CELEX: C1999/246/60
Language: en
Date: 1999-08-28 00:00:00
Title: Order of the President of the Court of First Instance of 30 April 1999 in Case T-44/98 R II: Emesa Sugar (Free Zone) NV v Commission of the European Communities (Association of the overseas countries and territories - Decisions 91/482/EEC and 97/803/EC - Regulation (EC) No 2553/97 - Procedure for interim measures - Prima facie case - Urgency - Balancing of interests)

28.8.1999             EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                          C 246/29
Instance (First Chamber), composed of B. Vesterdorf, President           amended, in so far as the effect of those provisions is to limit
of the Chamber, J. Pirrung and M. Vilaras, Judges; H. Jung,              imports into the Community of sugar originating in the
Registrar, made an order on 29 March 1999, the operative                 overseas countries and territories — the President of the Court
part of which is as follows:                                             of First Instance made an order on 30 April 1999, the
                                                                         operative part of which is as follows:
1. There is no longer any need to adjudicate as to the failure to act.
2. The remainder of the application is dismissed as inadmissible.        1. Operation of Article 108b of Council Decision 91/482/EEC of
                                                                            25 July 1991 on the association of the overseas countries
3. Each party shall bear its own costs.                                     and territories with the European Economic Community, of
                                                                            Commission Regulation (EC) No 2553/97 of 17 December
                                                                            1997 on rules for issuing import licences for certain products
(1) OJ 1996 C 210.                                                          covered by CN codes 1701, 1702, 1703 and 1704 and
                                                                            qualifying as ACP/OCT originating products, and of the
                                                                            Commission Decision of 23 December 1997 (VI/51329) is
                                                                            suspended with respect to Emesa Sugar (Free Zone) NV.
                                                                         2. Emesa Sugar (Free Zone) NV is authorised to import into the
                                                                            Community milled sugar originating in the overseas countries
                                                                            and territories (OCT) within the meaning of Article 6 of Annex
ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST                                II to Decision 91/482, in accordance with the conditions set out
                           INSTANCE                                         in that decision in the version in force until 30 November 1997,
                                                                            subject to the following conditions and restrictions:
                        of 30 April 1999
                                                                            — The imports thus authorised are subject to the provisions of
in Case T-44/98 R II: Emesa Sugar (Free Zone) NV v                               Decision 91/482 applicable before the entry into force of
         Commission of the European Communities                                  Council Decision 97/803/EC of 24 November 1997
                                                                                 amending at mid-term Decision 91/482, and in particular
(Association of the overseas countries and territories —                         the obligation to obtain an import licence in accordance with
Decisions 91/482/EEC and 97/803/EC — Regulation (EC)                             Article 5(1) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88
No 2553/97 — Procedure for interim measures — Prima                              of 16 November 1988 laying down common detailed rules
        facie case — Urgency — Balancing of interests)                           for the application of the system of import and export licences
                                                                                 and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products, the
                                                                                 obligation to obtain an EUR-I certificate, and the obligation
                        (1999/C 246/60)                                          to provide a security of 3 euro/tonne, that security to be
                                                                                 released if the import is carried out in accordance with the
                                                                                 import licence;
                   (Language of the case: Dutch)
In Case T-44/98 R II: Emesa Sugar (Free Zone) NV, established               — The maximum import volume authorised is 7 500 tonnes
in Oranjestad, Aruba, represented by Gerard van der Wal,                         for the period of six months from the date of signature of
Advocate with a right of audience before the Hoge Raad der                       this order;
Nederlanden, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the
Chambers of Aloyse May, 31 Grand-Rue, supported by
Government of Aruba, represented by Pierre V.F. Bos and                     — The sugar of OCT origin imported into the Community must
Marco M. Slotboom, of the Rotterdam Bar, with an address for                     be sold at a price at least equal to the intervention price
service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Loesch and Wolter,                      referred to in Article 3(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC)
11 Rue Goethe, v Commission of the European Communities,                         No 1785/81 of 30 June 1981 on the common organisation
(Agent: Thomas van Rijn), supported by Council of the                            of the markets in the sugar sector;
European Union (Agents: Jürgen Huber and Guus Houttuin),
Kingdom of Spain (Agent: Mónica López-Monis Gallego) and
French Republic (Agent: Claude Chavance) — application for,                 — Emesa Sugar (Free Zone) NV shall be able to import the
first, suspension of operation of the Commission Decision of                     sugar of OCT origin on condition that it provides a security
23 December 1997 (VI/51329) rejecting a request by the                           in the form of a bank guarantee in the sum of USD 28 per
applicant for the issue of import licences in respect of sugar                   tonne of sugar which it wishes to import in accordance with
products pending a decision on the substance by the Court of                     this order. The security must be provided at the latest on the
First Instance and, second, interim measures prohibiting the                     date when the sugar is presented to customs for declaration
Commission pending that decision from applying Commission                        and must cover the tonnage so presented. The amount of the
Regulation (EC) No 2553/97 of 17 December 1997 on rules                          security to be provided per tonne of sugar shall be increased
for issuing import licences for certain products covered by CN                   or reduced:
codes 1701, 1702, 1703 and 1704 and qualifying as ACP/OCT
originating products (OJ 1997 L 349, p. 26) and/or Article
108b of Council Decision 91/482/EEC of 25 July 1991 on the                       — according to the rise or fall of the intervention price
association of the overseas countries and territories with the                        referred to in Article 3(1)(a) of Regulation No
European Economic Community (OJ 1991 L 263, p. 1), as                                 1785/81;
 ---pagebreak--- C 246/30                EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                     28.8.1999
        — according to the fall or rise of the guaranteed price                    ORDER OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
             referred to in Article 5(4) of Protocol No 8 to the Fourth
             ACP-EC Convention signed in Lomé on 15 December
             1989.
