CELEX: C1997/318/13
Language: en
Date: 1997-10-18 00:00:00
Title: Appeal brought on 20 August 1997 by Tiercé Ladbroke SA against the judgment delivered on 12 June 1997 by the Second Chamber (extended composition) of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities in Case T-504/93 between Tiercé Ladbroke SA and the Commission of the European Communities, supported by the Société d'encouragement et des steeple-chases de France and others (Case C-300/97 P)

18 . 10 . 97             EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                   C 318/7
Action brought on 13 August 1997 by the Commission of                   The applicant claims that the Court should:
 the European Communities against the Kingdom of Spain
                           ( Case C-298/97 )                            — declare that, by failing to adopt within the prescribed
                                                                             period all the provisions necessary to comply fully and
                             ( 97/C 318/11 )                                 properly with Council Directive 86/609/EEC of
                                                                             24 November 1986 on the approximation of laws,
                                                                             regulations and administrative provisions of the
An action against the Kingdom of Spain was brought                           Member States regarding the protection of animals
before the Court of Justice of the European Communities                      used for experimental and other scientific purposes (')
on 13 August 1997 by the Commission of the European                          and in particular Articles 19 ( 5 ) and 6 ( 1 ) of the
Communities, represented by Fernando Castillo de la                          Directive, the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil
Torre, acting as Agent, with an address . for service in                     its obligations pursuant to the third paragraph of
Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gomez de la Cruz, of                      Article 189 of the EC Treaty and Article 25 ( 1 ) of
its Legal Service, Wagner Centre C 254 .                                     Directive 86/609/EEC,
The applicant claims that the Court should:                             — declare, in the alternative, that, by failing to inform
                                                                             the Commission forthwith of such measures, the
                                                                             Portuguese Republic failed to fulfil its obligations
— declare that, by failing to draw up or communicate to                      under those provisions,
     the Commission, within the period prescribed therefor,
     the programmes provided for ip Article 6 of Council                — order the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs .
     Directive 91 / 157/EEC of 18 March 1991 on batteries
     and accumulators containing certain dangerous
     substances ('), the Kingdom of Spain has failed to                 Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
     fulfil its obligations thereunder,
                                                                        Under the third paragraph of Article 189 of the EC Treaty,
                                                                        a Directive is to be binding, as to the result to be
— order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs .                         achieved, upon each Member State to which it is
                                                                        addressed. The Commission finds that, despite the expiry
                                                                        of the time limits laid down in Article 25 of Directive 86/
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                     609/EEC on 24 November 1989, the Portuguese Republic
                                                                        has still not adopted all the implementing provisions into
                                                                        its legal system .
The mandatory nature of the provisions of the third
paragraph of Article 189 and the first paragraph of Article
5 of the EC Treaty requires Member States to adopt the                  H OJ L 358 , 18 . 12 . 1986 , p. 1 .
measures necessary to transpose Directives addressed to
them into their domestic law before the expiry of the
period prescribed for doing so . That period expired on
17 September 1992 without Spain having communicated
the programmes which should have been drawn up for an
initial period of four years as from March 1993 .                       Appeal brought on 20 August 1997 by Tierce Ladbroke
                                                                        SA against the judgment delivered on 12 June 1997 by the
C ) OJ L 78 , 26 . 3 . 1991 , p . 38 .                                  Second Chamber ( extended composition ) of the Court
                                                                        of First Instance of the European Communities in
                                                                        Case T-504/93 between Tierce Ladbroke SA and the
                                                                        Commission of the European Communities, supported
                                                                        by the Societe d'encouragement et des steeple-chases de
                                                                                                France and others
                                                                                               ( Case C-300/97 P)
Action brought on 19 August 1997 by the Commission                                                ( 97/C 318/13 )
of the European Communities against the Portuguese
                                  Republic
                           ( Case C-299/97)                             An appeal against the judgment delivered on 12 June 1997
                                                                        by the Second Chamber ( extended composition ) of the
                             ( 97/C 318/12 )                            Court of First Instance of the European Communities in
                                                                        Case T-504/93 between Tierce Ladbroke SA and the
                                                                        Commission of the European Communities, supported by
An action against the Portuguese Republic was brought                   the Societe d'encouragement et des steeple-chases de
before the Court of Justice of the European Communities                 France and others, was brought before the Court of
on 19 August 1997 by the Commission of the European                     Justice of the European Communities on 20 August 1997
Communities, represented by Lena Strom and Francisco                    by Tierce Ladbroke SA, represented by Christopher Vajda,
de Sousa Fialho, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents,                QC, and Stephen Kon, Solicitor, with an address for
with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of              service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Winandy &
Carlos Gomez de la Cruz, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.                      Err, 60, avenue Gaston Diderich .
