ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
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1. Competition - Fines - Amount - Appropriateness - Review by the Court - Factors which may be taken into account by the Community court - Information not contained in the decision imposing the fine and not required in the statement of reasons - Included

(EC Treaty, Arts 172 and 190 (now, Arts 229 EC and 253 EC); Council Regulation No 17, Art. 17)

2. Competition - Fines - Decision imposing fines - Obligation to state reasons - Scope - Indication of the factors by which the Commission assessed the gravity and duration of the infringement - Sufficient indication - Subsequent communication of more precise information - No effect

(EC Treaty, Art. 190 (now Art. 253 EC); Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2), second subpara.)

Summary

1. In actions contesting Commission decisions imposing fines on undertakings for infringement of the competition rules, the Community court has power to assess, in the context of the unlimited jurisdiction accorded to it by Article 172 of the Treaty (now Article 229 EC) and Article 17 of Regulation No 17, the appropriateness of the amounts of fines. That assessment may justify the production and taking into account of additional information which is not as such required, by virtue of the duty to state reasons under Article 190 of the Treaty (now Article 253 EC), to be set out in the decision.

( see paras 40, 42 )

2. The second subparagraph of Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 provides that [i]n fixing the amount of the fine, regard shall be had both to the gravity and to the duration of the infringement. In those circumstances, the essential procedural requirement to state reasons is satisfied where the Commission indicates in its decision the factors which enabled it to determine the gravity of the infringement and its duration. If those factors are not stated, the decision is vitiated by failure to state adequate reasons.

The fact that more specific information, such as the turnover achieved by the undertakings or the rates of reduction applied by the Commission, were communicated subsequently, at a press conference or during the proceedings before the Court of First Instance, is not such as to call in question the adequacy of the statement of reasons in the contested decision. Where the author of a contested decision provides explanations to supplement a statement of reasons which is already adequate in itself, that does not go to the question whether the duty to state reasons has been complied with, though it may serve a useful purpose in relation to review by the Community court of the adequacy of the grounds of the decision, since it enables the institution to explain the reasons underlying its decision.

( see paras 43-44, 46 )
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1. Officials Actions Prior administrative complaint Time-limits Time-bar Re-opening of prescribed period Condition New fact Decision altering the criteria for classification in grade on recruitment

(Staff Regulations, Arts 31(2), 90 and 91)

2. Officials Equal treatment Recruitment Classification in grade Reconsideration Right to request a reconsideration restricted to officials recruited after delivery of the judgment of 5 October 1995 in Case T-17/95 Lack of objective justification

(Staff Regulations, Art. 5(3))

Summary

1. The Commission's decision of 7 February 1996 altering the criteria for classification in grade of officials recruited after 5 October 1995 must be regarded as a decision of general application which called in question a number of administrative decisions which had become final, and thereby constituted a new fact liable to have an adverse effect on officials recruited before 5 October 1995 and allowing them to submit a request, within the periods prescribed in Articles 90 and 91 of the Staff Regulations, for a review of their classification.

( see para. 45 )

2. The decision of 7 February 1996, adopted following the judgment of 5 October 1995 in Case T-17/95 Alexopoulou and altering the criteria for classification in grade of officials recruited after 5 October 1995, infringed the general principle of equal treatment laid down in Article 5(3) of the Staff Regulations, since the difference in treatment resulting from the fact that Commission officials appointed after 5 October 1995 could request that their classification in grade be reconsidered, while those who had been appointed before that date could not, is not objectively justified by the fact that 5 October 1995 was the date of delivery of that judgment.

For the purpose of complying with that judgment, it was not necessary, as regards officials who were not parties to the proceedings, to take 5 October 1995 as the date on which the decision of 7 February 1996 was to take effect. Furthermore, although, in adopting that decision, the Commission displayed a regard for the welfare of officials who had been appointed after 5 October 1995 and had not challenged the classification decision within the prescribed period, there is nothing to justify, or even explain, why it did not extend that concern to officials who had been appointed between 1983 and 5 October 1995 and were in the same situation.