                                                                                                   of 29 April 1999
        The point of reference for the reduction of or increase in the
        amount of the security shall be the intervention price or the       in Case T-78/98: Unione Provinciale degli Agricoltori di
        guaranteed price on the date of signature of the present order;     Firenze and Others v Commission of the European
                                                                                                    Communities (1)
   — The total amount of the security provided shall be released,
        upon order of the judge hearing applications for interim
        measures, for the benefit of the Community if the Court of          (Action for annulment — Regulation (EC) No 644/98 —
        Justice within six months from the date of signature of the         Registration of a geographical indication — ‘Tuscan’ olive
        present order declares in its judgment in Case C-17/98 that            oil — Interest in bringing proceedings — Inadmissible)
        Article 1C8b is not invalid;
   — For the duration of the interim measure ordered, Emesa                                         (1999/C 246/61)
        Sugar (Free Zone) NV shall not be able to make any
        application for an import licence under Commission Regu-
        lation (EC) No 2553/97 of 17 December 1997 on rules
        for issuing import licences for certain products covered by CN
        codes 1701, 1702, 1703 and 1704 and qualifying as                                     (Language of the case: Italian)
        ACP/OCT originating products.
3. If within six months following the date of signature of the present      In Case T-78/98: Unione Provinciale degli Agricoltori di
   order the Court of Justice gives judgment in Case C-17/98:               Firenze, established in Florence, Italy, Unione Pratese degli
                                                                            Agricoltori, established at Prato, Italy, Consorzio Produttori
   — The present proceedings for interim measures (registered as            dell’Olio Tipico di Oliva della Provincia di Firenze, established
        Case T-44/98 R II) shall be resumed if the Court of Justice         in Florence, Francesco Miari Fulcis, residing at Fiesole, Italy,
        does not declare Article 108b of the OCT decision invalid,          Bonaccorso Gondi, residing at Pontassieve, Italy, Simone
        and the parties shall be invited to submit observations on the      Giannozzi, residing at Barberino Val d’Elsa, Italy, and Antonio
        Court ’s judgment. The steps which the judge hearing the            Morino, residing at Bagno a Ripoli, Italy, represented by
        application for interim measures intends to take in the             Vittorio Chierroni, of the Florence Bar, with an address for
        present proceedings shall be set out in a further order, it         service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Franco Colussi,
        being understood that Emesa Sugar (Free Zone) NV will be            36 Rue de Wiltz, against Commission of the European
        able to continue to import into the Community the sugar             Communities (Agents: José Luis Iglesias and Eugenio De March)
        delivered to it free on board before the date of the judgment       — application for annulment of Commission Regulation (EC)
        of the Court of Justice (i) up to a limit of 7 500 tonnes, (ii)     No 644/98 of 20 March 1998 supplementing the Annex to
        during a period of six months from the date of signature of         Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 on the registration of geographi-
        the present order and (iii) in accordance with the conditions       cal indications and designations of origin under the procedure
        set out in point 2 of the operative part;                           laid down in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No
                                                                            2081/92 (OJ 1998 L 87, p. 8), in so far as it provides for
                                                                            registration of the name ‘Tuscan’ as a Protected Geographical
   — The present order shall have effect until the end of the               Indication on the basis of a list of conditions which refers to
        six-month period if the Court of Justice declares Article 108b      additional geographical designations — the Court of First
        of the OCT decision invalid and the Court of First Instance         Instance (First Chamber), composed of B. Vesterdorf, President,
        has not given a decision in the main proceedings (registered        J. Pirrung and M. Vilaras, Judges; H. Jung, Registrar, made an
        as Case T-44/98).                                                   order on 29 April 1999, the operative part of which is as
                                                                            follows:
4. Subject to delivery of the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case
   C-17/98 before the end of the first period of six months referred        1. The action is dismissed as inadmissible.
   to by the present order, import into the Community of a quantity
   to be determined of sugar of OCT origin shall be authorised for
   a further period by means of an order which Emesa Sugar (Free            2. The applicants shall pay the costs.
   Zone) NV, acting in good time, will request the judge hearing
   the application for interim measures to adopt two months before
   the expiry of the first period of six months.
                                                                            (1) OJ C 234 of 25.7.1998.
5. Costs are reserved.