CELEX: C1996/197/18
Language: en
Date: 1996-07-06 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 3 May 1996 by the Kingdom of the Netherlands against the Commission of the European Communities (Case C-147/96)

6 . 7 . 96             I EN |                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                        No C 197/9
Action brought on 26 April 1996 by the Commission of the                       harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to
European Communities against the Federal Republic of                           turnover taxes ( 1 ), to be interpreted as including the services
                                     Germany                                   of an arbitrator ?
                            ( Case C- 1 3 9/96 )
                                ( 96/C 197/ 15                                 (!) OJ No L 145 , 13 . 6 . 1977, p . 1 ; EE 09 Fl , p . 54 .
An action against the Federal Republic of Germany was
brought before the Court of Justice of the European
Communities on 26 April 1996 by the Commission of the
European Communities, represented by Klaus-Dieter                              Action brought on 2 May 1996 by the Commission of the
Borchardt, of its Legal Service, with an address for service in                European Communities against the Federal Republic of
Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gômez de la Cruz, of the                                                      Germany
Legal Service, Wagner Centre C 254, Kirchberg.
                                                                                                         ( Case C-146/96)
                                                                                                            ( 96/C 197/17 )
The applicant claims that the Court should :
                                                                               An action against the Federal Republic of Germany was
1 . declare that, by failing within the prescribed period to                   brought before the Court of Justice of the European
       adopt the measures necessary in order to comply with                    Communities on 2 May 1996 by the Commission of the
       Directives       93/48/EEC ( 1 ),           93/49/EEC (2 )    and       European Communities, represented by Klaus-Dieter
       93/61 /EEC ( 3 ), the Federal Republic of Germany has                   Borchardt, of its Legal Service, with an address for service in
       failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty and                 Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gômez de la Cruz, of the
       under those Directives;                                                  Legal Service, Wagner Centre C 254, Kirchberg.
2 , order the defendant to pay the costs .                                     The applicant claims that the Court should :
The pleas in law and main arguments are the same as those                       1 , declare that, by failing within the prescribed period to
in Case C-135/96 (4 ); the time-limit for transposition                               adopt the measures necessary in order to comply with
 expired in each case on 31 December 1993 .                                           Council Directive 93/85/EEC of 4 October 1993 on the
                                                                                      control of potato ring rot { 1 ), the Federal Republic of
                                                                                      Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC
 H     OJ  No L 250 , 7 . 10 .    1993 , p .  1.                                      Treaty and under that Directive;
 (2 )  OJ  No L 250 , 7. 10 .      1993 , p . 9.
 (3 )  OJ  No L 250,  7 . 10 .     1993 , p . 19 .                              2 , order the defendant to pay the costs.
 (4)   OJ  No C 180 ,  22 . 6 .    1996 , p . 23 .
                                                                                The pleas in law and main arguments are the same as those
                                                                                in Case C-135/96 (2); the time-limit for transposition
                                                                                expired on 15 November 1993 .
                                                                                i 1 ) OJ No L 259 , 18 . 10 . 1993 , p . 1 .
                                                                                ( 2 ) OJ No C 180, 22 . 6 . 1996, p . 23 .
 Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht
 Rheinland-Pfalz by order of that court of 15 March 1996 in
      the case of Bernd von Hoffmann v. Finanzamt Trier
                              ( Case C-145 /96 )
                                  ( 96/C 197/ 16
                                                                                Action brought on 3 May 1996 by the Kingdom of the
                                                                                Netherlands against the Commission of the European
  Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                                                       Communities
  European Communities by an order of the Finanzgericht                                                    (Case C-147/96)
  ( Finance Court) Rheinland-Pfalz (Third Senate ) of
                                                                                                              ( 96/C 197/18 )
  15 March 1996 , which was received at the Court Registry
  on 3 May 1 996 , for a preliminary ruling in the case of Bernd
  von Hoffmann v . Finanzamt Trier on the following                              An action against the Commission of the European
  question :                                                                     Communities was brought before the Court of Justice of the
                                                                                 European Communities on 3 May 1996 by the Kingdom of
  Is Article 9 ( 2 ) ( e ) of Title VI ( third group : ' services of             the Netherlands, represented by Marc Fierstra and J. S. van
  consultants, engineers, consultancy bureaux, lawyers,                          den Oosterkamp, acting as agents .
  accountants and other similar services, as well as data
  processing and the supplying of information') of the Sixth                     The applicant claims that the Court should declare void the
   Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the                             Commission's decision communicated in its letter of
 ---pagebreak--- No C 197/10           EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                             6 . 7 . 96
26 February 1996 (*) and order the Commission to pay the                    of public health. The ministerial order of 7 February
costs .                                                                      1996 ( 2 ) constitutes a supplementary legal guarantee of
                                                                            this .
