Judgment of the Court of 16 May 1991. - Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic. - Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Measure having equivalent effect - Aid for the purchase of motor vehicles of domestic manufacture. - Case C-263/85.



European Court reports 1991 Page I-02457

Pub.RJ Page Pub somm



Summary

Parties

Operative part



Keywords

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1. Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measure having equivalent effect - Reservation of part of a public contract to undertakings established in a given region of the national territory - Not permissible - Measure favouring only part of national production - No impact

(EEC Treaty, Art. 30)

2. Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measure having equivalent effect - Measure capable of being classified as aid within the meaning of Article 92 of the Treaty - Possibility not excluding the applicability of the prohibition of measures having equivalent effect

(EEC Treaty, Arts 30 and 92)

Summary

1. Article 30 of the Treaty precludes national legislation which reserves to undertakings established in particular regions of the national territory a proportion of public supply contracts.

2. Since only national producers, albeit not all of them, may benefit from the advantage granted, it is of little consequence that such a preferential system also has a restrictive effect as regards national producers (see judgment in Case C-21/88 Du Pont de Nemours Italiana [1990] ECR-I 889).

3. As the Court has already held (judgments in Case 103/84 Commission v Italy [1986] ECR 1759 and in Case C-21/88 Du Pont de Nemours Italiana, supra), the fact that a national measure may be classified as aid within the meaning of Article 92 of the Treaty is not a sufficient reason for exempting it from prohibition under Article 30.

Parties

In Case C-263/85,

Commission of the European Communities, represented by Gianluigi Campogrande, Legal Adviser, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Guido Berardis, a member of its Legal Department, Centre Wagner, Kirchberg,

applicant,

v

Italian Republic, represented by Luigi Ferrari Bravo, Head of the Legal Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent, assisted by Pier Giorgio Ferri, Avvocato dello Stato, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Italian Embassy, 5-7, Rue Marie-Adélaïde,

defendant,

APPLICATION for a declaration that, by requiring public bodies to purchase vehicles of domestic manufacture in order to qualify for the aid provided for by Law No 151 of 10 April 1981, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the EEC Treaty,

THE COURT,

composed of: O. Due, President, G. F. Mancini, T. F. O' Higgins and G. C. Rodríguez Iglesias (Presidents of Chambers), Sir Gordon Slynn, C. N. Kakouris, R. Joliet, F. A. Schockweiler and P. J. G. Kapteyn, Judges,

(The grounds of the judgment are not reproduced.)

Operative part

hereby:

1. Declares that, by requiring public bodies to purchase vehicles of domestic manufacture in order to qualify for the aid provided for by Law No 151 of 10 April 1991, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the EEC Treaty;

2. Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs.