larimo/cjeu-paragraph-retrieval huggingface dataset:
Rigsadvokaten v Nicolai Christian Ryborg.
Date: 1991-04-23
13 Accordingly, Directive 83/182 must be interpreted in the light of the fundamental aims of the VAT harmonizing measures, in particular the promotion of freedom of movement for persons and goods and the prevention of double taxation (judgments in Case 249/84 Profant [1985] ECR 3237, paragraph 25, and Case 127/86 Ledoux [1988] ECR 3741).
19 It must be stated, first, that the criteria laid down in those provisions refer both to a person' s occupational and personal ties with a place and to the duration of those ties and consequently that they must be examined in conjunction with each other. Normal residence must, according to consistent decisions of the Court in other spheres of Community law, be regarded as the place where a person has established his permanent centre of interests (see judgments in Case 13/73 Angenieux [1973] ECR 935, Case 284/87 Schaeflein v Commission [1988] ECR 4475 and Case C-216/89 Reibold [1990] ECR I-4163).
20 It follows that all the relevant elements of fact must, in the light of the criteria laid down in the abovementioned provisions, be taken into consideration in determining normal residence as the permanent centre of interests of the person concerned.
25 The position would be different if the person concerned settled in Member State B and manifested an intention to live there with his woman friend and not to return to Member State A (see the judgment in Profant, supra, paragraph 27).
34 Article 10(2) thus requires the competent authorities of the Member States, where the practical application of the directive gives rise to difficulties, to take the necessary decisions by mutual agreement, which will enable them to cope with any future difficulties which may arise in individual cases.
35 It must therefore be stated in reply to the second question that Article 10(2) of Directive 83/182 does not require the Member States to cooperate in each individual case in which the application of that directive raises difficulties.
The third question
37 It has been consistently held by the Court (see, in particular, the judgment in Case 31/87 Beentjes [1988] ECR 4635, paragraph 40) that only those provisions of a directive which appear, as far as their subject-matter is concerned, to be unconditional and sufficiently precise may be relied on by individuals against the State.
Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic.
Date: 1991-05-07
7 It should also be noted that, as the Court has already held in Case 2/84 Commission v Italy [1985] ECR 1127, at paragraph 16, combined carriage should be regarded as a single operation from the point of departure to the point of arrival.
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium.
Date: 1991-05-07
9 Obstacles to imports between Member States resulting from indirect taxation are covered by Article 99 of the Treaty, which in the version in force prior to the Single European Act imposed on the Commission the duty to consider how the legislation of the Member States in this area could be harmonized in the interest of the common market, in conjunction with Article 100 on the approximation of laws (see the judgment in Case 13/77 SA G.B.-Inno-B.M. [1977] ECR 2115, paragraph 50).
12 It is to that end (judgment in Case 90/82 Commission v France [1983] ECR 2011, paragraph 18) that Article 5(1) of the directive provides: "Manufacturers and importers shall be free to determine the maximum retail price for each of their products. This provision may not, however, hinder implementation of national systems of legislation regarding the control of price levels or the observance of imposed prices".
13 As may be seen from the judgment in Commission v France (paragraphs 22 and 23), the expression "control of price levels" can refer only to national legislation of a general nature, intended to check the increase in prices. As to the expression "observance of imposed prices", it must be understood as referring to a price which, once determined by the manufacturer or importer and approved by the public authority, is compulsory as a maximum price and must be observed as such at all stages of the distribution chain, up to the sale to the consumer (judgment in SA G.B.-Inno-B.M., supra, paragraph 64). It follows from that case law that the aforementioned provisions of the directive do not authorise the Member States to fix the prices of manufactured tobacco in disregard of the rule that manufacturers or importers are free to determine prices.
16 It must be recalled, in that respect, that the prohibition, laid down in those provisions, of measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions applies, as the Court has consistently held, to any measure capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, imports between Member States (judgment in Case 8/74 Dassonville [1974] ECR 837, paragraph 5).
17 With respect to the application of those principles to national rules fixing a minimum price which is applicable without distinction to domestic products and imported products, the Court considers that a minimum price which is situated at such a level that the competitive advantage conferred on the importer by lower cost prices is cancelled out constitutes a measure having equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction for the purposes of Article 30 (see the judgment in Case 82/77 Van Tiggele [1978] ECR 25, paragraph 14, and the judgment in Case 231/83 Cullet [1985] ECR 305, paragraph 23).
