Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 15 July 2004 in Joined Cases C-37/02 and C-38/02 (references for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale amministrativo regionale per il Veneto): Di Lenardo Adriano Srl and Dilexport Srl v Ministero del Commercio con l'Estero (Bananas — Common organisation of the market — Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 — Common system of trade with third countries — Primary imports — Validity — Protection of legitimate expectations — Retroactivity — Implementing power)
Date: 2004-09-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: import policy, interpretation of the law, right of establishment, tariff quota, tropical fruit

11.9.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 228/3

the market in dried fodder (OJ 1995 L 63, p. 1), the Italian
Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 11 of
the Sixth Council Directive (77/388/EEC) of 17 May 1977 on
the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to
turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform
basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — the Court (Second
Chamber), composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the
Chamber, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), J.-P. Puissochet, J.N. Cunha
Rodrigues and N. Colneric, Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate
General; L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar,
has given a judgment on 15 July 2004 in which it:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders the Italian Republic to bear its own costs;

composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber,
C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), J.-P. Puissochet, J.N. Cunha Rodri-
gues and N. Colneric, Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate General;
L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given
a judgment on 15 July 2004 in which it:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to pay the

costs;

3. Orders the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of

Sweden to bear their own costs.

3. Orders the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to

bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 58 of 2.3.2002.

(1) OJ C 348 of 8.12.2001.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

of 15 July 2004

in Case C-495/01: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Republic of Finland (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
77/388/EEC — VAT — Article 11(A)(1)(a) — Taxable
amount — Subsidy directly linked to the price — Regulation
(EC) No 603/95 — Aid granted in the dried fodder sector)

(2004/C 228/05)

(Language of the case: Finnish)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in
the European Court Reports)

In Case C-495/01: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: E. Traversa and I. Koskinen) v Republic of Finland
(Agent: T. Pynnä) supported by Federal Republic of Germany
(Agents: W.-D. Plessing and M. Lumma) and by Kingdom of
Sweden (Agents: A. Kruse and A. Falk) — application for a
declaration that, by failing to levy value added tax on aid paid
under Council Regulation (EC) No 603/95 of 21 February
1995 on the common organisation of the market in dried
fodder (OJ 1995 L 63, p. 1), the Republic of Finland has failed
to fulfil its obligations under Article 11 of the Sixth Council
Directive (77/388/EEC) of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation
of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes —
Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assess-
ment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — the Court (Second Chamber),

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

of 15 July 2004

in Joined Cases C-37/02 and C-38/02 (references for a
preliminary ruling by the Tribunale amministrativo regio-
nale per il Veneto): Di Lenardo Adriano Srl and Dilexport
Srl v Ministero del Commercio con l'Estero (1)

(Bananas — Common organisation of the market — Regu-
lation (EC) No 896/2001 — Common system of trade with
third countries — Primary imports — Validity — Protection
of legitimate expectations — Retroactivity — Implementing
power)

(2004/C 228/06)

(Language of the case: Italian)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in
the European Court Reports)

In Joined Cases C-37/02 and C-38/02: references to the Court
under Article 234 EC for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale
amministrativo regionale per il Veneto (Italy) in the proceedings
pending before that court between Di Lenardo Adriano Srl (C-
37/02), Dilexport Srl (C-38/02) and Ministero del Commercio
con l'Estero on the validity of Articles 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 31 of
Commission Regulation (EC) No 896/2001of 7 May 2001
laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation
(EEC) No 404/93 as regards the arrangements for importing
bananas into the Community (OJ 2001 L 126, p. 6) — the
Court (Second Chamber), composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans,
President of the Chamber, J.-P. Puissochet and R. Schintgen
(Rapporteur), F. Macken and N. Colneric, Judges; C. Stix-Hackl,
Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Principal Admininistrator, for the
Registrar, has given a judgment on 15 July 2004, in which it
has ruled:

C 228/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

11.9.2004

Consideration of the questions referred for a preliminary ruling
have disclosed nothing to affect the validity of Articles 1, 3, 4,
5, 6(c) and 31 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 of
7 May 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying Council
Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 as regards the arrangements for
importing bananas into the Community.

2. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to pay the

costs;

3. Orders the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to

bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 97 of 20.4.2002.

(1) OJ C 156 of 29.6.2002.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

of 15 July 2004

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

15 July 2004

in Case C-144/02: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Federal Republic of Germany (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
77/388/EC — VAT — Article 11(A)(1)(a) — Taxable
amount — Subsidy directly linked to the price — Regulation
(EC) No 603/95 — Aid granted in the dried fodder sector)

in Case C-239/02 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Rechtbank van Koophandel, Hasselt): Douwe Egberts
NV v Westrom Pharma NV and Others (1)

(Approximation of laws — Interpretation of Article 28 EC
and of Directives 1999/4/EC and 2000/13/EC — Validity of
Directive 1999/4/EC — Labelling and advertising of food-
stuffs — Prohibitions of references to health)

(2004/C 228/07)

(Language of the case: German)

(2004/C 228/08)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in
the European Court Reports)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in
the European Court Reports)

In Case C-144/02: Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: E. Traversa and K. Gross ) v Federal Republic of
Germany (Agent: M. Lumma),
supported by Republic of
Finland (Agents: T. Pynnä and E. Bygglin) and by Kingdom of
Sweden (Agents: Kruse and A. Falk) — application for a
declaration that, by failing to levy value added tax on aid paid
under Council Regulation (EC) No 603/95 of 21 February
1995 on the common organisation of the market in dried
fodder (OJ 1995 L 63, p. 1), the Federal Republic of Germany
has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 11 of the Sixth
Council Directive (77/388/EEC) of 17 May 1977 on the harmo-
nisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover
taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of
(Second
assessment
Chamber), composed of C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the
Chamber, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), J.-P. Puissochet, J.N. Cunha
Rodrigues and N. Colneric, Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate
General; L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar,
has given a judgment on 15 July 2004 in which it:

(OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — the Court

1. Dismisses the action;

In Case C-239/02: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
from the Rechtbank van Koophandel, Hasselt (Belgium) for a
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court
between Douwe Egberts NV and Westrom Pharma NV, Chris-
tophe Souranis, carrying on business under the commerical
name of ‘Etablissements FICS’, and between Douwe Egberts NV
and FICS-World BVBA — on the interpretation of Article 28
EC, on the interpretation and validity of Article 2 of Directive
1999/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
22 February 1999 relating to coffee extracts and chicory
extracts (OJ 1999 L 66, p. 26), and on the interpretation of
Article 18 of Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of
the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presen-
tation and advertising of foodstuffs (OJ 2000 L 109, p. 29) —
the Court (Second Chamber), composed of: C.W.A. Timmer-
mans, President of the Second Chamber, J-.P. Puissochet, J.N.
Cunha Rodrigues (Rapporteur), R. Schintgen and N. Colneric,
Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Prin-
cipal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
15 July 2004, in which it has ruled: