ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
Keywords

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Agriculture - Uniform laws - Protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs - Matters covered by Regulation No 2081/92 - Rules prohibiting the use of an indication of source in the absence of a link between the characteristics of the product and its geographical provenance - Not covered

(Council Regulation No 2081/92, Art. 2(2)(b))

Summary

$$Regulation No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs does not preclude the application of national legislation which prohibits the potentially misleading use of a geographical indication of source in the case of which there is no link between the characteristics of the product and its geographical provenance.

According to Article 2(2)(b), Regulation No 2081/92 only concerns geographical indications in respect of which there is a direct link between both a specific quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product and its specific geographical origin. Simple geographical indications of source, in the case of which there is no link between the characteristics of the product and its geographical provenance, do not fall within that definition and are not therefore protected under Regulation No 2081/92.

( see paras 43-44, 54 and operative part )
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Tax provisions - Harmonisation of laws - Taxes other than turnover taxes which affect the consumption of manufactured tobacco - Determination of minimum retail selling prices for manufactured tobacco by the public authorities - Not permissible

(Council Directive 95/59, Art. 9)

Summary

$$By adopting and maintaining in force legislative provisions which require minimum retail selling prices for manufactured tobacco to be determined by ministerial decree, a Member State fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 9 of Council Directive 95/59 on taxes other than turnover taxes which affect the consumption of manufactured tobacco; that article provides that manufacturers or, where appropriate, their representatives or authorised agents in the Community and importers of tobacco from non-member countries are to be free to determine the maximum retail selling price for each of their products, the aim being to ensure effective competition between them. The setting of a minimum selling price by public authorities inevitably has the effect of limiting the freedom of producers and importers to determine their maximum retail selling prices since, in any event, such prices cannot be any lower than the compulsory minimum price.

( see paras 20-21, 33 and operative part )
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1. Freedom of movement for persons - Freedom of establishment - Freedom to provide services - Architects - Recognition of diplomas and qualifications - National legislation restricting the exercise of activities as an architect according to the definition of the profession in the Member State in which the relevant qualification was obtained - Not permissible

(Council Directive 85/384, Arts 2 and 10)

2. Freedom of movement for persons - Freedom of establishment - Restrictions - Article 56 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 46 EC) - Purpose - Existence of directives on the approximation of laws - Effects

(Art. 56 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Art. 46 EC))

Summary

1. A Member State which does not allow persons holding qualifications in architecture awarded by another Member State and recognised under Directive 85/384 on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in architecture, including measures to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment and freedom to provide services, to pursue activities other than those which they are authorised to pursue in their country of origin on the basis of the qualifications awarded by the latter, unless they collaborate with another member of the profession who is authorised to pursue those activities and who holds a qualification which is likewise recognised under the law of the host Member State, is in breach of its obligations under Articles 2 and 10 of that directive.

It follows from Articles 2 and 10 of Directive 85/384 that, when an activity is usually pursued by architects holding a qualification awarded by the host Member State, a migrant architect holding a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications coming within the scope of the directive must also be able to pursue such an activity, even if his diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications is not necessarily substantively equivalent in terms of the training received. While it is true that it is for the national legislation of the host Member State to define the field of activities covered by the profession of architect, once an activity is regarded by a Member State as coming within that field, the requirement of mutual recognition means that migrant architects must also be able to pursue that activity.

( see paras 37, 38, 45 and operative part 1 )

2. Article 56 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 46 EC) is not designed to reserve certain matters to the exclusive jurisdiction of Member States but permits national laws to derogate from the principle of free movement to the extent to which such derogation is and continues to be justified for the attainment of the objectives referred to therein. Where Community directives provide for harmonisation of the measures necessary to ensure the protection of a specific objective, recourse to Article 56 of the Treaty is no longer justified and the appropriate checks must be carried out and measures of protection adopted within the framework outlined by the harmonising directive in question.

