CELEX: C2001/045/23
Language: en
Date: 2001-02-10 00:00:00
Title: Case C-452/00: Action brought on 6 December 2000 by the Kingdom of the Netherlands against the Commission of the European Communities

C 45/12               EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                      10.2.2001
Action brought on 6 December 2000 by the Kingdom of                     The applicant claims that the Court should:
the Netherlands against the Commission of the European
                          Communities
                        (Case C-452/00)                                 —     annul the Commission Decision C(2000) 2754 final of
                                                                              20 September 2000 on State aid put into effect by France
                                                                              in the wine sector;
                         (2001/C 45/23)
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of Justice of the European            —     order the Commission to pay the costs.
Communities on 6 December 2000 by the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, represented by J. van Bakel, of the European Law
Section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                        Pleas in law and main arguments
1.    Annul Commission Regulation (EC) No 2081/2000 (1)
      of 29 September 2000 providing for the continued
      application of safeguard measures for imports from the
      overseas countries and territories of sugar sector products
      with EC/OCT cumulation of origin;                                 —     The Commission was wrong to base itself, in the contest-
                                                                              ed       decision,     on      Commission        Regulation
                                                                              No 1493/2000 (1). The aid was notified in February
2.    Order the Commission to pay the costs of the proceed-
                                                                              1999 under Regulation No 822/87 (2). Although the
      ings.
                                                                              Commission decision was adopted in September 2000
                                                                              under the new Regulation No 1493/1999 (3), which
                                                                              entered into force on 21 July 1999, it was Regulation No
Pleas in law and main arguments                                               822/87 which was binding on the Member States until
                                                                              August 2000, that is to say during nearly the whole of
The pleas in law and main arguments are similar to those in                   the period when the Commission investigated the aid.
Case C-180/00 (2). Article 109(2) of the OCT decision has also
been infringed inasmuch as the safeguard measures adopted
are not appropriate for removing the difficulties which the
Commission considers to be present.                                     —     (In the alternative) Incompatibility of the contested
                                                                              decision with Regulation No 1493/2000
(1) OJ 2000 L 246 of 30.09.2000, p. 64.
(2) OJ 2000 C 211 of 22.07.2000, p. 10.
                                                                              —     The Commission is wrong to find the French
                                                                                    aid incompatible on the ground that it does not
                                                                                    sufficiently reduce yields of the Ugni-blanc grape
                                                                                    variety. Contrary to what the Commission main-
                                                                                    tains, Regulation No 1493/1999 does not establish
                                                                                    a correlation between the conversion of land and
                                                                                    any obligation on the Member States to reduce yield
                                                                                    — and thus production — on non-converted land.
Action brought on 18 December 2000 by French Republic
    against Commission of the European Communities
                        (Case C-456/00)                                       —     Error in law: by requiring an ‘assurance that restruc-
                                                                                    turing of 1 000 hectares would be accompanied by
                                                                                    grubbing-up of an equivalent area’, the Commission
                         (2001/C 45/24)
                                                                                    adds a condition to the conversion of vineyards
                                                                                    provided for in Article 11 of Regulation
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-                           No 1493/1999, whereas there is nothing in that
ties was brought before the Court of Justice of the European                        Article to say that conversion of a given area must
Communities on 18 December 2000 by the French Republic,                             be accompanied by the grubbing-up of an equivalent
represented by G. de Bergues, head of sub-directorate at the                        area. Limitation of the right to replant on converted
Legal Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and                   surfaces provided for by Commission Regulation
by L. Bernheim, secretary for foreign affairs at the same                           No 1227/2000 (4), and in particular Article 13
ministry, acting as Agents, with an address for service in                          thereof, cannot be treated like the grubbing up of
Luxembourg at the French Embassy, 8B Boulevard Joseph II.                           non-converted land.