Case C-100/03: Action brought on 4 March 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain against the Council of the European Union
Date: 2003-06-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Council of the European Union, EU waters, North Sea, Spain, action for annulment (EU), authorised catch, catch quota, common fisheries policy, equal treatment, fishery resources

7.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 135/9

is not possible is the introduction, by publication, of
amendments of the text approved by the legislature since
to do so presupposes a usurpation of its powers.

limits which do not exist either for access by French
vessels to Spanish coastal waters or for access by vessels
of the remaining Member States to the coastal waters of
other Member States.

( 1) OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10.
( 2) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 49.

Action brought on 28 February 2003 by the Kingdom of
Spain against the Council of the European Union

(Case C-91/03)

(2003/C 135/13)

— Infringement of the Act of Accession of Spain: following
the abolition of limits on access by Spanish vessels to
waters under French jurisdiction outside the 12-mile zone
upon expiry of the transitional period provided for in the
Act of Accession, there is no justification for maintaining
the 12-mile derogations. There are no specific measures
for access to pelagic species in that zone that might
require special management and, furthermore, catches of
those pelagic species are taken by the same type of vessels
(Cerco).

In short, the maintenance of a restrictive and discriminat-
ory arrangement for access by Spanish vessels to the
waters of
the French 12-mile zone in the Atlantic
beyond the transitional period provided for in the Act of
Accession, and a derogation from equivalent rules on
access to French waters in the Atlantic outside the
12 miles in issue, are contrary to the restrictive and
limited nature required of any exception to a general rule
of the Treaty, a fortiori when what is being limited is a
principle as essential as the principle of non-discrimi-
nation on ground of nationality and, infringes the very
essence of the provisions of an Act of Accession.

An action against the Council of the European Union was
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-
ties on 28 February 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain, represented
by Nuria Díaz Abad, Abogado del Estado, with an address for
service in Luxembourg.

(1) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.
(2) Council Regulation of 20 December 1992 establishing a Com-
fisheries and aquaculture, OJ L 389,

munity system for
31.12.1992, p. 1.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul point 6 of Annex I to Council Regulation 2371/
2002 (1) of 20 December 2002 on the conversation and
sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the
Common Fisheries Policy.

— order the Council to pay the costs.

Action brought on 4 March 2003 by the Kingdom of
Spain against the Council of the European Union

Pleas in law and main arguments

— Infringement of

the principle of non-discrimination:
during the negotiations for Regulation 2371/2002, Spain
sought amendment of point 6 of Annex I in order to
remove the restriction applying to its vessels in the 6 to
12 mile zone of the Atlantic waters off France deriving
from the Act of Accession and to balance the conditions
of access to that zone with those enjoyed by French
vessels in Spanish waters. However, the Council decided
to leave point 6 of Annex I unaltered by comparison with
that recognised in Regulation 3760/92 (2) and thus to set

(Case C-100/03)

(2003/C 135/14)

An action against the Council of the European Union was
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-
ties on 4 March 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain, represented
by N. Díaz Abad, Abogado del Estado, with an address for
service in Luxembourg.

C 135/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.6.2003

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul Regulation (EC) No 2341/2002 (1) of 20 December
2002 fixing for 2003 the fishing opportunities and
associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups
of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for
Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are
required, in so far as it does not allocate to Spain quotas
in proportion to the fishing opportunities in North Sea
waters allocated before its Accession;

— order the Council to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

— Infringement of the principle of non-discrimination: with
the completion of the transitional period on 31 December
2002, the situation of Spanish fishermen is the same as
that of fishermen of the rest of the Member States and
they must enjoy equal access to waters and resources.
Although before 2003 Spain could not rely on the fishing
activities which Spanish vessels carried out in the waters
of the North Sea during the reference period 1973-1978,
as the exceptional rules laid down in the Act of Accession
applied, those activities must now be taken into consider-
ation for the purpose of adjusting the allocation key,
since only in this way will the system not be contrary to
the principle of non-discrimination. Thus the fishermen
of each Member State would be obliged to endeavour to
limit catches in proportion to what they caught before
the entry into force of the Community system of conser-
vation of resources.

loss of

— Infringement of the Act of Accession of Spain: upon
completion of the transitional period, Spain is fully
integrated into the Common Fisheries Policy, so that a
new allocation key for the resources of the North Sea is
required, based on the criteria used in 1983: historical
catches,
fishing opportunities in the fishing
grounds of non-member countries and the concept of
zones dependent on fisheries. The failure to allocate to
Spain in the contested regulation a share of the quotas in
the Community waters of the North Sea allocated before
its accession has the effect of extending the transitional
period beyond that provided for in the Act and of
infringing the provisions thereof.

— Infringement of the principle of relative stability: The
principle of relative stability is something distinct from
the allocation key fixed by the Council in 1983 in order
to apply that principle. The principle of relative stability
is of general scope and applies to the allocation in
national quotas of all catch opportunities subject to a
TAC available to the Community, while the allocation
balance established in the 1983 allocation key may be

the various
adjusted according to the evolution of
elements. The completion of
the transitional period
provided for in the Act of Accession of Spain and,
consequently, Spain’s full integration in the Common
Fisheries Policy, require that
this allocation key be
adjusted in so far as it refers to catches in the Community
waters of the North Sea, and that Spanish vessels be
allowed a percentage of the quotas distributed before
Spain’s accession, account being taken of the criteria of
the 1983 allocation key, namely historical fishing activi-
ties (as the Spanish fleet engaged in significant fishing
activities in those waters which were stopped by the
transitional prohibition on access contained in the Act of
Accession), the loss of fishing opportunities in the waters
of non-member countries and the special activities of
zones especially dependent on fisheries and related
activities.

In connection with this last criterion for setting the
allocation key, account must be taken of the fact that, in
accordance with recitals 16, 17 and 18 of the Preamble
to Regulation 2371/2002 (2), the concept of relative
stability must be extended, account being taken, inter
alia, of the ‘dependence of certain coastal communities
on fishing’ and the ‘particular needs of regions where
local populations are especially dependent on fisheries
and related activities as decided by the Council in its
Resolution of 3 November 1976’; this means that when
allocating quotas,
in accordance with the principle of
relative stability, it is necessary only to take into account
the regions whose local populations are at that time
especially dependent on fisheries and related activities,
but that, owing to developments in the socio-economic
situation of the Member States, that dependence has now
disappeared.

(1) OJ L 356, 31.12.2002, p. 12.
(2) Council Regulation of 20 December 2002 on the conservation
and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the
Common Fisheries Policy, OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.

Action brought on 19 March 2003 by the Commission of
the European Communities against the Kingdom of Spain

(Case C-121/03)

(2003/C 135/15)

An action against the Kingdom of Spain was brought before
the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 19 March