CELEX: C1997/318/14
Language: en
Date: 1997-10-18 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 20 August 1997 by the Kingdom of the Netherlands against the Council of the European Union (Case C-301/97)

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 .