CELEX: C2003/135/14
Language: en
Date: 2003-06-07 00:00:00
Title: Case C-100/03: Action brought on 4 March 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain against the Council of the European Union

7.6.2003               EN                       Official Journal of the European Union                                            C 135/9
      is not possible is the introduction, by publication, of                  limits which do not exist either for access by French
      amendments of the text approved by the legislature since                 vessels to Spanish coastal waters or for access by vessels
      to do so presupposes a usurpation of its powers.                         of the remaining Member States to the coastal waters of
                                                                               other Member States.
( 1) OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10.                                       —      Infringement of the Act of Accession of Spain: following
( 2) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 49.                                              the abolition of limits on access by Spanish vessels to
                                                                               waters under French jurisdiction outside the 12-mile zone
                                                                               upon expiry of the transitional period provided for in the
                                                                               Act of Accession, there is no justification for maintaining
                                                                               the 12-mile derogations. There are no specific measures
                                                                               for access to pelagic species in that zone that might
                                                                               require special management and, furthermore, catches of
                                                                               those pelagic species are taken by the same type of vessels
                                                                               (Cerco).
                                                                               In short, the maintenance of a restrictive and discriminat-
Action brought on 28 February 2003 by the Kingdom of                           ory arrangement for access by Spanish vessels to the
      Spain against the Council of the European Union                          waters of the French 12-mile zone in the Atlantic
                                                                               beyond the transitional period provided for in the Act of
                                                                               Accession, and a derogation from equivalent rules on
                         (Case C-91/03)                                        access to French waters in the Atlantic outside the
                                                                               12 miles in issue, are contrary to the restrictive and
                                                                               limited nature required of any exception to a general rule
                        (2003/C 135/13)                                        of the Treaty, a fortiori when what is being limited is a
                                                                               principle as essential as the principle of non-discrimi-
                                                                               nation on ground of nationality and, infringes the very
                                                                               essence of the provisions of an Act of Accession.
An action against the Council of the European Union was
brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-            (1 ) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.
ties on 28 February 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain, represented           (2 ) Council Regulation of 20 December 1992 establishing a Com-
by Nuria Díaz Abad, Abogado del Estado, with an address for                  munity system for fisheries and aquaculture, OJ L 389,
service in Luxembourg.                                                       31.12.1992, p. 1.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
—     annul point 6 of Annex I to Council Regulation 2371/
      2002 ( 1) of 20 December 2002 on the conversation and
      sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the
      Common Fisheries Policy.
—     order the Council to pay the costs.                               Action brought on 4 March 2003 by the Kingdom of
                                                                              Spain against the Council of the European Union
                                                                                                 (Case C-100/03)
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                                                 (2003/C 135/14)
—     Infringement of the principle of non-discrimination:
      during the negotiations for Regulation 2371/2002, Spain
      sought amendment of point 6 of Annex I in order to
      remove the restriction applying to its vessels in the 6 to
      12 mile zone of the Atlantic waters off France deriving
      from the Act of Accession and to balance the conditions           An action against the Council of the European Union was
      of access to that zone with those enjoyed by French               brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communi-
      vessels in Spanish waters. However, the Council decided           ties on 4 March 2003 by the Kingdom of Spain, represented
      to leave point 6 of Annex I unaltered by comparison with          by N. Díaz Abad, Abogado del Estado, with an address for
      that recognised in Regulation 3760/92 (2) and thus to set         service in Luxembourg.
