CELEX: C1996/247/07
Language: en
Date: 1996-08-24 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Pretura Circondariale di Roma, Tivoli Division, by orders of that court of 21 February and 15 May 1996 in the criminal proceedings pending before that court against Mario Modesti and Lahlou Hassan (Cases C-191/96 and C-196/96)

No C 247/4              EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                       24 . 8 .
                                                          COURT OF JUSTICE
Action brought on 24 May 1996 by the Commission of the                 The applicant claims that the Court should :
European Communities against the Grand Duchy of
                             Luxembourg                                1 . declare that, in so far as it precludes, by regulation or
                         ( Case C- 179/96                                   administrative practice, by reason of nationality,
                                                                            Community workers, whether employees or
                            ( 96/C 247/05 )                                 self-employed , and the members of their families, on the
                                                                            one hand from having large-family status recognized for
An action against the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was                         the purpose of the award of the relevant benefits
brought before the Court of Justice on 24 May 1996 by the                   provided for the members of large families, and, on the
Commission of the European Communities, represented by                      other hand, from being awarded family supplements,
Dimitrios Gouloussis, acting as Agent, with an address for                  the Hellenic Republic is in breach of its obligations
service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gomez de la                   under Community law, in particular Articles 48
Cruz, of the Legal Service, Wagner Centre , Kirchberg.                      and 52 of the EC Treaty, Article 7 ( 1 ) of Regulation
                                                                            No 1612/68 ('), Article 7 of Regulation No 1251 /70 ( 2 ),
                                                                            Article 7 of Directive 75/34/EEC ( 3 ), and Article 3 of
The applicant claims that the Court should :                                Regulation No 1408/71 ( 4 );
1 . declare that, by requiring general agents to have their            2 . order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs .
    registered office ( in the case of legal persons ) or their
    residence ( in the case of natural persons ) in
    Luxembourg, and by requiring directors, general agents,            Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
    inspectors, representatives and brokers, and any other
    person carrying on insurance operations, to reside in              Article 7 ( 2 ) of Regulation No 1612/68 , applying Article 48
    Luxembourg, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has                      of the Treaty, provides that Community workers are to
    failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 59 of the EC        enjoy the same social and tax advantages as national
    Treaty;
                                                                       workers and , according to the settled case-law of the Court,
                                                                       that provision may not be interpreted restrictively . The
                                                                       Commission is of the opinion that the recognition of
2 . order the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to pay the
    costs .
                                                                       large-family status and the grant of the benefits and family
                                                                       supplements referred to above to large families constitute
                                                                       Community advantages within the meaning of that article .
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                    Moreover, no rule of demographic policy can justify
                                                                       measures discriminating against Community nationals who
The restriction on freedom to provide insurance services               reside and work in Greece .
which is imposed by the legislation referred to on account of
the fact that a supplier of those services is established in a         (')  OJ , English Special Edition 1968 ( II ), p. 475 .
Member State other than the one in which the service is                (2)  OJ , English Special Edition 1970 ( II ), p. 402 .
provided is manifestly contrary to Article 59 of the EC                (■') OJ No L 14 , 1975 ,  p . 10 .
Treaty, since it makes it impossible for nationals of Member           (4 ) OJ , English Special Edition 1971 ( II ), p. 416 .
States established in a Community country other than
Luxembourg to carry on their activities by providing
services in Luxembourg.
                                                                       Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Pretura
                                                                       Circondariale di Roma, Tivoli Division, by orders of that
                                                                       court of 21 February and 15 May 1996 in the criminal
                                                                       proceedings pending before that court against Mario
Action brought on 3 June 1996 by the Commission of the                                     Modesti and Lahlou Hassan
   European Communities against the Hellenic Republic                                   ( Cases C-191 /96 and C-196/96 )
                         ( Case C-185 /96 )
                                                                                                  ( 96/C 247/07 )
                           ( 96/C 247/06 )
                                                                       Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before             European Communities by orders of the Pretura
the Court of Justice on 3 June 1996 by the Commission of               Circondariale di Roma ( District Magistrates ' Court, Rome ),
the European Communities, represented by Maria Patakia ,               Tivoli Division , of 21 February 1996 and 15 May 1996 ,
of the Commission 's Legal Service, with an address for                which were received at the Court Registry on 3 June and
service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gomez de la              10 June 1996 , for a preliminary ruling in the criminal
Cruz, also of the Commission's Legal Service, Wagner                   proceedings pending before that court against Mario
Centre , Kirchberg .                                                   Modesti and Lahlou Hassan .
