ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent effect — National legislation making the addition of nutrients to foodstuffs subject to authorisation — Not permissible in the absence of a simplified procedure — (EC Treaty, Art. 30 (now, after amendment, Art. 28 EC))

2. Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent effect — National legislation hindering the marketing of foodstuffs enriched with nutrients — Not permissible — Justification — Protection of public health — Not justified without establishing a real risk — (EC Treaty, Arts 30 and 36 (now, after amendment, Arts 28 EC and 30 EC))

Summary

1. A Member State which does not provide for a simplified procedure for having included on the national list of authorised nutrients those added to foodstuffs for daily consumption and foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses which are lawfully manufactured and/or marketed in other Member States fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC).

The procedure must be one which is readily accessible and can be completed within a reasonable time, and, if it leads to a refusal, the decision of refusal must be open to challenge before the courts.

see paras 26, 76, operative part

2. A Member State which hinders the marketing on its territory of certain foodstuffs, such as food supplements and dietary products containing the substances L-tartrate and L-carnitine, and confectionery and drinks to which certain nutrients have been added, without establishing that the marketing of such foodstuffs entails a real risk for public health, fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC).

While Community law does not, in principle, preclude legislation of a Member State which prohibits, save with prior authorisation, possession with a view to sale or the putting on sale of foodstuffs intended for human consumption where nutrients other than those whose addition is lawful under the said legislation have been added thereto, since it is for the Member States, in the absence of harmonisation and to the extent that there is still uncertainty in the current state of scientific research, to decide on the level of protection of human health and life they wish to ensure, that discretion must nevertheless be exercised in compliance with the principle of proportionality. It is, furthermore, for the national authorities to show in each case, in the light of national nutritional habits and in the light of the results of international scientific research, that their rules are necessary to give effective protection to the interests referred to in Article 36 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 30 EC) and, in particular, that the marketing of the products in question poses a real risk to public health.

see paras 49, 51-53, 76, operative part
Case C-257/00





Nani Givane and Others

v

Secretary of State for the Home Department





(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (United Kingdom))

«(Freedom of movement for workers – Regulation (EEC) No 1251/70 – Right of workers to remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State – Right of residence of members of the family of a deceased worker – Requirement of the worker's continuous residence for at least two years)»

Opinion of Advocate General Alber delivered on 16 May 2002

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 9 January 2003

Summary of the Judgment
Case C-456/00





French Republic

v

Commission of the European Communities





«(Action for annulment – State aid – Common organisation of the markets – Wine – Measures for adapting vineyards in Charentes)»

Opinion of Advocate General Tizzano delivered on 13 June 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 12 December 2002 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Agriculture – Common agricultural policy – Priority over the objectives of the Treaty in the field of competition – Consequences as regards application of the State aid provisions in a sector covered by a common organisation of the market

(Arts 36 EC, 87 EC, 88 EC and 89 EC)

2.. Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Wine – State aid relating to products covered by a common organisation of the market – Incompatibility of the aid with the provisions governing that common organisation

(Council Regulations Nos 822/87 and 1493/1999)

3.. State aid – Prohibition – Derogations – Commission's discretion – Review by the Court – Limits

(Art. 87(3) EC)

1.

2.

3.
Case C-41/00 P





Interporc Im- und Export GmbH

v

Commission of the European Communities





«(Appeals – Decision 94/90/ECSC, EC, Euratom – Access to documents – Documents held by the Commission and emanating from the Member States or third countries – Authorship rule)»

Opinion of Advocate General Léger delivered on 12 March 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court, 6 March 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Appeals – Pleas in law – Mere repetition of the pleas and arguments raised before the Court of First Instance – Inadmissible – Challenge to the interpretation or application of Community law by the Court of First Instance – Admissible

(Art. 225 EC; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 112(1)(c))

2.. Actions for annulment – Judgment annulling a measure – Effects – Obligation to adopt measures to comply with the judgment – Scope – Decision need not reiterate the grounds given for the contested measure

(EC Treaty, Art. 176 (now Art. 233 EC); Commission Decision 94/90)

3.. Commission – Power to determine its own internal organisation – Public's right of access to Commission documents – Decision 94/90 – Application of the authorship rule

(Commission Decision 94/90)

4.. Commission – Public's right of access to Commission documents – Decision 94/90 – Exceptions to the principle of access to documents – Strict interpretation and application – Authorship rule – Scope

(Commission Decision 94/90)

1.