 ---pagebreak--- C 135/10               EN                        Official Journal of the European Union                                             7.6.2003
The applicant claims that the Court should:                                     adjusted according to the evolution of the various
                                                                                elements. The completion of the transitional period
                                                                                provided for in the Act of Accession of Spain and,
—     annul Regulation (EC) No 2341/2002 ( 1) of 20 December                    consequently, Spain’s full integration in the Common
      2002 fixing for 2003 the fishing opportunities and                        Fisheries Policy, require that this allocation key be
      associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups                  adjusted in so far as it refers to catches in the Community
      of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for                   waters of the North Sea, and that Spanish vessels be
      Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are                  allowed a percentage of the quotas distributed before
      required, in so far as it does not allocate to Spain quotas               Spain’s accession, account being taken of the criteria of
      in proportion to the fishing opportunities in North Sea                   the 1983 allocation key, namely historical fishing activi-
      waters allocated before its Accession;                                    ties (as the Spanish fleet engaged in significant fishing
                                                                                activities in those waters which were stopped by the
                                                                                transitional prohibition on access contained in the Act of
—     order the Council to pay the costs.                                       Accession), the loss of fishing opportunities in the waters
                                                                                of non-member countries and the special activities of
                                                                                zones especially dependent on fisheries and related
                                                                                activities.
                                                                                In connection with this last criterion for setting the
                                                                                allocation key, account must be taken of the fact that, in
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                                accordance with recitals 16, 17 and 18 of the Preamble
                                                                                to Regulation 2371/2002 (2), the concept of relative
                                                                                stability must be extended, account being taken, inter
—     Infringement of the principle of non-discrimination: with
                                                                                alia, of the ‘dependence of certain coastal communities
      the completion of the transitional period on 31 December
                                                                                on fishing’ and the ‘particular needs of regions where
      2002, the situation of Spanish fishermen is the same as
                                                                                local populations are especially dependent on fisheries
      that of fishermen of the rest of the Member States and
                                                                                and related activities as decided by the Council in its
      they must enjoy equal access to waters and resources.
                                                                                Resolution of 3 November 1976’; this means that when
      Although before 2003 Spain could not rely on the fishing
                                                                                allocating quotas, in accordance with the principle of
      activities which Spanish vessels carried out in the waters
                                                                                relative stability, it is necessary only to take into account
      of the North Sea during the reference period 1973-1978,
                                                                                the regions whose local populations are at that time
      as the exceptional rules laid down in the Act of Accession
                                                                                especially dependent on fisheries and related activities,
      applied, those activities must now be taken into consider-
                                                                                but that, owing to developments in the socio-economic
      ation for the purpose of adjusting the allocation key,
                                                                                situation of the Member States, that dependence has now
      since only in this way will the system not be contrary to
                                                                                disappeared.
      the principle of non-discrimination. Thus the fishermen
      of each Member State would be obliged to endeavour to
      limit catches in proportion to what they caught before
      the entry into force of the Community system of conser-            (1 ) OJ L 356, 31.12.2002, p. 12.
      vation of resources.                                               (2 ) Council Regulation of 20 December 2002 on the conservation
                                                                              and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the
                                                                              Common Fisheries Policy, OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.
—     Infringement of the Act of Accession of Spain: upon
      completion of the transitional period, Spain is fully
      integrated into the Common Fisheries Policy, so that a
      new allocation key for the resources of the North Sea is
      required, based on the criteria used in 1983: historical
      catches, loss of fishing opportunities in the fishing
      grounds of non-member countries and the concept of
      zones dependent on fisheries. The failure to allocate to
      Spain in the contested regulation a share of the quotas in
      the Community waters of the North Sea allocated before             Action brought on 19 March 2003 by the Commission of
      its accession has the effect of extending the transitional         the European Communities against the Kingdom of Spain
      period beyond that provided for in the Act and of
      infringing the provisions thereof.
                                                                                                     (Case C-121/03)
—     Infringement of the principle of relative stability: The
      principle of relative stability is something distinct from                                     (2003/C 135/15)
      the allocation key fixed by the Council in 1983 in order
      to apply that principle. The principle of relative stability
      is of general scope and applies to the allocation in
      national quotas of all catch opportunities subject to a
      TAC available to the Community, while the allocation               An action against the Kingdom of Spain was brought before
      balance established in the 1983 allocation key may be              the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 19 March