( see paras 41-42 )
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1. Free movement of goods Derogations Protection of public health Prohibition on the advertising of alcoholic beverages Whether permissible Condition

(EC Treaty, Arts 30 and 36 (now, after amendment, Arts 28 EC and 30 EC)

2. Freedom to provide services Restrictions Prohibition on the advertising of alcoholic beverages Justified on the grounds of public health Condition

( EC Treaty, Arts 56 and 59 (now, after amendment, Arts 46 EC and 49 EC))

Summary

1. Articles 30 and 36 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Articles 28 EC and 30 EC) do not preclude a prohibition on the advertising of alcoholic beverages provided for under national legislation, unless it is apparent that, in the circumstances of law and of fact which characterise the situation in the Member State concerned, the protection of public health against the harmful effects of alcohol can be ensured by measures having less effect on intra-Community trade.

( see para. 34 and operative part )

2. Articles 56 and 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Articles 46 EC and 49 EC) do not preclude a prohibition on the advertising of alcoholic beverages provided for under national legislation, unless it is apparent that, in the circumstances of law and of fact which characterise the situation in the Member State concerned, the protection of public health against the harmful effects of alcohol can be ensured by measures having less effect on intra-Community trade.

( see para. 42 and operative part )
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Procedure Reference to the Court under an arbitration clause Unilateral termination under the terms of the contract Right to reimbursement of advances together with interest as provided for in the contract Claim for damages not substantiated by sufficient evidence

(EC Treaty, Art. 181 (now Art. 238 EC))
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Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measures having equivalent effect - Obligation on companies marketing petroleum products and wishing to transfer their storage obligation to refineries on national territory to obtain their supplies from those refineries - Not permissible - Justification - Protection of public security - None

(EC Treaty, Arts 30 and 36 (now, after amendment, Arts 28 and 30 EC))

Summary

$$A Member State which establishes and maintains a system for the compulsory maintenance of emergency stocks of petroleum products which directly links the facility for companies which market those products to transfer their storage obligation to refineries established in national territory to an obligation to obtain their supplies of those products from those refineries fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC).

Such a system constitutes discrimination against petroleum products from refineries situated in other Member States, in that it makes their marketing more difficult since marketing companies cannot free themselves from the obligation to store petroleum products at their installations if they buy their petroleum products from the refineries of those States, and is not justified by the objective of public security within the meaning of Article 36 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 30 EC), since that objective could have been achieved by less restrictive measures.

( see paras 26, 31-32 and operative part )
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1. Competition - Administrative procedure - Examination of complaints - Obligation for the Commission to adopt a decision on the existence of an infringement - None - Account taken of Community interest attached to the investigation of a case - Commission's discretion

(Council Regulation No 17, Art. 3)

2. Competition - Administrative procedure - Examination of complaints - Account taken of Community interest attached to the investigation of a case - Criteria of assessment

(Council Regulation No 17, Art. 3)

3. Actions for annulment - Contested act - Assessment of legality on the basis of information available at the time when the act was adopted - Retrospective considerations - No effect

(EC Treaty, Art. 173 (now Art. 230 EC))

Summary

1. Although a complainant is entitled to have any uncertainty as to the outcome of his complaint dispelled by means of a Commission decision, which may be the subject-matter of an application for judicial review, Article 3 of Regulation No 17 does not give him the right to insist that the Commission take a final decision as to the existence or non-existence of the alleged infringement and does not oblige the Commission to continue the proceedings, whatever the circumstances, right up to the stage of a final decision.

The existence of the discretion which the Commission enjoys to give differing degrees of priority to the complaints brought before it does not depend on the more or less advanced stage of the investigation of a case. That element forms part of the circumstances of the case which the Commission is required to take into consideration when exercising its discretion.

( see paras 35-37 )

2. The Commission, in the exercise of its discretion, must take into consideration all the relevant matters of law and of fact in order to decide what action to take in response to a complaint. More particularly, it must consider attentively all the matters of fact and of law which the complainant brings to its attention. However, in view of the fact that the assessment of the Community interest raised by a complaint depends on the circumstances of each case, the number of criteria of assessment to which the Commission may refer should not be limited nor, conversely, should it be required to have recourse exclusively to certain criteria.

