - EXCEPTIONAL DIFFICULTIES - DISCRETIONARY POWER OF THE COMMISSION - SCOPE

( GENERAL DECISION OF THE COMMISSION , DECISION 2794/80 , ART . 14 )

2 . ECSC - PRODUCTION - QUOTA SYSTEM FOR STEEL PRODUCTION - DETERMINATION ON AN EQUITABLE BASIS - TAKING INTO ACCOUNT OF THE REFERENCEPRODUCTION FIGURES OF UNDERTAKINGS - CRITERIA - ACTUAL PRODUCTION CAPACITIES DURING THE REFERENCE PERIOD

( GENERAL DECISION OF THE COMMISSION , DECISION 2794/80 )

3 . COMMUNITY LAW - GENERAL PRINCIPLES - EMERGENCY SITUATION - DANGER INDUCED BY THE AUTHOR OF THE ILLEGAL ACT - INAPPLICABILITY OF THE PRINCIPLE

4 . ECSC - PRODUCTION - QUOTA SYSTEM FOR STEEL PRODUCTION - SYSTEM LEGITIMATELY ESTABLISHED - OVERSHOOTING OF QUOTA BY AN UNDERTAKING - EMERGENCY SITUATION - SITUATION BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF SERIOUS ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED BY THE UNDERTAKING - WIDESPREAD STATE OF MANIFEST CRISIS - INAPPLICABILITY OF THE PRINCIPLE

( ECSC TREATY , ART . 58 ; GENERAL DECISION OF THE COMMISSION , DECISION 2794/80 )

Summary

1 . THE EQUITY CLAUSE IN ARTICLE 14 DOES NOT APPLY UNLESS AN UNDERTAKING IS EXPERIENCING EXCEPTIONAL DIFFICULTIES WHICH ARE CAUSED BY THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION QUOTAS . WHILST IT IS TRUE THAT THE EQUITY CLAUSE IS AIMED AT DIFFICULTIES BROUGHT UPON CERTAIN UNDERTAKINGS BY THE ENFORCEMENT OF GENERAL RULES WHICH DO NOT TAKE ACCOUNT OF SPECIFIC SITUATIONS , THE COMMISSION CANNOT HOWEVER BE TAKEN TO TASK FOR FIXING A THRESHOLD DESIGNED TO CONFER THE BENEFITS OF THE CLAUSE ON THOSE UNDERTAKINGS WHOSE UTILIZATION RATES ARE RELATIVELY FAR REMOVED FROM THE COMMUNITY AVERAGE .

SINCE THE CRISIS WAS WIDESPREAD AND THUS COMMON TO ALL STEEL UNDERTAKINGS , THE COMMISSION WAS ENTITLED TO TAKE THE VIEW THAT THE OUTPUT RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED COULD NOT ENTAIL ' ' EXCEPTIONAL ' ' DIFFICULTIES EXCEPT FOR UNDERTAKINGS SATISFYING CERTAIN CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE UTILIZATION RATE OF THEIR PRODUCTION CAPACITIES .

TO SET THE THRESHOLD AT A DEVIATION OF 10% BELOW THE AVERAGE RATE OF THE CAPACITY-UTILIZATION OF THE COMMUNITY UNDERTAKINGS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED UNLAWFUL . THE DEVIATION REQUIRED BY THE COMMISSION SHOULD , ON THE ONE HAND , ENABLE THE SUBSTANTIAL INTEGRITY OF THE QUOTA SYSTEM TO BE MAINTAINED AND , ON THE OTHER HAND , PERMIT EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES DUE TO THE ENFORCEMENT OF SUCH A SYSTEM TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT .

2.BY FIXING A CLEARLY DEFINED REFERENCE PERIOD FOR DETERMINING THE REFERENCE PRODUCTION FIGURES OF UNDERTAKINGS IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY , DECISION 2794/80 DOES NOT ALLOW ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE ACTUAL PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY DURING THAT PERIOD TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT .

3.ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITES UNDER THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES FOR AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT AN EMERGENCY SITUATION EXISTS IS THAT THE PERILOUS SITUATION JUSTIFYING THE UNLAWFUL ACT SHALL NOT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE AUTHOR OF THAT ACT . THAT PREREQUISITE IS NOT FULFILLED IN A CASE IN WHICH THE CIRCUMSTANCE WHICH HAS SUPPOSEDLY BROUGHT THE EMERGENCY SITUATION UPON AN UNDERTAKING DERIVES FROM A CHOICE OF ECONOMIC POLICY MADE BY THE UNDERTAKING ITSELF .

4.THE SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION QUOTAS WHICH WAS LAWFULLY SET UP ON THE BASIS OF ARTICLE 58 OF THE ECSC TREATY BY DECISION 2794/80 , COMPLIANCE WITH WHICH IS REQUIRED OF EVERY UNDERTAKING CONCERNED , WOULD BE GRAVELY COMPROMISED - OR INDEED SET AT NOUGHT - IF EVERY UNDERTAKING WERE ABLE , BY PLEADING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION DUE TO SERIOUS ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES , TO EXCUSE ITSELF FROM OBSERVANCE OF THE RESTRICTIONS AND TO EXCEED AT WILL THE PRODUCTION QUOTA ALLOCATED TO IT . THE CHAIN REACTION THEREBY RELEASED WOULD CULMINATE IN THE COLLAPSE OF THE SYSTEM , SO THAT ARTICLE 58 OF THE TREATY WOULD BECOME A DEAD LETTER .