Pleas in law and main arguments:
                                                                       — Breach of Article 103 of Council Decision 91 /482/EEC
— Breach of Article 3 ( 1 ) ( a ) of Directive 92/46/EEC laying             on the association of the overseas countries and
    down the health rules for the production and placing on                 territories with the European Economic Community
   the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk and
   milk-based products                                                      As a result of the abovementioned ministerial order the
                                                                            authorities of the Dutch Antilles guarantee a level of
   The contested decision is based on irrelevant facts,                     protection identical to that provided by the relevant
   particularly in regard to the veterinary situation. As                   Community legislation. The requirements for the
   regards the processing of dairy products in the Dutch                    application of Article 103 are not therefore satisfied
   Antillean Dairy Industry, the inspectors ' report provided               because the export from the Dutch Antilles concerns
    for under Article 23 (4 ) of Directive 92/46/EEC                        exclusively products made from milk or milk products
   concludes that dairy products originating in the                         from Member States of the European Community.
    Community are processed in accordance with that
    Directive .                                                             In contrast with countries on the list of third countries
                                                                            established by Decision 94/70/EC or Decision
— Breach       of Article    31     of   Directive    92/46/EEC;             95/340/EC, the Dutch Antilles offer guarantees
    alternatively, breach of Article 190 of the EC Treaty                   regarding Chapter II of Directive 92/46/EEC . The
                                                                            failure, even so, to place the Dutch Antilles on the list of
   Although the Standing Veterinary Committee ( SVC )                       third countries for the purposes of Directive 92/46/EEC
    discussed the veterinary inspectors' report at its meeting              constitutes arbitrary discrimination . The contested
    on 13 and 14 February 1996 , it made no                                 decision is therefore contrary to Article 103 ( 2 ) of
    recommendations .       As     far   as   the    Netherlands            Decision 91 /482/EEC .
    Government is aware, a draft of the contested decision
    has also not been submitted to the SVC, as required by
    Article 31 of Directive 92/46/EEC .                                (*) Letter to the Minister President of the Dutch Antilles stating
                                                                            that the Dutch Antilles is not included in the list of third
                                                                            countries established in accordance with Article 23 of Council
— Breach of the principle that a party has a right to be                    Directive 92/46/EEC of 16 June 1992 laying down the health
    heard .                                                                 rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk,
                                                                            heat-treated milk and milk-based products ( OJ No L 268, 14 . 9 .
— Breach of the principle that measures must be                             1992 , p . 1 ).
    meticulously prepared .                                            (2 ) Order prohibiting the export of dairy products from the Dutch
                                                                            Antilles to the customs territory of the European Community
                                                                            without a licence from the Minister for public health and
— Breach of Article 2 ( 2 ) of the WTO agreement on the                     environmental hygiene. A licence is issued only if the production
    application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures                      has taken place in accordance with the procedures and in
                                                                            establishments equivalent to those described in Chapter II of
    The contested decision infringes the prohibition on                     Directive 92/46/EEC . Moreover, that licence is issued
    adopting sanitary measures in such a way that they may                  exclusively for products produced from materials originating in
    constitute a disguised restriction on international trade .             the Community or at least in countries on the list drawn up
                                                                            pursuant to Directive 92/46/EEC.
    The contested decision amounts to a complete
    prohibition on the import of dairy products originating
    in the Dutch Antilles, even though, according to the
    Commission's findings, the products comply with the
    applicable general principles and rules of Directive
     92/46/EEC .
— Breach of the principle of proportionality
                                                                       Appeal brought on 3 May 1996 by Roberto Galtieri against
    Antillean domestic milk production is negligibly small             the judgment delivered on 27 February 1996 by the First
     and is consumed exclusively on the local market. The              Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
                                                                       Communities in Case T-235 /94 between R. Galtieri and the
     establishment inspected uses hydrated milk fat and milk
     powder from the Community as the raw material for the                                    European Parliament ( J )
     preparation of its products. To apply to the Dutch                                          (Case C-150/96 P)
     Antilles the current requirements regarding the standard                                      ( 96/C 197/19 )
     and enforcement of veterinary legislation, which are
     relevant exclusively in the case of the use of milk from
     the establishment's own dairy herd or at least from dairy          An appeal against the judgment delivered on 27 February
     cattle elsewhere in the Dutch Antilles, is thus not                1996 by the First Chamber of the Court of First Instance of
     necessary in order to achieve the aim of Directive                 the European Communities in Case T-235/94 between R.
     92/46/EEC, namely to ensure a high level of protection             Galtieri and the European Parliament was brought before