CELEX: C1999/033/10
Language: en
Date: 1999-02-06 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de Police, Belley, by judgment of that court of 24 November 1998 in the case of Ministère Public v Jean-Pierre Guimont (Case C-448/98)

C 33/6                 EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                  6.2.1999
(g) Since neither of the parties to the main proceedings             geographical area under para. 5(c) of such notification the
      has raised any question of interpretation or                   Landkreise (rural districts) of Gera, Zeitz, Geithain,
      application of the Sixth VAT Directive, may the                Grimma, Wurzen, Borna and the City of Gera (or, to use
      national court, of its own motion, interpret and apply         the nomenclature arising from the redrawing of
      the provisions of that directive when giving its final         boundaries and renaming of districts pursuant to
      decision?                                                      administrative reforms in the relevant Bundesländer of
                                                                     Thüringen, Sachsen and Sachsen-Anhalt, in so far as it
(1) Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the         included the Landkreise Greiz and Muldentalkreis, parts
    harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to       of the Kreise Leipziger Land and Burgenlandkreis and the
    turnover taxes Ð Common system of value added tax:               City of Gera).
    uniform basis of assessment Ð OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1.
                                                                     Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
                                                                     The appellants plead infringement of the fourth paragraph
                                                                     of Article 173 of the EC Treaty. In their submission, the
                                                                     contested order wrongly denied that they were
Appeal brought on 7 December 1998 by Molkerei                        individually concerned by the regulation. It ignored the
Groûbraunshain GmbH and Bene Nahrungsmittel GmbH                     fact that, in the particular circumstances, the contested
against the order delivered on 15 September 1998 by                  regulation had the effect of a decision; that the plaintiffs'
the Second Chamber of the Court of First Instance                    position was not improved but worsened thereby; that
of the European Communities in Case T-109/97                         erroneous choice of the simplified registration procedure
between Molkerei Groûbraunshain GmbH and Bene                        caused guaranteed hearing rights to be truncated, which
Nahrungsmittel GmbH, supported by Freistaat Thüringen,               would otherwise have conferred standing to bring an
and the Commission of the European Communities,                      action; that the plaintiffs do not have appropriate
supported by Molkerei und Weichkäserei K.-H.                         protection by bringing national legal proceedings; and that
                      Zimmermann GmbH                                in any event no determination could be made as to the
                       (Case C-447/98 P)                             admissibility of the claim without any consideration of its
                         (1999/C 33/09)                              merits.
                                                                     (1) OJ C 378, 5.12.1998, p. 17.
An appeal against the order issued on 15 September 1998
by the Second Chamber of the Court of First Instance
of the European Communities in Case T-109/97 (1)
between Molkerei Groûbraunshain GmbH and Bene
Nahrungsmittel GmbH, supported by Freistaat Thüringen,
and the Commission of the European Communities,                      Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de
supported by Molkerei und Weichkäserei K.-H.                         Police, Belley, by judgment of that court of 24 November
Zimmermann GmbH, was brought before the Court of                     1998 in the case of MinisteÁre Public v Jean-Pierre
Justice of the European Communities on 7 December                                               Guimont
1998 by Molkerei Groûbraunshain GmbH and Bene                                              (Case C-448/98)
Nahrungsmittel        GmbH,      represented     by    Michael
Loschelder and Thilo Klingbeil, Rechtsanwälte, Cologne,                                     (1999/C 33/10)
with an address for service in Luxembourg at the
Chambers of Marc Loesch, 11 Rue Goethe.                              Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
                                                                     European Communities by a judgment of the Tribunal de
The appellants claim that the Court should:                          Police (Local Criminal Court), Belley, France, of
                                                                     24 November 1998, which was received at the Court
set aside the order of the Court of First Instance and allow         Registry on 9 December 1998, for a preliminary ruling in
the appellants' original claim for the annulment of                  the case of MinisteÁre Public v Jean-Pierre Guimont on the
Commission Regulation (EC) No 123/97 of 23 January                   following question:
1997 supplementing the Annex to Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1107/96 on the registration of geographical                  On a proper construction of Articles 3(a) and 30 et seq. of
indications and designations of origin under the procedure           the Treaty establishing the European Community, as
laid down in Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92               amended, must the French rules enacted by Decree
in so far as, in respect of the product Altenburger                 No 88-1206 of 30 December 1988, which prohibit the
Ziegenkäse (PDO)' referred to in Part A of the Annex to              manufacture and marketing in France of a cheese without
the regulation, the notification by the Federal Republic of          rind under the designation Emmental', be regarded as
Germany of 26 January 1994, as supplemented on                       constituting a quantitative restriction or a measure having
7 August 1996, included in the designation of the relevant           equivalent effect on intra-Community trade?