( see paras 51-53 )
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Freedom to provide services Restrictions Whether undertakings supplying a service may be required to pay minimum remuneration fixed by the national rules of the host Member State Permissible Conditions

(EC Treaty, Arts 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC) and 60 (now Art. 50 EC))

Summary

$$Article 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and Article 60 of the Treaty (now Article 50 EC) do not preclude a Member State from requiring an undertaking established in another Member State which provides services in the territory of the first State to pay its workers the minimum remuneration fixed by the national rules of that State. The application of such rules might, however, prove to be disproportionate where the workers involved are employees of an undertaking established in a frontier region who are required to carry out, on a part-time basis and for brief periods, a part of their work in the territory of one, or even several, Member States other than that in which the undertaking is established. It is consequently for the competent authorities of the host Member State to establish whether, and if so to what extent, application of national rules imposing a minimum wage on such an undertaking is necessary and proportionate in order to ensure the protection of the workers concerned.

( see para. 41 and operative part )
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Actions for annulment - Natural or legal persons - Measures of direct and individual concern to them - Council regulation introducing safeguard measures in respect of imports of rice originating in the overseas countries and territories - Action brought by an undertaking exporting rice from the overseas countries and territories to the Community - Inadmissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 173, fourth para. (now, after amendment, Art. 230, fourth para., EC); Council Regulation No 304/97)

Summary

$$For natural and legal persons to be regarded as individually concerned by a measure of general application adopted by a Community institution, it must affect their legal position by reason of certain attributes peculiar to them, or by reason of a factual situation which differentiates them from all other persons and distinguishes them individually in the same way as the addressee.

Regulation No 304/97 introducing safeguard measures in respect of imports of rice originating in the OCTs is not of individual concern to an exporter of rice from the overseas countries and territories (OCTs) to the Community.

First, that regulation concerns the applicant only by reason of its objective status as an economic operator active in the sector marketing rice originating in the OCTs, in the same way as any other Community economic agent in the same situation. Its status as an exporter, or even export-dealer of rice, from the OCTs to the Community is not therefore sufficient in itself to establish that the applicant is individually concerned by Regulation No 304/97.

Second, the finding that the Council was required, in so far as the circumstances of the case so permitted, to take account of the negative effects which its decision might have on the economy of the OCTs concerned and on the undertakings concerned does not discharge the applicant from the burden of proving that it is affected by the regulation by reason of a factual situation which differentiates it from all other persons.

( see paras 49, 51, 62, 67 )
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(Free movement of capital - Restrictions - System of prior authorisation for direct foreign investments - Measure justified on grounds of public policy or public security - Lack of precision - Infringement of the principle of legal certainty)

(EC Treaty, Arts 73b and 73d(1)(b) (now Arts 56 EC and 58(1)(b) EC))

Summary

$$Article 73d(1)(b) of the EC Treaty (now Article 58(1)(b) EC), which provides that Article 73b of the Treaty (now Article 56 EC), prohibiting restrictions on the movement of capital between Member States and between Member States and non-member countries, is without prejudice to the right of Member States to take any measures which are justified on grounds of public policy or public security, must be interpreted as precluding a system of prior authorisation for direct foreign investments which confines itself to defining in general terms the affected investments as being investments that are such as to represent a threat to public policy and public security, with the result that the persons concerned are unable to ascertain the specific circumstances in which prior authorisation is required. Since such a lack of precision does not enable individuals to be apprised of the extent of their rights and obligations deriving from Article 73b of the Treaty, the system in question is contrary to the principle of legal certainty.

( see paras 21-23 and operative part )
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Social policy - Approximation of laws - Transfers of undertakings - Safeguarding of employees' rights - Directive 77/187 - Scope - Transfer - Concept - Resumption by a legal person governed by public law of activities previously performed, in the latter's interest, by a legal person established under private law - Whether included - Conditions

(Council Directive 77/187, Art. 1(1))

Summary

$$On a proper construction of Article 1(1) of Directive 77/187 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses, that directive applies where a municipality, a legal person governed by public law operating within the framework of specific rules of administrative law, takes over activities relating to publicity and information concerning the services which it offers to the public, where such activities were previously carried out, in the interests of that municipality, by a non-profit-making association which was a legal person governed by private law, provided always that the transferred entity retains its identity. In this regard, the mere fact that the activity engaged in by the old and the new employer is similar does not justify the conclusion that an economic entity has been transferred. An entity cannot be reduced to the activity entrusted to it. Its identity also emerges from other factors, such as its workforce, its managerial staff, the way in which its work is organised, its operating methods or indeed, where appropriate, the operational resources available to it.