2.

3.

4.
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber)

6 February 2003

((Directive 92/100/EEC – Rental right and lending right and certain rights related to copyright in the field of intellectual property – Article 8(2) – Broadcasting and communication to the public – Equitable remuneration))

and

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:

─

─

─

─

─

─

─

─

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral observations of Stichting ter Exploitatie van Naburige Rechten (SENA), represented by E. Pijnacker Hordijk and T. Cohen Jehoram, advocaten, of the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), represented by W. VerLoren van Themaat, of the Netherlands Government, represented by J. van Bakel, acting as Agent, and the Commission, represented by H.M.H. Speyart, at the hearing on 2 May 2002,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 26 September 2002,
Case C-112/00





Eugen Schmidberger, Internationale Transporte und Planzüge

v

Republik Österreich





(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Innsbruck (Austria))

«(Free movement of goods – Restriction resulting from actions of individuals – Obligations of the Member States – Decision not to prohibit a demonstration by environmental protesters which resulted in the complete closure of the Brenner motorway for almost 30 hours – Justification – Fundamental rights – Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly – Principle of proportionality)»

Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs delivered on 11 July 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court, 12 June 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Free movement of goods – Trade barriers resulting from actions by private individuals – Obligations of the Member States – Adoption of measures to ensure the free movement of goods – Scope of the obligation – Acts affecting the flow of imports and exports and merely transit

(EC Treaty, Art. 5 (now Art. 10 EC) and Arts 30 and 34 (now, after amendment, Arts 28 EC and 29 EC)

2.. Free movement of goods – Barriers to free movement by road between Member States resulting from the decision of a Member State not to prohibit a demonstration by protesters – Justification – Protection of the fundamental rights of the protesters – Need to balance the interests at stake – Principle of proportionality – Discretion of the national authorities – Limits

(EC Treaty, Art. 5 (now Art. 10 EC) and Arts 30, 34 and 36 (now, after amendment, Arts 28 EC, 29 EC and 30 EC)

1.

2.
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber)

8 May 2003

((Sixth VAT Directive – Articles 6(2)(a) and 13B(b) – Private use by the taxable person of a dwelling in a building forming, in its entirety, part of the assets of the business – Such use not equivalent to the leasing or letting of immovable property))

and

THE COURT (Fifth Chamber),,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:

─

─

─

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral observations of Mr Seeling, represented by H.G. Zaisch, the German Government, represented by B. Muttelsee-Schön, acting as Agent, and the Commission, represented by K. Gross, assisted by A. Böhlke, at the hearing on 7 February 2002,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 16 May 2002,
Case C-11/00





Commission of the European Communities

v

European Central Bank





«(European Central Bank (ECB) – Decision 1999/726/EC on fraud prevention – Protection of the Communities' financial interests – European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 – Applicability to the ECB – Plea of illegality – Admissibility – Independence of the ECB – Article 108 EC – Legal basis – Article 280 EC – Consultation of the ECB – Article 105(4) EC – Proportionality)»

Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs delivered on 3 October 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court, 10 July 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – Regulation No 1073/1999 concerning investigations conducted by OLAF – Scope – European Central Bank – Whether included

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1073/1999, Art. 1(3))

2.. Plea of illegality – Measures in respect of which a plea of illegality may be raised – Regulation No 1073/1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – Community legislative act whose addressee is not the Community body alleging its illegality – Admissibility

(Arts 230 EC and 241 EC)

3.. Financial provisions – Community's financial interests – Definition – Resources and expenditure of the European Central Bank – Whether included

(Art. 280 EC)

4.. Financial provisions – Protection of the Community's financial interests – Article 280 EC – Purpose – Scope – Adoption of legislative measures applicable within Community institutions, bodies, offices and agencies – Whether included

(Art. 280 EC)

5.. European Central Bank – Obligation to consult the Bank before adoption of an act in its field of competence – Scope – Measures intended to combat fraud adversely affecting the Community's financial interests – Excluded