( see paras 45-46 )

3. In the context of an application for annulment under Article 173 of the Treaty (now Article 230 EC) the legality of a Community measure must be assessed on the basis of the facts and the law as they stood at the time when the measure was adopted and cannot depend on retrospective considerations of its efficacy.

( see para. 87 )
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1. Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations - Justification - Not permissible

(Art. 226 EC)

2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations - Commission's right of action - Right exercised at the Commission's discretion

(Art. 226 EC)

3. Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations - Provision in a directive allowing Member States to request an extension of the period prescribed for implementation - Justification based on failure by the Commission to state the reasons for refusing to extend that period - Not permissible

(Art. 226 EC)

Summary

1. A Member State may not plead situations in its internal legal order, including those resulting from its federal organisation, in order to justify a failure to comply with the obligations and time-limits laid down in a directive.

( see para. 23 )

2. Under the system established by Article 226 EC the Commission enjoys a discretionary power as to whether it will bring an action for failure to fulfil obligations and it is not for the Court to judge whether that discretion was wisely exercised.

( see para. 28 )

3. Failure by a Member State to comply with the obligations laid down in a directive is not justified by the fact that the Commission failed to state the reasons for refusing to extend the period for implementation prescribed in the directive, even though the directive allows the national authorities to submit a request to the Commission for an extension of that period.

( see paras 31-32 )
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European Communities' public procurement - Arbitration clause attributing jurisdiction to the Court - Unilateral termination for non-performance of the contract - Claim for reimbursement of advances together with interest for delay - Defendant undertaking's financial difficulties - Irrelevant

(Art. 238 EC)
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Competition - Community rules - National legislation on book prices - Compatibility following incorporation into the EC Treaty of provisions relating to the internal market

(EC Treaty, Arts 3(c) and (g), 7a, 30 and 36 (now, after amendment, Arts 3(c) and (g) EC, 14 EC, 28 EC and 30 EC), Arts 3a, 5, 85, 102a and 103 (now Arts 4 EC, 10 EC, 81 EC, 98 EC and 99 EC) and Art. 14 (repealed by the Amsterdam Treaty))

Summary

$$Articles 3(c) and (g) of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 3(c) and (g) EC), 3a and 5 of the Treaty (now Articles 4 EC and 10 EC), the second paragraph of Article 7a of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 14(2) EC) and Articles 102a and 103 of the Treaty (now Articles 98 EC and 99 EC) do not preclude the application of national legislation requiring publishers to impose on booksellers fixed prices for the resale of books.

Article 3 of the Treaty, which determines the fields and objectives to which the activities of the Community are to relate, lays down the general principles of the common market, which are to be applied in conjunction with the respective chapters of the Treaty devoted to their implementation.

The Single European Act inserted an Article 8a (which became Article 7a of the EC Treaty, and then, after amendment, Article 14 EC), which defines the internal market and provides for measures for its establishment. The internal market now constitutes one of the objectives of the Community (Article 3(c) of the Treaty).

Those provisions also define general objectives and must be read in conjunction with the provisions of the Treaty designed to implement those objectives. Since Articles 30 and 36 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Articles 28 EC and 30 EC) and 85 of the Treaty (now Article 81 EC) have not been amended, the Court's interpretation of them in Case 229/83 Leclerc and Thouars Distribution, in conjunction with Article 5 of the Treaty, cannot be called in question.

As regards Articles 3a, 102a and 103 of the Treaty, which refer to economic policy, the implementation of which must comply with the principle of an open market economy with free competition (Articles 3a and 102a), those provisions do not impose on the Member States clear and unconditional obligations which may be relied on by individuals before the national courts. What is involved is a general principle whose application calls for complex economic assessments which are a matter for the legislature or the national administration.

