CELEX: C1998/094/47
Language: en
Date: 1998-03-28 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE of 4 February 1998 in Case T-246/93: Günther Bühring v. Council of the European Union and Commission of the European Communities (Action for damages - Non-contractual liability - Milk - Additional levy - Reference quantity - Conversion undertaking - Forced sale of holding - Damage - Causal link - Limitation period)

C 94/18              EN                Official Journal of the European Communities                                     28.3.98
                                                 COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE                           JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
                     of 4 February 1998                                                of 27 January 1998
in Case T-246/93: Günther Bühring v. Council of the               in Case T-67/94: Ladbroke Racing Ltd v. Commission of
European Union and Commission of the European                                     the European Communities (1)
                       Communities (1)
                                                                  (Action for annulment Ð State aid Ð Market in bet-
(Action for damages Ð Non-contractual liability Ð Milk            taking Ð Article 92(1) and (3) of the EC Treaty Ð
Ð Additional levy Ð Reference quantity Ð Conversion               Definition of aid Ð Tax measures Ð Obligation to
undertaking Ð Forced sale of holding Ð Damage Ð                                               refund)
              Causal link Ð Limitation period)
                                                                                           (98/C 94/48)
                         (98/C 94/47)
                                                                                 (Language of the case: English)
               (Language of the case: German)
                                                                  In Case T-67/94: Ladbroke Racing Ltd, established in
In Case T-246/93: Günther Bühring, residing at Elsfleth           London, represented by Jeremy Lever QC, Christopher
(Germany), represented by Hagen Lichtenberg, Bergius-             Vajda, of the Bar of England and Wales, and Stephen Kon,
straûe 11, Bremen (Germany) v. Council of the European            Solicitor, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the
Union (Agents: Arthur Brautigam, Hans-Jürgen Rabe and             Chambers of Winandy & Err, 60 Avenue Gaston Diderich,
Georg M. Berrisch) and Commission of the European                 against Commission of the European Communities
Communities (Agents: Dierk Booû, Hans-Jürgen Rabe and             (Agents: Michel Nolin and Richard Lyal), supported by
Georg M. Berrisch) Ð application pursuant to Article 178          French Republic (Agents: Catherine de Salins and Jean-
and the second paragraph of Article 215 of the EC Treaty          Marc Belorgey) Ð application principally for annulment
for compensation for the losses sustained by the applicant        of Commission Decision 93/625/EEC of 22 September
as a result of the application of Council Regulation (EEC)        1993 concerning aid granted by the French authorities to
No 857/84 of 31 March 1984 adopting general rules for             the Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) and to the racecourse
the application of the levy referred to in Article 5c of          undertakings (OJ L 300, 7.12.1993, p. 15) Ð the Court of
Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 in the milk and milk                   First Instance (Second Chamber, Extended Composition),
products sector (OJ L 90, 1.4.1984, p. 13), as                    composed of: C. W. Bellamy, President, B. Vesterdorf, C. P.
supplemented by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1371/              BrieÈt, A. Kalogeropoulos and A. Potocki, Judges; B.
84 of 16 May 1984 (OJ L 132, 18.5.1984, p. 11) Ð the              Pastor, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given
Court (First Chamber), composed of: A. Saggio, President,         a judgment on 27 January 1998, in which it:
V. Tiili and R. M. Moura Ramos, Judges; A. Mair,
Administrator, has given a judgment on 4 February 1998
in which it:
                                                                  1. annuls Commission Decision 93/625/EEC of
                                                                       22 September 1993 concerning aid granted by the
                                                                       French authorities to the Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU)
1. dismisses the application;
                                                                       and to the racecourse undertakings in so far as it
                                                                       found that various advantages granted to the PMU,
                                                                       through (a) the amendment in 1985 and 1986 of the
                                                                       allocation of the levies, (b) cash-flow benefits granted
                                                                       to it by the authorisation to defer payment of certain
2. orders the applicant to pay the costs.                              levies on betting, (c) access to unclaimed winnings,
                                                                       and (d) exemption from the one-month delay rule for
                                                                       the deduction of value added tax, after 1 January
(1) OJ C 166, 17.6.1993.                                               1989, do not constitute State aid for the purposes of
                                                                       Article 92(1) of the EC Treaty, and also in so far as it
                                                                       decided that the obligation on the French State to
                                                                       require repayment of the aid deriving from the PMU's
                                                                       exemption from the housing levy applies not as from
                                                                       1989, but as from 11 January 1991;