 ---pagebreak---  24 . 8 . 96           EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 247/5
 The questions referred by that court to the Court of Justice                a result of the scheme for the cessation of milk
 for a preliminary ruling are identical with those in Case                   production provided for by Council Regulation
 C-101 /96 ( ).                                                              ( EEC ) No 1637/91 ('), a mechanism whereby, first,
                                                                             non-priority producers do not see the disappearance of
 (>) OJ No C 158 , 1996 , p . 3 .                                            the reduction in their reference quantities occurring
                                                                             during the eighth period but face a definitive further
                                                                             reduction in their reference quantities , and whereby,
                                                                             second , the redistribution to producers of the reference
                                                                             quantities freed is carried out on the basis of the
 Action brought on 10 June 1996 by the Federal Republic                      cessation volume recorded in respect of their purchaser,
 of Germany against the Commission of the European                           the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
                              Communities                                    under Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1637/91 of 13 June
                          ( Case C-195/96 )                                  1991 fixing compensation with regard to the reference
                                                                             quantities referred to in Article 5c of Regulation ( EEC )
                             ( 96/C 247/08 )
                                                                             No 804/68 ( 2 ) and compensation for the definitive
                                                                             discontinuation of milk production ( OJ No L 150 ,
An action against the Commission of the European
                                                                             1991 , p. 30 ) and to observe the principle of
 Communities was brought before the Court of Justice of the                  non-discrimination laid down in Article 40 ( 3 ) of the
 European Communities on 10 June 1996 by the Federal
                                                                             Treaty ;
Republic of Germany , represented by Ernst Roder,
Ministerialrat, and Bernd Kloke, Oberregierungsrat, of the
Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs , D-53107 Bonn .                   2 . order the French Republic to pay the costs .
The applicant claims that the Court should :                            Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
 1 . annul Decision K(96 ) 1203 final of the Commission of
      13 March 1 996 concerning the grant of State aid by the           The action concerns the situation arising in particular from
      Freistaat Bayern ( Free State of Bavaria ) to the ECSC            an order of 6 April 1 992 relating to the distribution of the
      steel undertaking Neuc Maxhiitte Stahlwerke GmbH ,                reference quantities freed pursuant to Decree No 91-835 of
      Sulzbach-Rosenberg;                                               30 August 1991 , published in the Official Journal of the
                                                                        French Republic of 3 May 1992 , p. 6123 .
2 . order the defendant to pay the costs .
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                     ( As regards the discriminatory distribution of the national
                                                                        reserve quantities )
— failure to comply with essential procedural formalities
     ( obligation to provide a statement of reasons in                 The principle of non-discrimination ( Article 40 ( 3 ) of the EC
     accordance with Article 15 of the ECSC Treaty ),                  Treaty ) prohibits any distribution of reference quantities
                                                                       whereby allocations to specified producers are made
— erroneous application of Articles 4 ( c ) and 83 of the              conditional on the volume of the quantities freed by other
     ECSC Treaty .                                                     producers supplying the same purchaser. This applies both
                                                                        in respect of the distribution of available funds arising from
The main arguments are the same as those in Case                       the discontinuance of activities and as regards funds
C-399/95 (').                                                           becoming available as a result of an across-the-board levy .
                                                                       Considerations connected with the need for decentralized
(') O J No C 77, 16 . 3 . 1996 , p . 5 .                               management, such as those cited by the French authorities ,
                                                                       cannot justify any failure to observe that principle .
                                                                       The Commission rejects the argument regarding the
Action brought on 11 June 1996 by the Commission of the                maintenance of a balance between different regions and
    European Communities against the French Republic                   different undertakings . Far from promoting a regional
                                                                       balance, the link established by the French rules between the
                         ( Case C-198/96 )                             level of the allocation of reference quantities within a
                            ( 96/C 247/09 )                            collection zone and the rate of discontinuation within that
                                                                       zone will result in the penalization of the most efficient
An action against the French Republic was brought before               regions .
the Court of Justice on 1 1 June 1 996 by the Commission of
the European Communities, represented by Xavier Lewis,
                                                                       ( As regards the failure to comply with Article 2 ( 4 ) ( a ) of
acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg
at the office of Carlos Gomez de la Cruz, Wagner Centre,
                                                                       Regulation No 1637/91 )
Kirchberg.
                                                                       The order of 6 April 1992 fails to observe the Member
The applicant claims that the Court should :                           States ' obligation to reconstitute the reference quantities
                                                                       reduced during the eighth period ( in France, 2,15% ).
1 . declare that, by setting up, in the context of the                 Although , according to Article 4 of that order, Onilait is to
     redistribution of the reference quantities freed as               reconstitute the reference quantities by making allocations