(Art. 105(4) EC; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1073/1999)

6.. European Central Bank – Independence – Scope – Community legislative measures capable of applying to the Bank – Whether permissible – Conditions

(Art. 108 EC; Statute of the European System of Central Banks)

7.. European Central Bank – Independence – Application of Regulation No 1073/1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – Whether compatible

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1073/1999; Commission Decision 1999/352)

8.. European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – Regulation No 1073/1999 concerning investigations conducted by OLAF – Breach of the principle of proportionality in relation to the inclusion of the European Central Bank within its scope – None

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1073/1999)

9.. European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 concerning investigations conducted by OLAF – Infringement by Decision 1999/726 of the European Central Bank on fraud prevention

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1073/1999; European Central Bank Decision 1999/726)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.
Case C-87/00

Roberto Nicoli

v

Eridania SpA

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Giudice di pace di Genova)

(Sugar – Price system – Regionalisation – Deficit areas – Classification of Italy – Marketing year 1998/99 – Regulations (EEC) No 1785/81 and (EC) No 1361/98 – Validity of Regulation No 1361/98)

Summary of the Judgment

Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Sugar – Price system – Method of computing consumption of sugar – Sugar incorporated into processed products – Taking into account of products imported into the national territory – Exclusion of products exported to another Member State – Whether permissible

(Council Regulation No 1361/98)

The Commission did not make a manifest error of assessment when it adopted, through Regulation No 1361/98 fixing, for the marketing year 1998/99, the derived intervention prices for white sugar, the intervention price for raw sugar, the minimum prices for A and B beet, and the amount of compensation for storage costs, a method of computing estimated consumption of sugar that did not regard as consumed in the Member State concerned sugar incorporated into processed products and exported to other States, since, according to that method, sugar contained in processed products imported from other States is as a matter of fact taken into account in the computation of that consumption.

(see para. 40, operative part)
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber)

12 February 2004

((Approximation of laws – Trade marks – Directive 89/104/EEC – Article 3(1) – Ground for refusal to register – Neologism composed of elements each of which is descriptive of characteristics of the goods or services concerned))

and

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:

─

─

─

─

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral observations of Campina Melkunie BV and of the Benelux-Merkenbureau at the hearing on 15 November 2001,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 31 January 2002,
Keywords



Keywords

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

(Art. 226 EC)
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Keywords

1. Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations - Initiation of the procedure for adoption of a law designed to transpose a directive into national law - Not relevant

(Art. 10 EC and Art. 249, third para., EC)

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

(Art. 226 EC)
Keywords

Summary



Keywords

Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Flax and hemp — National legislation prohibiting the cultivation and possession of industrial hemp — Incompatible with the common organisation of the markets — (Council Regulations Nos 1308/70 and 619/71)

Summary

Regulation No 1308/70 on the common organisation of the market in flax and hemp, as amended by Regulation No 2826/2000 on information and promotion actions for agricultural products on the internal market and Regulation No 619/71 laying down general rules for granting aid for flax and hemp, as amended by Regulation No 1420/98, must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which has the effect of prohibiting the cultivation and possession of industrial hemp covered by those regulations.

First, in depriving the farmers concerned of any possibility of claiming the benefit of the aid, such a prohibition has a direct detrimental effect on the common organisation of the market in the hemp sector. Second, it does not pursue a public-interest objective which is not covered by the common organisation of the market, in so far as the risks to human health constituted by the use of narcotic drugs have been specifically taken into account within its framework.

see paras 30-32, 34, 38, operative part
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Keywords

Acts of the institutions — Directives — Implementation by the Member States — Mere administrative practice does not constitute fulfilment of that obligation — (Art. 249 EC, third para.)
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Summary



Keywords

Social policy — Protection of health and safety of workers — Directive 89/655 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work — Transposition requiring the putting into effect of minimum required standards — Insufficiency of legislation limited to requiring the necessary adaptation of the safety regulations to progress — (Council Directives 89/391 and 89/655)

Summary

Directive 89/655 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work (second individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work), as amended by Directive 95/63, is not transposed with the necessary clarity and precision by national legislation which requires the necessary adaptation of the safety regulations to progress, in line with the approach taken by the directive, but without putting into effect its minimum requirements.

