Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1 Agriculture - Common organization of the markets - Oils and fats - Olive oil - Production aid - Determination on the basis of the yield of olive trees - Yields fixed according to a flat rate - Commission's discretion - Respective roles of the Member States and the Commission - Substitution of Commission data for data supplied by Member States - Permissible - Conditions - Substitution under Regulation No 1840/94 - Conditions fulfilled

(EC Treaty, Art. 155; Council Regulation No 136/66, Art. 5(2), and Council Regulation No 2261/84, Art. 18; Commission Regulation No 3061/84, Art. 12, and Commission Regulation No 1840/94)

2 Acts of the institutions - Statement of reasons - Obligation - Scope

(EC Treaty, Art. 190)

3 Actions for annulment - Pleas in law - Misuse of powers - Meaning

(EC Treaty, Art. 173)

Summary

4 With regard to the exercise of the powers which the Council confers on the Commission for the implementation of the rules which it lays down, it is apparent from the Treaty context in which the fourth indent of Article 155 must be placed and also from practical requirements that the concept of implementation must be given a wide interpretation. More particularly, only the Commission is in a position to keep track of agricultural market trends and to act quickly where necessary and therefore the Council may find it necessary to confer on it wide powers in that sphere; those powers may also apply to some extent to the finding of the basic facts, and the limits to which they are subject must be determined by reference among other things to the essential general aims of the market organization.

In the light of those principles, the Commission and the Member States are required to play complementary roles in relation to the aid scheme for producers of olives and olive oil established by Article 5(2) of Regulation No 136/66 and, more particularly, the aid granted to olive growers whose average production is less than 500 kg of oil per marketing year, which is determined, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of Regulation No 2261/84 and Article 12 of Regulation No 3061/84, on the basis of the yields, fixed according to a flat rate, of the olive trees in production: the producer States are required to supply certain data to the Commission, which the latter is entitled to verify in order to establish definitively the yields in question. Where the data compiled by the competent national authorities and transmitted by the producer Member States give a picture which differs significantly from the true market position, the Commission is not required to confine itself to minor adjustments to those data but may, where necessary, replace them with data which it has obtained directly from the various economic agents, using its own parameters, provided however that such data faithfully reflect the real situation and developments in the olive and olive oil market.

As regards the replacement by the Commission, in Commission Regulation No 1840/94, of the basic data provided by the Italian authorities, the last-mentioned condition was satisfied because the data used by the Commission corresponded more closely to the economic reality of the Italian market than the figures submitted by the Italian administration.

5 The statement of reasons required by Article 190 of the Treaty must show clearly and unequivocally the reasoning of the institution which enacted the measure so as to inform the persons concerned of the justification for the measure adopted and to enable the Court of Justice to exercise its powers of review. It is not necessary, however, for details of all relevant factual and legal aspects to be given, in so far as the question whether the statement of the grounds for a decision meets the requirements of Article 190 of the Treaty must be assessed with regard not only to its wording but also to its context and to all the legal rules governing the matter in question.

6 An act of a Community institution is vitiated by misuse of powers if it was adopted with the exclusive or main purpose of achieving an end other than that stated or evading a procedure specifically prescribed by the Treaty for dealing with the circumstances of the case.