CELEX: C2000/149/19
Language: en
Date: 2000-05-27 00:00:00
Title: Order of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 9 March 2000 in Case C-291/98 P: Sarrió SA v Commission of the European Communities (Application for the re-opening of the written procedure and the opening of the oral procedure)

27.5.2000                EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                             C 149/11
— in sectors of the public service where women are under-represented,       Tribunale di Genova (District Court, Genoa) (Italy) for a
    gives priority, where male and female candidates have equal             preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
    qualifications, to female candidates where that proves necessary        court between Vincenzo Farina and Credito Italiano SpA —
    for ensuring compliance with the objectives of the women’s              on the interpretation of Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty
    advancement plan, if no reasons of greater legal weight are             (now Articles 81 EC and 82 EC) in the light of certain uniform
    opposed, provided that that rule guarantees that candidatures are       bank rules which the Associazione Bancaria Italiana lays down
    the subject of an objective assessment which takes account of the       for its members in relation to the conclusion of contracts for
    specific personal situations of all candidates,                         the opening of current account credit facilities and all-
                                                                            embracing guarantee agreements — the Court of Justice
— prescribes that the binding targets of the women’s advancement            (Second Chamber), composed of R. Schintgen, President of the
    plan for temporary posts in the academic service and for academic       Chamber, G. Hirsch (Rapporteur) and M. Skouris, Judges;
    assistants must provide for a minimum percentage of women               D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar,
    which is at least equal to the percentage of women among                made an order on 28 January 2000, the operative part of
    graduates, holders of higher degrees and students in each               which is as follows:
    discipline,
                                                                            1. Uniform bank rules, inasmuch as they allow banks, in respect of
— in so far as its objective is to eliminate under-representation of            contracts for the opening of current account credit facilities, to
    women, in trained occupations in which women are under-                     modify at any moment the interest rate by reason of changes on
    represented and for which the State does not have a monopoly of             the money market, by means of a notice posted on their premises
    training, allocates at least half the training places to women,             or by such method as they consider most appropriate, do not
    unless despite appropriate measures for drawing the attention of            have as their object or effect the restriction of competition within
    women to the training places available there are not enough                 the meaning of Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article
    applications from women,                                                    81(1) EC);
— where male and female candidates have equal qualifications,               2. Uniform bank rules relating to the all-embracing guarantee
    guarantees that qualified women who satisfy all the conditions              covering the opening of current account credit facilities and
    required or laid down are called to interview, in sectors in which          derogating from the general law applied to guarantees, such as
    they are under-represented,                                                 those at issue in the main proceedings, are not capable, taken as
                                                                                a whole, of affecting trade between Member States within the
— relating to the composition of employees’ representative bodies               meaning of Article 85(1) of the Treaty.
    and administrative and supervisory bodies, recommends that the
    legislative provisions adopted for its implementation take into         3. The application of those uniform bank rules does not constitute
    account the objective that at least half the members of those               an abuse of a dominant position within the meaning of Article
    bodies must be women.                                                       86 of the EC Treaty (now Article 82 EC).
                                                                            (1) OJ C 181 of 14.6.1997.
(1) OJ C 199 of 28.6.1997.
                                                                                                 ORDER OF THE COURT
                    ORDER OF THE COURT
                                                                                                       (Fifth Chamber)
                         (Second Chamber)
                                                                                                      of 9 March 2000
                         of 28 January 2000                                 in Case C-291/98 P: Sarrió SA v Commission of the
                                                                                                European Communities (1)
in Case C-138/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunale di Genova): Vincenzo Farina v Credito                         (Application for the re-opening of the written procedure and
                            Italiano SpA (1)                                                the opening of the oral procedure)
(Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure — Manifestly                                                 (2000/C 149/19)
                          identical question)
                                                                                                 (Language of the case: Italian)
                           (2000/C 149/18)
                                                                            (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                    (Language of the case: Italian)                                             in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-138/97: reference to the Court of Justice under                   In Case C-291/98 P Sarrió SA, established in Barcelona (Spain),
Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the                  represented by A. Mazzoni, of the Milan Bar, M. Siragusa, of
 ---pagebreak--- C 149/12                 EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                         27.5.2000
the Rome Bar, and F.M. Moretti, of the Venice Bar, with an                  exceptional cases since measures of that kind restrict trade
address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Elvinger,              between Member States. The importer of a food product must
Hoss & Prussen, 2 Place Winston Churchill, appeal against the               be able to choose between maintaining the name under which
judgment of the Court of First Instance of the European                     the product is sold in the Member State of production or
Communities (Third Chamber, Extended Composition) of                        adopting the name under which similar products are sold in
14 May 1998 in Case T-334/94 Sarrió v Commission [1998]                    the Member State of importation (1). Such freedom of choice
ECR II-1439, seeking to have that judgment set aside, the other             may only be restricted if the product presented under a
party to the proceedings being: Commission of the European                  particular name is so remote, as regards its composition or
Communities (Agent: R. Lyal, assisted by A. Dal Ferro) — the                manufacture, from the goods usually known by that name in
Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of D.A.O. Edward, President                 the Community that it could not be regarded as falling into
of the Chamber, L. Sevón, P. Jann, H. Ragnemalm and                        the same category (2).
