Case T-341/05: Action brought on 8 September 2005 — Kingdom of Spain v Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2005-10-29
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: Ceuta and Melilla, European Commission, Spain, action for annulment (EU), customs fraud, fraud against the EU, milk, milk product, re-import

29.10.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 271/25

The applicant relies on the following claims:

— The adoption of Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 was in
breach of essential procedural requirements: the principle
of joint responsibility, since commissioner Fischer Boel was
empowered to determine the amount of sugar to be elimi-
nated before the adoption of the regulation;

— As regards the provisions in application of the EC Treaty,
Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 infringes Regulation (EC) No
60/2004, which is its legal basis, since:

(a) contrary to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 60/2004,
Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 includes, in determining
the excess quantity of sugar, the quantity of sugar held
in private households;

(b) contrary to Article 6(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No
60/2004, the Commission did not take into account the
specific circumstances of stockpiling in Estonia;

nate a quantity of sugar corresponding to the amount of
sugar held in private households does not fulfil a legitimate
objective and is a disproportionate interference with their
rights.

(1) OJ L 138 of 1.6.2005, p. 3.

Action brought on 8 September 2005 — Kingdom of
Spain v Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-341/05)

(2005/C 271/49)

Language of the case: Spanish

— Breach of the obligation to state reasons laid down in
Article 253 EC, since in Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 no
reasons are given with respect to the inclusion in the calcu-
lation of the amount of excess stocks of sugar held in
private households and with respect to the failure to take
into account the circumstances of stockpiling;

Parties

— Breach of the principle of sound administration, since when
adopting Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 the Commission
did not take into account the specific circumstances of
stockpiling in Estonia, including the EU's own contribution
to increased imports of sugar;

Applicant: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: J.M. Rodríguez
Cárcamo, abogado del Estado)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

— Breach of the principle of good faith, since no measures of
any sort were adopted to deter increased exports from the
EU to Estonia, and Estonia's countermeasures were blocked;

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— Breach of the principle of non-discrimination, since the
calculation of excess sugar stocks laid down by Regulation
(EC) No 832/2005 discriminates against Estonia compared
to States which have previously acceded, and any measures
implementing Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 would bring
about discrimination against Estonian undertakings or
households compared to the corresponding groups
in
States which have previously acceded or compared to
undertakings in the so-called old Member States;

— Infringement of the right to property of undertakings and/
or private households, since any measures implementing
Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 would impose a restriction
on them which could not be justified by a legitimate aim
and would be a disproportionate interference with their
rights;

— Breach of the principle of proportionality, since the obliga-
tion laid down in Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 to elimi-

— annul the inclusion of Ceuta and Melilla in the L01 category
in the Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No 909/2005
of 16 June 2005 fixing the export refunds on milk and
milk products;

— order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

This action is brought against Commission Regulation (EC) No
909/2005 of 16 June 2005 fixing the export refunds on milk
and milk products, (1) in so far as it excludes Ceuta and Melilla
as destinations qualifying for export refunds for milk products
in general. The objective of such an exclusion is to put an end
to certain unlawful commercial
transactions consisting in
exporting certain products to those two destinations and
collecting the relevant refund, before processing the products
and re-importing them into Community territory without
paying any customs duties.

C 271/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

29.10.2005

In support of its claims, the Kingdom of Spain invokes:

— infringement of Article 31(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No
1255/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation
of the market in milk and milk products, (2) either because
there is no justification for the contested measure in any of
the reasons stated in Article 31 or,
in the alternative,
because the measure is based on facts which have not been
proved.

— infringement of Article 31(2) of that regulation on the
ground that account has not been taken of the nature of
the product. It is stated in that regard that, even supposing
that the elimination of fraud could justify the abolition of
refunds for a specific destination, the measure was adopted

with account being taken only of the destination of the
export, affecting without distinction all products whose
export to Ceuta and Melilla was eligible for a refund. It is
also claimed that there is an infringement of the same
provision on account of the discrimination between produ-
cers to which the contested measure is said to give rise.

— infringement of the principle of non-discrimination.

— misuse of powers.

(1) OJ L 154 of 17.6.2005, p. 10.
(2) OJ L 160 of 26.6.1999, p. 48.