.
37 IN THE LIGHT OF THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, THE COURT HOLDS THAT THE LIMITATION ON THE TRANSFERABILITY OF STM LICENCES IS DUE TO THE DESIRE TO GUARANTEE AS FAR AS POSSIBLE THE RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTANT INFORMATION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH A SCHEME OF PROVEN EFFICACY . IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, THE LIMITATION IN QUESTION CANNOT BE REGARDED AS DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE LEGITIMATE AIM WHICH IT PURSUES .
38 IT FOLLOWS THAT THE COMPLAINTS BASED ON THE INFRINGEMENT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY MUST BE REJECTED .
E - THE "STANDSTILL" REQUIREMENT
39 IN SUPPORT OF THIS SUBMISSION THE APPLICANT PUTS FORWARD AN ARGUMENT BASED ON THE FACT THAT, IN THE CASE OF TWO OF THE THREE GROUPS OF PRODUCTS COVERED BY THE STM, NAMELY ( I ) FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, AND ( II ) NEW POTATOES, THE CONTESTED REGULATIONS SET UP A SYSTEM WHICH WAS MORE RESTRICTIVE OF SPANISH IMPORTS INTO THE COMMUNITY OF TEN THAN THE PREVIOUS SYSTEM HAD BEEN . ONLY VITICULTURAL PRODUCTS WERE SUBJECT TO A SCHEME OF LICENCES AND SECURITIES BEFORE SPAIN' S ACCESSION . BY IMPOSING THE SAME SCHEME ON THE OTHER TWO CATEGORIES OF GOODS, THE DEFENDANT INSTITUTIONS INFRINGED THE "STANDSTILL" REQUIREMENT CONTAINED IN ARTICLES 31 AND 32 OF THE EEC TREATY .
40 IN THAT REGARD IT SHOULD BE RECALLED THAT THE CONTESTED SCHEME FORMS AN INTEGRAL PART OF A TRANSITIONAL MECHANISM EXPRESSLY PROVIDED FOR BY THE ACT OF ACCESSION, WHICH DEROGATES FROM THE NORMAL SYSTEM APPLICABLE TO INTRA-COMMUNITY TRADE . IN ORDER TO APPRAISE THE LEGALITY OF THE MEASURES ADOPTED TO IMPLEMENT THE STM, IT IS APPROPRIATE TO EXAMINE WHETHER THOSE MEASURES ARE COVERED BY THE RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF ACCESSION . THAT EXAMINATION, WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED ABOVE, SHOWS THAT SUCH IS INDEED THE CASE .
41 ACCORDINGLY, THE SUBMISSION BASED ON THE "STANDSTILL" PROVISION MUST LIKEWISE BE REJECTED .
F - COMMUNITY PREFERENCE
42 ACCORDING TO THE APPLICANT, THE SCHEME OF LICENCES AND SECURITIES PLACES SPANISH PRODUCTS ON THE SAME FOOTING AS THOSE IMPORTED FROM NON-MEMBER COUNTRIES, EVEN THOUGH SPAIN HAS BEEN A FULL MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1 JANUARY 1986 . IN PUTTING FORWARD THIS SUBMISSION THE APPLICANT REITERATES THE POINT THAT THE PREVIOUS RULES WERE LESS RESTRICTIVE AS FAR AS FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AND NEW POTATOES WERE CONCERNED . IT THEREFORE INFERS THAT THE PRINCIPLE OF COMMUNITY PREFERENCE HAS BEEN INFRINGED .
43 IT SHOULD FIRST BE STATED THAT, IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS DISPUTE, COMMUNITY PREFERENCE REFERS TO THE SITUATION OF SPANISH PRODUCTS AS COMPARED WITH THOSE FROM NON-MEMBER COUNTRIES AFTER SPAIN' S ACCESSION . THE APPLICANT' S ARGUMENTS RELATING TO THE SITUATION BEFORE ACCESSION ARE THEREFORE IRRELEVANT, BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY WAS NOT OBLIGED TO LEAVE THAT SITUATION UNCHANGED .
44 THE ACT OF ACCESSION DOES INDEED ENSURE COMMUNITY PREFERENCE BY PROVIDING, IN ARTICLE 85*(4 ), THAT THE APPLICATION OF THE STM MAY IN NO EVENT LEAD TO PRODUCTS COMING FROM THE NEW MEMBER STATES AND SUBJECT TO THE STM BEING TREATED IN A