M. Wathelet (Rapporteur), Judges, Advocate General: J. Mischo,
Registrar: R. Grass, made an order on 9 March 2000, the
operative part of which is as follows:                                      Chocolate containing up to 5 % vegetable fat other than cocoa
                                                                            butter produced in six Member States meets, as far as cocoa-
1. The requests by Sarrió SA that a hearing be held and, in the            related ingredients are concerned, the same composition
    alternative, that it be authorised to lodge a reply are rejected;       requirements as chocolate which contains no vegetable fat, the
                                                                            only difference being the presence of up to 5 % of such
                                                                            substances; it is accepted under the name ‘chocolate’ in almost
2. The costs are reserved.
                                                                            all the Member States and it is manufactured under that name
                                                                            in six of them. It is referred to in Directive 73/241/EC itself by
(1) OJ C 299 of 26.9.1998.                                                  that name. Accordingly, the Commission considers that it
                                                                            cannot be alleged that the presence of such substances
                                                                            significantly alters the nature of the product to such an extent
                                                                            that the name ‘chocolate’ is misleading as to its essential
                                                                            characteristics. As regards consumer protection, the Com-
                                                                            mission considers that the inclusion on the label of a neutral
                                                                            and objective statement which informs consumers of the
                                                                            presence of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter is the best
                                                                            way of ensuring the free circulation of those products in Spain
Action brought on 14 January 2000 by the Commission
                                                                            whilst at the same time ensuring that Spanish consumers are
of the European Communities against the Kingdom of
                                                                            protected.
                                 Spain
                            (Case C-12/00)                                  (1) Point 18 of Communication 89/C 271/03 on the free movement
                                                                                of foodstuffs within the Community — OJ 1989 C 271, p. 3.
                           (2000/C 149/20)                                  (2) The conditions under which a Member State may legitimately
                                                                                reject the use of a name liable to mislead consumers are set out in
                                                                                the Commission Communication on trade names of food products
An action against the Kingdom of Spain was brought before                       — OJ 1991 C 270, p. 2.
Court of Justice on 14 January 2000 by the Commission of
the European Communities, represented by Gregorio Valero
Jordana, of its Legal Service, acting as Agent, with an address
for service in Luxembourg at the office of C. Gómez de la
Cruz, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.
The applicant claims that the Court of Justice should:
— Declare that, by prohibiting cocoa and chocolate products                 Action brought on 27 January 2000 by the Commission
    to which vegetable fats other than cocoa butter have been               of the European Communities against the French Republic
    added and which have been lawfully produced in those
    Member States in which the addition thereof is permitted,                                          (Case C-24/00)
    from being marketed in Spain under the name used for
    their marketing in the Member State in which they
    originate, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its                                          (2000/C 149/21)
    obligations under Article 28 EC;
— Order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.                              An action against the French Republic was brought before the
                                                                            Court of Justice of the European Communities on 27 January
                                                                            2000 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                                                                            represented by Richard Wainwright, Principal Legal Adviser,
Pleas and principal arguments                                               and Olivier Couvert-Castéra, a national civil servant seconded
                                                                            to the Legal Service, acting as Agents, with an address for
Infringement of Article 28 EC: the obligation to change the                 service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la
name under which a product is sold can only be justified in                 Cruz, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.