( see paras 49 and 57 and operative part )
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Social policy - Men and women - Equal pay - Belgian additional pre-retirement payment - Classification as an occupational social security scheme within the meaning of Council Directive 86/378 - Applicability of Protocol No 2 concerning Article 119 of the Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the Treaty have been replaced by Article 136 EC to 143 EC) annexed to the EC Treaty - Directive 76/207 not applicable

(EC Treaty; Protocol No 2 concerning Art. 119 (Articles 117 to 120 of the EC Treaty have been replaced by Arts 136 EC to 143 EC); Council Directives 76/207, Art. 5, and 86/378, Arts 2 and 4)

Summary

$$An occupational scheme such as the Belgian scheme for additional pre-retirement payment provided for by Collective Agreement No 17, rendered compulsory by the Royal Decree of 16 January 1975 and provided for in the Collective Labour Agreement of 23 May 1984 concluded within Joint Sub-Committee No 315.1, which provides protection against the risk of unemployment by providing workers employed by an undertaking with benefits intended to supplement the unemployment benefit provided under a statutory social security scheme, must be classified as an occupational social security scheme within the meaning of Articles 2 and 4 of Directive 86/378, as amended by Council Directive 96/97. The additional payment at issue thus constitutes a benefit under an occupational social security scheme within the meaning of Protocol No 2 concerning Article 119 of the Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143 EC), annexed to the EC Treaty, so that it may therefore apply if the conditions it lays down are fulfilled.

An additional payment which, as in the present case, constitutes pay within the meaning of Article 119 of the Treaty is not covered by Article 5 of Directive 76/207 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions.

( see paras 29-30, 33, 36, operative part 1-2 )
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Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measures having equivalent effect - Obligation to include a notification number on the labelling of foodstuffs containing nutrients - Not permissible - Justification - Protection of public health - None

(EC Treaty, Art. 30 et seq. (now, after amendment, Art. 28 EC et seq.)

Summary

$$A Member State which lays down, in legislation concerning the placing on the market of nutrients and foodstuffs to which nutrients have been added, an obligation to indicate on the labelling of the foodstuffs containing nutrients the notification number at the national inspection service for foodstuffs fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC) et seq.

Such an obligation is of a nature such as to hinder intra-Community trade, since it may force the importer to alter the packaging of his products on the basis of the place where they are marketed and therefore to incur additional packaging and labelling costs. Even if the presence of a notification number provides consumers with an assurance that a file has been notified to the competent authorities, that information is not capable of enabling them to decide whether or not they should consume the product and, if they do consume it, in what quantities. It is not sufficiently useful to them for its inclusion to be fully justified on grounds of the protection of public health. Furthermore, the measure is not necessary for the protection of public health, since the labelling includes other data which are equally useful information in that respect.

( see paras 17, 26, 29-30 and operative part )
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1. Common Customs Tariff - Customs value - Transaction value - Determination - Costs of analyses - Included - Criteria

(Council Regulation No 1224/80, Art 3(1) and (3)(a))

2. Own resources of the European Communities - Post-clearance recovery of import or export duties - Conditions for non-recovery laid down in Article 5(2) of Regulation No 1697/79 - Individual case

(Council Regulation No 1697/79, Art. 5(2))

Summary

1. The costs of analyses designed to establish the conformity of imported goods with the national legislation of the importing Member State, which the importer invoices to the buyer in addition to the price of the goods, must be regarded as an integral part of their transaction value within the meaning of Article 3(1) of Regulation No 1224/80 on the valuation of goods for customs purposes inasmuch as the analyses are necessary in order for the goods to be delivered in accordance with the provisions of the contract. The costs pertaining to those analyses must be regarded as part of the payments made or to be made as a condition of sale of the imported goods by the buyer to the seller ... to satisfy an obligation of the seller within the meaning of Article 3(3)(a) of Regulation No 1224/80.

