CELEX: C1997/131/54
Language: en
Date: 1997-04-26 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 27 February 1997 by Pearle BV, Hans Prijsoptiek Franchise BV, Van der Wiel BV, Prins Brillen BV, Brilservice BV and Optical Retail Group BV against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-40/97)

26 . 4 . 97            EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 131 /23
Action brought on 27 February 1997 by T. Port GmbH &c                 schaft und Ernahrung, for the short-term issue to it, for
         Co. against the Commission of the European                   the purpose of securing its economic survival which it
                           Communities                                considered to be threatened by events amounting to force
                         ( Case T-39/97)                              majeure, of import licences in addition to the import
                                                                      licences issued by the national authorities or to be issued
                          ( 97/C 131/53 )                             by them for the years 1997 to 1999 . It sought those
                                                                      further import licences as a transitional measure under
                                                                      Article 30 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 404/93 to compensate
                (Language of the case: German)                        for hardship which, without fault on its part, has befallen
                                                                      it as a result of the provision relating to reference periods
                                                                      in Article 19 ( 2 ) of that regulation.
An action against the Commission of the European
Communities was brought before the Court of First
Instance of the European Communities on 27 February
1997 by T. Port GmbH & Co ., Hamburg, represented by                  The applicant now seeks a declaration that the
Gerd Meier, Rechtsanwalt, Cologne, with an address for                Commission has infringed the abovementioned provisions
service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Marc Baden,                  of Regulation ( EEC ) No 404/93 by failing to grant its
34b Rue Philippe II.                                                  applications and claims in the result that its fundamental
                                                                      rights protected by Community law, namely the right to
                                                                      property and the freedom to exercise a profession, have
The applicant claims that the Court should :                          been infringed by that Regulation and that the
                                                                      Commission had been obliged to adopt transitional
                                                                      measures to prevent those fundamental rights from being
— declare that the Commission has breached its duty                   violated .
     under Article 30 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 404/93 by
     failing to grant the application made by the applicant
     on 19 December 19 96 for the purpose of securing its
     economic survival as an importer of bananas, in which
     it sought, in addition to the licences issued by the
     national authorities or to be issued by them for 1997,
     1998 and 1999, the issue, for the short term:                    Action brought on 27 February 1997 by Pearle BV, Hans
                                                                      Prijsoptiek Franchise BV, Van der Wiel BV, Prins Brillen
                                                                      BV, Brilservice BV and Optical Retail Group BV against
     in 1997, of import licences for an operator in
                                                                              the Commission of the European Communities
     category A in respect of 100 308 227 kg;
                                                                                                ( Case T-40/97)
     in 1988 , of like import licences in respect of                                              ( 97/C 131/54 )
     102 911 007 kg;
                                                                                       (Language of the case: Dutch)
     in 1999, of like import licences in respect of
     103 994 145 kg; and
                                                                       An action against the Commission of the European
     in 2000, of like import licences in respect of                    Communities was brought before the Court of First
     107 628 379 kg,                                                   Instance of the European Communities on 27 February
                                                                       1997 by Pearle BV, of Soesterberg (Netherlands), Hans
                                                                       Prijsoptiek Franchise BV, of Rotterdam (Netherlands ), Van
     as    a  transitional    measure   under   Article  30   of       der Wiel BV, of Leiden (Netherlands ), Prins Brillen BV, of
     Regulation ( EEC ) No 404/93 to compensate for                    Amsterdam (Netherlands ), Brilservice BV, of Amsterdam
     hardship which, without fault on its part, has befallen           ( Netherlands ), and Optical Retail Group BV, of Eindhoven
     it as a result of the provision relating to reference             (Netherlands ), represented by S. N. Vlaar, of the
                                                                       Amsterdam Bar.
     periods in Article 19 ( 2 ) of that Regulation;
 — order the Commission to pay the costs.                              The applicants claim that the Court should:
 Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
                                                                       — annul the decision of the Commission, contained in a
                                                                            letter of 31 December 1996, refusing to act on their
 The applicant, a small undertaking which trades in                        complaint of 29 December 1995 ,
 bananas, formally applied to the European Commission
 by letter of 16 December 1996, following the judgment of
 the Court of Justice of 26 November 1996 in Case C-68/                — order the Commission to act on the applicants'
 95 T. Port GmbH & Co . v. Bundesanstalt fur Landwirt­                      complaint.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 131 /24             EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                 26 . 4 . 97
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                       Partial removal from the register in Joined Cases T-366/94
                                                                                                     and Others (M
The applicants are all engaged in business as opticians                                              ( 97/C 131/56 )
and are, as required by law, members of the
Hoofdbedrijfsschap Ambachten (Trades and Crafts                           By order of 4 February 1997, the President of the First
Council ). That body, a public corporation, has imposed a                 Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
levy on the applicants pursuant to rules laid down in that                Communities has ordered the removal of Case T-20/95
regard, the proceeds from which are used for collective                   from the list of cases in Joined Cases T-366/94 and
advertising on behalf of the opticians' trade. In their                   Others : Hilde Diekmeier and Others v. Council of the
complaint to the Commission, the applicants maintain                      European Union and Commission of the European
that those ( non-notified ) rules are contrary to Article 92 of           Communities .
the EC Treaty.
                                                                          H OJ No C 74, 25 . 3 . 1995 .
They assert, in opposition to the contested decision, not
only that it infringes procedural requirements but also that
it is not open to the Commission to exempt aid measures
from the obligation to give prior notification, let alone to
do so with retroactive force ('). In addition, the
Commission has failed to take action in respect of an                            Removal from the register of Case T-199/95 (')
infringement of Article 54 ( 3 ) (h ) of the EC Treaty.                                              ( 97/C 131/57)
(') The provision in issue is the de minimis rule contained in the        By order of 22 January 1997 the President of the Third
    Community guidelines on State aid for small and medium­               Chamber, Extended Composition, of the Court of First
    sized enterprises ( SMEs ) ( OJ No C 213 , 19 . 8 . 1992 , p. 2 ).
                                                                          Instance of the European Communities has ordered the
                                                                          removal from the register of Case T-199/95 : Nouveau
                                                                          Garage SA and Others v. Commission of the European
                                                                          Communities .
                                                                          (') OJ No C 351 , 30 . 12 . 1995 .
Partial removal from the register in Joined Cases T-77/93
                           and Others (')
                           ( 97/C 131/55 )
By order of 4 February 1997, the President of the First
Chamber, Extended Composition, of the Court of First                            Removal from the register of Case T-137/96 (')
Instance of the European Communities has ordered the                                                 ( 97/C 131/58 )
removal of Case T-77/93 from the list of Joined Cases
T-77/93 and Others : Werner Hiilseberg and Others v.                      By order of 23 January 1997 the President of the Fifth
Council of the European Union and Commission of the                       Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
European Communities.                                                     Communities has ordered the removal from the register of
                                                                          Case T-137/96 : Valio Oy v. Commission of the European
(') OJ No C 178 , 18 . 7. 1990.                                           Communities .
                                                                          (') OJ No C 318 , 26 . 10 . 1996 .