Case C-383/06 to C-385/06: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 13 March 2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State, Netherlands) — Vereniging Nationaal Overlegorgaan Sociale Werkvoorziening (C-383/06), Gemeente Rotterdam (C-384/06) v Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, and Sociaal Economische Samenwerking West-Brabant (C-385/06) v Algemene Directie voor de Arbeidsvoorziening (Structural Funds — Article 23(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 — Withdrawal and recovery of Community financial aid — Article 249 EC — Protection of legitimate expectations and legal certainty)
Date: 2008-03-13
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Investment Bank, Structural Funds, application of EU law, balance of payments assistance, competence of the Member States, coordination of financing, interpretation of the law, redemption

C 116/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

9.5.2008

evocation of protected additional traditional terms — Possibility
of using such a term in a language other than that of the
protected traditional term or for wines from a Member State
other than those of the protected traditional term — Use of the
French language terms ‘Réserve’ or ‘Grande réserve’ or the
German language terms ‘Reserve’ or ‘Privat-Reserve’ for German
wines

Operative part of the judgment

1. Article 47(2)(c) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of
17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in
wine, in conjunction with point (B)(3) of Annex VII thereto and
Article 6(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 of
29 April 2002 laying down certain rules for applying Regulation
No 1493/1999 as regards the description, designation, presenta-
tion and protection of certain wine sector products, as amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1512/2005 of 15 September
2005, must be interpreted as meaning that the use of a particular
relating to the production or ageing method or the quality of a
wine may be permitted under those provisions only if there is no
risk that it will mislead the persons to whom it is addressed by
creating confusion between that particular and the other traditional
terms referred to in the fifth indent of point (B)(1)(b) of Annex VII
to Regulation No 1493/1999 and Article 23 of Regulation
No 753/2002. It is for the national court to assess whether the
terms in issue in the main proceedings are likely to give rise to such
a risk.

2. Article 24(2)(a) of Regulation No 753/2002, as amended by
Regulation No 1512/2005, is to be interpreted as meaning that
there may be imitation or evocation of a traditional term within the
meaning of that provision where that term is translated into a
language other than that in which that term is given in Annex III
to that regulation, if that translation is likely to cause confusion or
to mislead the persons to whom it
is for the
national court to examine whether that is the case in the dispute
before it.

is addressed.

It

3. Article 24(2) of Regulation No 753/2002, as amended by Regu-
lation No 1512/2005,
is to be interpreted as meaning that a
traditional term listed in Annex III to that regulation is protected
both with regard to wines of the same category/categories from the
same producer Member State as that traditional term and with
regard to wines of the same category/categories from other producer
Member States.

(1) OJ C 237, 30.9.2006.

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 13 March 2008
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van
State, Netherlands) — Vereniging Nationaal Overlegorgaan
Sociale Werkvoorziening (C-383/06), Gemeente Rotterdam
(C-384/06)
en
Werkgelegenheid, and Sociaal Economische Samenwerking
(C-385/06) v Algemene Directie voor de
West-Brabant

v Minister

Sociale

Zaken

van

Arbeidsvoorziening

(Case C-383/06 to C-385/06) (1)

(Structural Funds — Article 23(1) of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 4253/88 — Withdrawal and recovery of Com-
munity financial aid — Article 249 EC — Protection of legiti-
mate expectations and legal certainty)

(2008/C 116/10)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Raad van State

Parties to the main proceedings

Vereniging Nationaal Overlegorgaan

Applicants:
Sociale
Werkvoorziening (C-383/06), Gemeente Rotterdam (C-384/06),
Sociaal Economische Samenwerking West-Brabant (C-385/06)

Defendants: Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid,
Algemene Directie voor de Arbeidsvoorziening

Re:

for

Reference
a preliminary ruling — Raad van State,
Netherlands Interpretation of Article 23(1) of Council Regu-
lation EEC No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down
provisions for implementing Regulation No 2052/88 (EEC) as
regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural
Funds between themselves and with the operations of
the
European Investment Bank and the other existing financial
instruments — Withdrawal and recovery of Community finan-
cial aid — Articles 10 and 249 EC — Application of general
principles of Community law