 ---pagebreak--- C 318/8                EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                    18 . 10 . 97
The appellant claims that the Court should:                          The applicant claims that the Court should:
1 . allow this appeal and set aside the judgment of the              1 . annul Council Regulation (EC) No 1036/97 of 2 June
     Court of First Instance in Case T-504/93 ;                             1997 introducing safeguard measures in respect of
                                                                            imports of rice originating in the overseas countries
                                                                            and territories;
2.   annul the Decision contained in the Commission 's
     letter of 24 June 1993 ; and                                    2 . order the Council to pay the costs.
3 . order the Commission to pay the costs of Tierce                  Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
     Ladbroke both in the proceedings before the Court of
     First Instance and before this Court .
                                                                     — Breach of the principle of legal certainty: the Council
                                                                            has failed to specify what the legal position will be
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                         once the tariff quota laid down in Article 1 of
                                                                            Regulation ( EC ) No 1036/97 has been exhausted.
                                                                            Individuals do not know what their rights and
Infringement of Community law                                               obligations will be after that quota has been
                                                                            exhausted .
— in that the Court of First Instance failed to correctly
     define the relevant product market. It upheld the               — Infringement of Article 7 ( 5 ) of the Agreement on
     approach of the Commission and relied on a spurious                    Safeguards (') and of Article 228 ( 7) of the EC Treaty:
     'comparison ' between the principal betting market and                 Article 7 ( 5 ) of the Agreement is applicable to
    the ancillary market rather than to consider whether                    relations between the Community and OCTs which,
     French sound and pictures were substitutable from the                  by virtue of the Agreement establishing the World
     demand and supply side,                                               Trade Organization, are in the same position as third
                                                                            countries . The Kingdom of the Netherlands approved
                                                                           the Agreement establishing the World Trade
— in that the Court of First Instance failed to appreciate                  Organization on behalf of the Netherlands Antilles
     the legal significance of the decision of the societes de              and Aruba by National Law of 21 December 1994 .
     courses to permit the PMU, via the PMI, to licence
     French sound and pictures in one Member State
     outside France, namely Germany, and the refusal to              — Infringement of Article 109 ( 1 ) of Council Decision
     allow an equivalent licence to be granted in another                   91 /482/EEC of 25 July 1991 on the association of the
     Member State outside France, namely Belgium.                           overseas countries and territories with the European
     Additionally, the motive for such refusal was to limit                 Economic Community ( 2 ), hereinafter 'the OCT
    competition from the Ladbroke group, both in respect                   Decision ' ( see Case C-110/97, OJ C 181 , 14 . 6. 1997,
     of the PMU's Belgian ally, the Belgian PMU and                        p. 1 ).
    generally. Whether such conduct is to be termed
     discriminatory, arbitrary or a partitioning of the              — Infringement of Article 109 ( 2 ) of the OCT Decision
    common market is of less importance than the                            ( see Case C-110/97).
    conclusion that such conduct cannot be objectively
    justified.
                                                                     — Misuse of powers: since the Commission has not
                                                                            succeeded in persuading the Council to accept the
                                                                           amendment of the OCT Decision advocated by it, it is
                                                                            attempting to achieve one of the most significant
                                                                            objectives of the review of the OCT Decision proposed
                                                                            by it, namely the cessation of imports of rice
Action brought on 20 August 1997 by the Kingdom of the                     originating in the OCTs or at least a substantial
   Netherlands against the Council of the European Union                   reduction thereof, by other, impermissible means .
                        ( Case C-301/97
                                                                     — Infringement of Annex IV to the OCT Decision ( see
                          ( 97/C 318/14 )                                   Case C-110/97).
An action against the Council of the European Union was              — Infringement of Article 190 of the EC Treaty ( see Case
                                                                            C-110/97).
brought before the Court of Justice of the European
Communities on 20 August 1997 by the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, represented by J. S. van den Oosterkamp and             ( ) See Annex 1A to the Agreement establishing the World Trade
M. A. Fierstra, Assistant Legal Advisers in the Ministry of                Organization.
                                                                     ( 2 ) OJ L 263 , 19 . 9 . 1991 , p. 1 .
Foreign Affairs, acting as Agents, with an address for
service in Luxembourg at the Netherlands Embassy, 5 Rue
C. M. Spoo .