Interhotel, Sociedade Internacional de Hoteis SARL v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1991-05-07
14 The Court has held that it may of its own motion consider the question of infringement of essential procedural requirements (see judgments in Case 1/54 France v High Authority [1954] ECR 1, in Case 2/54 Italy v High Authority [1954] ECR 37 and in Case 18/57 Nold v High Authority [1959] ECR 41).
15 It is not disputed that, before adopting the contested decision, the Commission did not give the Portuguese Republic an opportunity to comment, thus infringing its clear obligation under Article 6(1) of Regulation No 2950/83.
16 It is further undisputed that the Member State is the sole interlocutor of the Fund (see judgment in Case 310/81 EISS v Commission [1984] ECR 1341, paragraph 15) and that it assumes responsibility in so far as it certifies the accuracy of the facts and accounts in final payment claims and in so far as it may even be required to guarantee that training measures are properly implemented and concluded.
17 Having regard to the central role of the relevant Member State and to the importance of the responsibilities which that State assumes in the presentation and supervision of the financing of training measures, the opportunity for it to comment before a definitive decision to reduce assistance is adopted constitutes an essential procedural requirement the disregard of which renders the contested decision void.
Estabelecimentos Isodoro M. Oliveira SA v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1991-05-07
20 It is further undisputed that the Member State is the sole interlocutor of the Fund (see judgment in Case 310/81 EISS v Commission [1984] ECR 1341, paragraph 15) and that it assumes responsibility in so far as it certifies the accuracy of the facts and accounts in final payment claims and in so far as it may even be required to guarantee that training measures are properly implemented and concluded.
21 Having regard to the central role of the relevant Member State and to the importance of the responsibilities which that State assumes in the presentation and supervision of the financing of training measures, the opportunity for it to comment before a definitive decision to reduce assistance is adopted constitutes an essential procedural requirement the disregard of which renders the contested decisions void.
Ludwig Post GmbH v Oberfinanzdirektion München.
Date: 1991-05-07
11 In replying to that question, it must first be pointed out that the Court has consistently held (most recently in the judgment in Case C-384/89 Tomatis [1991] ECR I-127, that, having regard to the imperatives of legal certainty and ease of verification, the decisive criterion for the tariff classification of goods must be sought generally in their objective characteristics and qualities, as defined in the headings and subheadings of the CCT, and in the notes to the sections or chapters.
24 Similarly, neither the alleged trade usage nor any divergent application of the rules in certain Member States can influence the interpretation of the CCT which is based on the wording of the tariff headings.
Extramet Industrie SA v Council of the European Communities.
Date: 1991-05-16
13 In order to determine whether the objection of inadmissibility raised by the Council is well founded, it must be borne in mind that, although in the light of the criteria set out in the second paragraph of Article 173 of the Treaty regulations imposing anti-dumping duties are in fact, as regards their nature and their scope, of a legislative character, inasmuch as they apply to all the traders concerned, taken as a whole, their provisions may none the less be of individual concern to certain traders (see the judgments in Joined Cases 239 and 275/82 Allied Corporation v Commission [1984] ECR 1005, paragraph 11, and in Case 53/83 Allied Corporation v Commission [1985] ECR 1621, paragraph 4).
16 Such recognition of the right of certain categories of traders to bring an action for the annulment of an anti-dumping regulation cannot, however, prevent other traders from also claiming to be individually concerned by such a regulation by reason of certain attributes which are peculiar to them and which differentiate them from all other persons (see the judgment in Case 25/62 Plaumann v Commission [1963] ECR 95).
Jan van Noorden v Association pour l'Emploi dans l'Industrie et le Commerce (Assedic) de l'Ardèche et de la Drôme.
Date: 1991-05-16
10 It follows from those provisions that a person seeking employment who has never been subject to the social security legislation of the Member State in which he claims unemployment benefits and thus has not completed, lastly, periods of insurance or of employment in accordance with the provisions of the legislation of that Member State, cannot be entitled to unemployment benefits under Article 67 of Regulation No 1408/71 but only by virtue of Article 69 of the same regulation.
Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany.
Date: 1991-05-30
15 It should be borne in mind in that respect that, according to the case-law of the Court (see, in particular, the judgment in Case C-131/88 Commission v Germany [1991] ECR I-825), the transposition of a directive into domestic law does not necessarily require that its provisions be incorporated formally and verbatim in express, specific legislation; a general legal context may, depending on the content of the directive, be adequate for the purpose, provided that it does indeed guarantee the full application of the directive in a sufficiently clear and precise manner so that, where the directive is intended to create rights for individuals, the persons concerned can ascertain the full extent of their rights and, where appropriate, rely on them before the national courts.