( see paras 23-24, 27 and operative part 1 )

2. Article 5(2) of Regulation No 1697/79 on the post-clearance recovery of import duties or export duties which have not been required of the person liable for payment of goods entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay such duties, makes waiver of post-clearance recovery by the national authorities subject to three cumulative conditions, namely that non-collection of the duties must have been as a result of an error made by the competent authorities themselves; the error must be such that it could not reasonably be detected by the person liable acting in good faith; and the person liable must have complied with all of the provisions laid down by the rules in force as far as his customs declaration is concerned.

It follows that the customs authorities of a Member State must refrain from post-clearance recovery of duty pursuant to that provision, if, at a previous on-the-spot inspection of importations, they raised no objection to the non-inclusion of flat-rate expenses in the customs value of similar transactions and it does not appear that the trader, who had complied with all of the provisions laid down by the rules in force as far as his customs declaration is concerned, could have been in doubt about the correctness of the results of the inspection.

( see paras 35-37, 39-40 and operative part 2 )
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Freedom of movement for persons Freedom of establishment Tax legislation Corporation tax National legislation limiting the possibility of deducting losses incurred in the Member State concerned for companies which have a permanent establishment in another Member State Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 52 (now, after amendment, Art. 43 EC))

Summary

$$Article 52 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 43 EC) precludes legislation of a Member State under which a company incorporated under national law, having its seat in that Member State, may, for the purposes of corporation tax, deduct a loss incurred the previous year from the taxable profit for the current year only on the condition that that loss was not capable of being set off against the profit made during that same previous year by one of its permanent establishments situated in another Member State, to the extent that a loss thus set off cannot be deducted from taxable income in either of the Member States concerned, whereas it would be deductible if the establishments of that company were situated exclusively in the Member State in which it has its seat. Such legislation establishes a differentiated tax treatment as between companies incorporated under national law having establishments only on national territory and those having establishments in another Member State.

( see paras 23, 33 and operative part )
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1. Environment Conservation of wild birds Directive 79/409 Member States' obligation to prohibit hunting during certain periods when birds are particularly vulnerable Limitation of periods when prohibited Limitation ensuring protection of only the majority of the birds of a given species Not permissible

(Council Directive 79/409, Art. 7(4))

2. Environment Conservation of wild birds Directive 79/409 Laying down of closing dates for hunting migratory birds and waterfowl Closing dates staggered according to species of bird Conditions under which permissible

(Council Directive 79/409)

3. Environment Conservation of wild birds Directive 79/409 Transposition without legislative action Limits Management of the common heritage Need for faithful transposition by the Member States

(Council Directive 79/409)

Summary

1. Article 7(4) of Directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds seeks in particular to impose a prohibition of hunting of all species of wild birds during the rearing periods and the various stages of reproduction and dependency and, in the case of migratory species, during their return to their rearing grounds. Moreover that article is designed to secure a complete system of protection in the periods during which the survival of wild birds is particularly under threat. Accordingly, protection against hunting activities cannot be confined to the majority of the birds of a given species, as determined by average reproductive cycles and migratory movements.

( see para. 23 )

2. The national authorities are not empowered by Directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds to lay down closing dates for hunting which vary according to species of migratory birds or waterfowl unless the Member State concerned can adduce evidence, based on scientific and technical data relevant to each individual case, that staggering the closing dates for hunting does not impede the complete protection of species of bird liable to be affected by such staggering.

( see para. 43 )

3. The transposition of a directive into domestic law does not necessarily require the provisions of the directive to be enacted in precisely the same words in a specific, express provision of national law and a general legal context may be sufficient if it actually ensures the full application of the directive in a sufficiently clear and precise manner. However, faithful transposition becomes particularly important in the case of Directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds where management of the common heritage is entrusted to the Member States in their respective territories.

( see para. 53 )