Operative part of the judgment

1. Article 23(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of
19 December 1988 laying down provisions for
implementing
Regulation No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of
the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the
operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing
financial
instruments, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2082/93 of 20 July 1993 requires the Member States to
recover any amounts lost as a result of an irregularity or negligence
without there being any need for authority to do so under national
law;

2. The recovery of amounts lost as a result of an irregularity or negli-
gence must be carried out on the basis of Article 23(1) of Regu-
lation No 4253/88, as amended by Regulation No 2082/93,
and in accordance with the detailed rules laid down in national

9.5.2008

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 116/7

impossible in practice to recover

law, on condition that the application of that law does not hinder
the application or the effectiveness of Community law and does not
make it
the sums improperly
granted. It is for the national court to ensure the full application of
Community law by setting aside or, in so far as necessary, inter-
preting a national rule such as the General Statute on administra-
tive law (Algemene wet bestuursrecht) which prevents such applica-
tion. The national court may apply the Community law principles
of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations when
assessing the conduct of both the recipient of the amounts lost and
the administrative authority, on condition that full account is taken
of the interests of the European Community. The fact that the reci-
the funds is a public-law person is irrelevant in that
pient of
regard.

(1) OJ C 310, 16.12.2006.

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 13 March
2008 (reference
a preliminary ruling from the
Niedersächsisches Finanzgericht, Germany) — Securenta
Göttinger Immobilienanlagen und Vermögensmanagement
AG v Finanzamt Göttingen

for

(Case C-437/06) (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive — Taxable person simultaneously
carrying out economic activities,
taxable or exempt, and
non-economic activities — Right to deduct input VAT —
Expenditure connected with the issue of shares and atypical
silent partnerships — Apportionment of input VAT according
to the economic nature of the activity — Calculation of the
deductible proportion)

(2008/C 116/11)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Niedersächsisches Finanzgericht

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant:
Vermögensmanagement AG

Securenta Göttinger

Immobilienanlagen

und

Defendant: Finanzamt Göttingen

Re:

uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — Issue of
silent partnerships by a limited company on an increase in its
capital — Supply for consideration within the meaning of
Article 2, point 1 — Deductibility of VAT conditional on a
direct and immediate link with the taxable person's business
activity — Whether deductible in part under Article 17(5) of
the Directive

Operative part of the judgment

1. Where a taxpayer simultaneously carries out economic activities,
taxed or exempt, and non-economic activities outside the scope of
Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the
harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turn-
over taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of
assessment, deduction of the VAT relating to expenditure connected
with the issue of shares and atypical silent partnerships is allowed
only to the extent
that expenditure is attributable to the
taxpayer's economic activity within the meaning of Article 2(1) of
that directive.

that

the Sixth Directive is in the discretion of

2. The determination of the methods and criteria for apportioning
input VAT between economic and non-economic activities within
the meaning of
the
Member States who, when exercising that discretion, must have
regard to the aims and broad logic of that directive and, on that
basis, provide for a method of calculation which objectively reflects
the part of the input expenditure actually to be attributed, respec-
tively, to those two types of activity.

(1) OJ C 326, 30.12.2006.

Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 13 March
2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio
di Giustizia Amministrativa per la Regione siciliana (Italy))
— Ispettorato Provinciale
di Enna,
Assessorato all'agricoltura e foreste della Regione Sicilia,
Regione Sicilia v Domenico Valvo

dell'Agricoltura

(Case C-78/07) (1)

(Agriculture — Regulations (EEC) No 2328/91 and (EC)
No 950/97 — Articles 17 and 18 — Compensatory allow-
ances for permanent natural handicaps — Farmers receiving
length-of-service pensions — Right to compensatory allow-
ances — Limits)

(2008/C 116/12)

Language of the case: Italian

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Niedersächsisches Finanz-
gericht — Interpretation of Articles 2, point 1, and 17(5) of
Directive 77/388/EEC: Sixth Council Directive of 17 May 1977
on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating
to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax:

Referring court

Consiglio di Giustizia Amministrativa per la Regione siciliana