see paras 45, 47, 48
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Summary



Keywords

Officials — Conditions of Employment of Other Servants — Local staff — Applicability of national legislation of the place of employment concerning the representation of workers and defence of their interests — Not applicable — (Staff Regulations, Art. 9; Annex II; Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, Arts 7 and 79)

Summary

The arrangements for the representation and defence of the interests of the local staff of a Community institution do not form part of the "conditions of employment" within the meaning of Article 79 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities, and are governed exhaustively by Article 9 of the Staff Regulations in conjunction with Annex II thereto and Article 7 of the Conditions of Employment. Consequently, the reference in Article 79 of the Conditions of Employment to current rules and practice in the place where local staff are to perform their duties cannot include the national legislation applicable to that place concerning the participation of workers in the undertaking which employs them.

Article 9 of and Annex II to the Staff Regulations and Article 79 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants therefore preclude the application to the local staff employed by the representation of the Commission in Austria of the provisions of Austrian legislation on labour relations in establishments which provide for a works council to be set up with the function of representing the staff and defending their interests.

see paras 46-47, 52, operative part
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Summary



Keywords

Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Excise duties — Directive 92/81 — Exemption of mineral oils used other than as heating fuel or motor fuel — Tax on the consumption of exempted lubricating oils — Not permissible — (Council Directive 92/81, Art. 8(1)(a))

Summary

Under Article 8(1)(a) of Directive 92/81 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on mineral oils, mineral oils may be subject to excise duty only if intended for use as motor fuel or heating fuel.

A Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations under that provision by retaining in force a tax on the consumption of lubricating oils when those oils are intended for use, offered for sale or used for purposes other than as heating fuel or motor fuel.

To allow the Member States to levy another indirect tax on products which must be exempted from harmonised excise duty under Article 8(1)(a) of Directive 92/81 would render that provision entirely ineffective.

see paras 29-32, 37 and operative part
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Summary



Keywords

Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Regulation No 729/70 — Restriction on refusal of financing — Reliance on the 24-month period by a Member State which has not communicated the information required for checks — Not possible — (Council Regulations Nos 729/70, Art. 5(2)(c), and 1287/95)

Summary

In order to check whether the exclusion period for the adjustment of accounts provided for in Article 5(2)(c) of Regulation No 729/70 on the financing of the common agricultural policy, as amended by Regulation No 1287/95, has been complied with, a Member State cannot take into consideration only the date of the expenditure incurred, without taking into account the date on which it informed the Commission of relevant and sufficient information on such expenditure, allowing the latter to carry out the clearance of accounts. The time-limit for the adoption of clearance of accounts decisions is connected to access to information on expenditure and it follows from Article 4(2) of Regulation No 1663/95 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation No 729/70 by implication that the Member States must communicate the necessary documents promptly so that the Commission has sufficient time in which to carry out the checks.

Accordingly, although the purpose of the period referred to in Article 5(2)(c) of Regulation No 729/70 is to protect Member States against the absence of legal certainty which would exist if the Commission were able to call into question expenditure incurred several years before the adoption of a compliance decision, a Member State may only however claim the protection of this period to the extent that it complies with its own obligations under Community legislation, in particular with regard to the spontaneous communication of information required for checks.

see paras 60-62, 65
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Summary



Keywords

Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of a Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of the goods — Concept — (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(c))

Summary

Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 40/94 on the Community trade mark provides that trade marks which "consist exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics of the goods or service" are not to be registered.

In order for the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) to refuse to register a trade mark under that article, it is not necessary that the signs and indications composing the mark that are referred to in that article actually be in use at the time of the application for registration in a way that is descriptive of goods or services such as those in relation to which the application is filed, or of characteristics of those goods or services. It is sufficient, as the wording of that provision itself indicates, that such signs and indications could be used for such purposes. A sign must therefore be refused registration under that provision if at least one of its possible meanings designates a characteristic of the goods or services concerned.

To interpret Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 40/94 as precluding the registration of trade marks which are "exclusively descriptive" of the goods or services in respect of which registration is sought, or of their characteristics, implies the application of a test which is not the test laid down by that article and disregards the scope thereof.

see paras 29, 32-34, 36