Case C-333/02: Action brought on 20 September 2002 by the Italian Republic against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2002-11-09
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Italy, action for annulment (EU), intervention price, marketing, white sugar

C 274/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.11.2002

Pleas in law and main arguments

— order the Commission of the European Communities and
the Council of the European Union to pay the costs.

The obligation on the part of the United Kingdom to take
measures in order to comply with the directive for the entirety
of its territory is not disputed.

Since the United Kingdom has not informed the Commission
of the provisions adopted and brought into force to comply
with the directive concerned for Gibraltar and since the
Commission is in possession of no other information enabling
it to conclude that the United Kingdom has adopted and
brought into force the necessary provisions, it is compelled to
assume that the United Kingdom has not yet adopted such
provisions and has thus failed to fulfil its obligations under the
directive.

( 1) OJ L 85, 29.3.1999, p. 1.

Pleas in law and main arguments

For the fifth year running the regulation adopted by the
Council, identifying the deficit areas for which ‘derived’ prices
for sugar and beet are fixed, did not include Italy, with
the result that
intervention price fixed by
Article 2(1)(a) of the regulation is applicable to Italy.

the ‘ordinary’

The criterion used in describing an area as a ‘deficit’ area has
been to take as a basis the figures for production and
consumption shown in the balance sheets communicated by
the Member States.

is

forecast

It
111 400 tonnes greater than its estimated consumption.

Italy’s production of

that

sugar will be

Action brought on 20 September 2002 by the Italian
Republic against the Commission of the European Com-
munities

The Commission reaches that result by using a criterion
for assessing consumption which the Italian Government
considers to be unlawful and incorrect.

(Case C-333/02)

(2002/C 274/38)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties and the Council of the European Union was brought
before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on
20 September 2002 by the Italian Republic, represented by
Prof. Umberto Leanza, acting as Agent, and Giacomo Aiello,
Avvocato dello Stato.

The applicant claims that the Court of Justice should:

— annul Commission Regulation (EC) No 1129/2002 (1) of
7 June 2002 fixing the derived intervention prices for
white sugar for the 2002/2003 marketing year (OJ of
28 June 2002), in so far as it fails to fix the derived
intervention price for white sugar for all areas of Italy and,
in so far as may be necessary, annul also Article 2(1)(a) of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 (2) of 19 June
2001;

In particular, the calculation of foreseeable consumption did
not include sugar used in products intended for export.

The Commission has, therefore, considered that ‘consumption’
means solely white sugar used directly in Italy, to the exclusion
of sugar used (still in Italy) in the preparation of sugar-based
products intended for export.

What has been determined is not, therefore, the ‘demand’ for
sugar, understood as ‘consumption’ by the market, but rather
consumption stricto sensu in the national territory.

That operating method does not appear to be right, since it
uses an unduly restrictive definition of consumption.

(1) OJ L 169, 28.6.2002, p. 22.
(2) OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1.