CELEX: C1996/210/20
Language: en
Date: 1996-07-20 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof by decision of that court of 19 March 1996 in the case of Stefan Demand v. Hauptzollamt Trier (Case C-186/96)

20 . 7 . 96            EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                       No C 210/9
the European Communities, represented by Hendrik Van                  protection of property and the principles of equal treatment
Lier and Jean-Francis Pasquier, acting as Agents, with an             and protection of legitimate expectations ?
address for service in Luxembourg at the office of C. Gomez
de la Cruz, of its Legal Service .                                    (') OJ No L 405 , 31 . 12 . 1992 , p . 1 .
                                                                      ( 2 ) Official Journal , English Special Edition 1968 I, p . 176 .
The applicant claims that the Court should :                          ( 3 ) OJ No L 86 , 1 . 4 . 1992 , p . 83 .
— declare that, by adopting Decree No 93-999 of 9 August
     1993 relating to preparations with a basis of foie gras,
    without taking account of the contents of the detailed
    opinion and the .reasoned opinion of the Commission
    concerning mutual recognition, the French Republic has
    failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the          Action brought on 3 June 1996 by the Commission of the
    Treaty,                                                                European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
                                                                                                 ( Case C-187/96 )
— order the French Republic to pay the costs .                                                     ( 96/C 210/21 )
Pleas in law and main arguments                                       An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before
                                                                      the Court of Justice on 3 June 1 996 by the Commission of
Infringement of Article 30 of the EC Treaty : the                     the European Communities, represented by Maria Patakia,
Commission considers that, while the prevention of fraud              of the Commission's Legal Service , with an address for
constitutes a legitimate objective, national rules preventing         service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlo Gômez de la
the marketing, under the names provided for therein, of               Cruz, also of the Commission's Legal Service, Wagner
products which do not comply with the requirements laid               Centre, Kirchberg.
down in those rules are disproportionate . The Commission
acknowledges that, in the absence of any equivalent rules in
the other Member States, the mutual recognition provision             The applicant claims that the Court should :
which it requires will not have any immediate effect;
however, it regards such a provision as necessary, in order           — declare that, in so far as it excludes, by regulation or
that the marketing in France of preparations with a basis of                administrative practice, account being taken in
foie gras which are legally manufactured and marketed on                    awarding seniority and grading for salary purposes to an
the territory of another Member State should not be                         employee in the Greek public service of previous service
prohibited in the future .                                                  in the public service of another Member State of the
                                                                            Community, on the sole ground that the previous service
                                                                            was not performed in the national public service, the
                                                                            Hellenic Republic is in breach of its obligations under
                                                                            Community law, in particular Articles 5 and 48 of the
                                                                            EC Treaty and Article 7 ( 1 ) of Regulation ( EEC )
                                                                            No 1612/68 ( M ,
Reference for a preliminary ruling from the
Bundesfinanzhof by decision of that court of 19 March
1996 in the case of Stefan Demand v. Hauptzollamt                     — order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs .
                               Trier
                         ( Case C-186/96 )                            Pleas in law and main arguments
                            96/C 210/20 )
                                                                      In the Commission's view, the said regulations, although
                                                                      not comprising express discrimination by reason of
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                nationality, nevertheless introduce covert discrimination to
European Communities by decision of the Bundesfinanzhof               the detriment of nationals of other Member States of the
( Federal Finance Court ) of 19 March 1996 , which was                Community . The fact that in certain cases previous service in
received at the Court Registry on 3 June 1996 , for a                 a foreign public service will , exceptionally, be recognized
preliminary ruling in the case of Stefan Demand v.                    corroborates non-recognition in all other cases . Moreover,
Hauptzollamt Trier on the following question :                        the case-law of the Areios Pagos ( Greek Supreme Court of
                                                                      Cassation ), which is consistent with Community law, on the
Are the combined provisions of Article 4(1 ) and the first            matter, relied upon by the Greek authorities, shows that the
paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 3950/92 (')           regulations in question are obscure and give rise to legal
— whereby the suspension , under Article 5 c ( 3 ) ( g ) of           disputes .
Regulation ( EEC ) No 804/68 ( 2 ), as amended by Regulation
( EEC ) No 8 1 6/92 ( 3 ), of part of the reference quantities       The Commission maintains that those regulations are
allocated to producers was transformed without                       capable of deterring Greek citizens from exercising their
compensation into a permanent reduction of those reference            right to free movement within the Community and adds that
quantities, without exempting from that reduction at least            although the Member States are free, in the absence of
additional quantities acquired by producers — compatible              harmonization, to lay down the conditions under which
with Community law, and in particular with the right to the          previous service in the public sector will be recognized,