( see paras 22-25 and operative part )
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Competition Agreements Adverse effect on competition Service-station agreements Criteria of assessment Appreciable effect of the agreements, taken as a whole, on the closing-off of the market Limitation, as a result of the subdivision of the network of the supplier concerned, of the number of cases in which his agreements are void Permissible Validity of service-station agreements which may be terminated at any time upon one year's notice and which represent only a very small part of the exclusive purchasing agreements entered into by the supplier

(EC Treaty Art. 85(1) (now Art. 81(1) EC))

Summary

$$The prohibition laid down by Article 85(1) of the Treaty (now Article 81(1) EC) does not apply to an exclusive purchasing agreement entered into by a motor-fuels supplier which the retailer may terminate upon one year's notice at any time where all that supplier's exclusive purchasing agreements, whether considered separately or as a whole, taken together with the network of similar agreements made by the totality of suppliers, have an appreciable effect on the closing-off of the market but where the agreements of the same kind as the agreement at issue in the main proceedings by reason of their duration represent only a very small part of the totality of one supplier's exclusive purchasing agreements, of which the majority are fixed term contracts entered into for more than one year.

In that regard, the fact of subdividing, exceptionally, a supplier's network is not arbitrary nor does it undermine the principle of legal certainty. Subdividing the network in that way results from a factual assessment of the position held by the operator concerned on the relevant market, the aim of the assessment being, on the basis of an objective criterion of particular relevance in that it takes into account the market's distinctive features, to limit the number of cases in which a supplier's contracts are declared void to those which, together, contribute significantly to the cumulative effect of sealing off the market.

That approach does not conflict with the judgment in Case C-234/89 Delimitis, which, although it set out the criteria for assessing the extent to which a supplier's contracts, without being more specific, contribute to the cumulative sealing-off effect, did not exclude a selective assessment according to the various categories of contracts that a particular supplier might have entered into.

( see paras 37-39 and operative part )
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1. Member States Obligations Implementation of directives Failure to fulfil obligations not contested

(Art. 226 EC)

2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations Consideration by the Court of the merits Situation to be taken into account Situation on expiry of the period set by the reasoned opinion

(Art. 226 EC)
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Approximation of laws Telecommunications services Common framework for general authorisations and individual licences Directive 97/13 Individual licences Procedures for granting individual licences Nature of the decisions to be taken

(European Parliament and Council Directive 97/13, Art. 9(2))

Summary

$$The requirements that a decision be taken quickly by the competent authorities, as required by Directive 97/13 on a common framework for general authorisations and individual licences in the field of telecommunications services, and the absence of any reference to the decision as being interim in nature demonstrate that the second indent of Article 9(2) of the directive, which provides that a Member State must inform an applicant for an individual licence of its decision within a period no longer than six weeks, is to be interpreted as meaning that the decisions which must be taken within that period are definitive.

( see para. 19 )
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1. Approximation of laws Quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water Directive 75/440 Implementation by Member States Obligation to achieve actual reductions in the content in harmful substances, including nitrates, in order to improve the quality of water Scope

(Council Directive 75/440, Art. 4(1)(2))

2. Approximation of laws Quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water Directive 75/440 Implementation by Member States Establishment of a plan of action for purification of water Systematic plan of action Definition

(Council Directive 75/440, Art. 4(2))

Summary

1. Member States are required, under Article 4(2) of Directive 75/440 concerning the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States, to achieve actual reductions in the content in harmful substances, including nitrates, in order to improve the quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water. Member States must devote appropriate means to achieving that end.

Whilst it is true that Article 4(2) of the Directive does not contain any express qualitative or quantitative prescription in relation to those improvements, it is nevertheless clear that that provision requires Member States, within the 10-year period which it lays down, to achieve quantitative values lower than the limiting values which they are required to attain before the expiry of the transposition period of two years laid down by Article 4(1) of the Directive.

Member States are therefore under an obligation, during the 10-year period laid down in Article 4(2) of the Directive, to achieve nitrate contents which are in any event lower than the limiting value of 50mg/l.

( see paras 25-27 )

2. Although many purification plans limited to the regional level may in principle constitute a plan within the meaning of Article 4(2) of Directive 75/440 concerning the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States, the sum of the documents submitted by a Member State must in any event reveal an overall plan that reflects a comprehensive and coherent approach.

That is not the case where the measures communicated by a Member State to the Commission have a restricted area of application from the practical or geographic point of view, or are in the nature of a merely localised operation. Such measures lack the necessary coherence for them to constitute a systematic plan of action within the meaning of Article 4(2) of the Directive.

( see paras 29, 31, 40 )