16 In that respect, it should be pointed out that the obligation imposed on the Member States to prescribe limit values not to be exceeded within specified periods and in specified circumstances, laid down in Article 2 of the directive, is imposed "in order to protect human health in particular". It implies, therefore, that whenever the exceeding of the limit values could endanger human health, the persons concerned must be in a position to rely on mandatory rules in order to be able to assert their rights. Furthermore, the fixing of limit values in a provision whose binding nature is undeniable is also necessary in order that all those whose activities are liable to give rise to nuisances may ascertain precisely the obligations to which they are subject.
24 It must first be pointed out that the fact that a practice is in conformity with the requirements of a directive in the matter of protection may not constitute a reason for not transposing that directive into national law by provisions capable of creating a situation which is sufficiently precise, clear and transparent to enable individuals to ascertain their rights and obligations. As the Court held in its judgment in Case C-339/87 Commission v Netherlands [1990] ECR I-851, paragraph 25, in order to secure the full implementation of directives in law and not only in fact, Member States must establish a specific legal framework in the area in question.
31 The fact that, after the action was brought, the German legislation was amended cannot alter that assessment. The Court has consistently held that the subject-matter of an action brought under Article 169 of the Treaty is the Commission' s reasoned opinion and that, even when the default has been remedied after the time-limit prescribed by the second paragraph of that article has expired, there is still an interest in pursuing the action in order to establish the basis of liability which a Member State may incur as a result of its default towards other Member States, the Community or private parties.
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Date: 1991-05-30
10 It must be stated in the first place that, as the Commission has rightly emphasized, nationals of the Member States of the Community generally have the right to enter the territory of the other Member States in the exercise of the various freedoms recognized by the Treaty and in particular the freedom to provide services which, according to now settled case-law, is enjoyed both by providers and by recipients of services (see most recently the judgment in Case 186/87 Cowan [1989] ECR 195).
11 Secondly, as the Court held in its judgment in Case 321/87 Commission v Belgium [1989] ECR 997, the only precondition which Member States may impose on the right of entry into their territory of the persons covered by the abovementioned directives is the production of a valid identity document or passport.
Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic.
Date: 1991-05-30
15 It must be pointed out that this difference in treatment between private traders and KIDEP occurred during a period in which, as the Court has already ruled in its judgment in Case C-32/89 (Greece v Commission [1991] ECR I-1321, at paragraph 15 et seq.), the Greek authorities, in disregard for the provisions of Community law, were directing interventions by that body on the market in cereals.
21 It ought finally to be noted that the common organizations of the markets are based on the concept of an open market to which every producer has free access under genuinely competitive conditions and the functioning of which is regulated solely by the instruments provided for in those organizations. In particular, in sectors covered by a common organization of the market, and a fortiori when that organization is based, as in the present case, on a common price system, Member States can no longer take action through unilateral measures affecting the machinery of price-formation as established under the common organization (judgment in Case C-35/88 Commission v Greece [1990] ECR I-3125, paragraph 29).
Commission of the European Communities v French Republic.
Date: 1991-06-11
24 Since infringements which the national authorities could have found to exist were not recorded and since the offenders were thus not charged, the French Government also failed to fulfil its obligation to take action as required by the control regulations.
Nikolaos Athanasopoulos and others v Bundesanstalt für Arbeit.
Date: 1991-06-11
17 With regard to the first part of the national court' s first question, it should be pointed out at the outset that, in accordance with consistent case-law, Article 77(2)(b)(i) and Article 78(2)(b)(i) of Regulation No 1408/71 cannot be interpreted in such a way as to deprive a worker, or an orphan of a deceased worker, of more favourable benefits as a result of the substitution of benefits afforded by one Member State for the benefits payable by another Member State. Consequently, if in the cases referred to in those provisions, the amount of benefits paid by the State of residence is lower than that of the benefits granted by the other Member State which is responsible for payment, the worker, or the orphan of the deceased worker, retains the right to the higher amount and is entitled to receive from the competent institution of the latter State a benefit supplement equal to the difference between those two amounts (see judgment in Case 1/88 Baldi v Caisse de Compensation pour Allocations Familiales [1989] ECR 667, and also judgment in Case 807/79 Gravina v Landesversicherungsanstalt Schwaben [1980] ECR 2205, paragraph 8).
28 The fact that certain benefits provided for under a national law or national rules for the dependent children of pensioners were not mentioned in the declaration referred to in Article 5 of Regulation No 1408/71 does not in itself establish that those benefits do not constitute benefits for the purposes of Article 77 of that regulation. Where such benefits were mentioned in that declaration they are to be regarded as benefits for the purposes of Article 77 of the Regulation.
Commission of the European Communities v French Republic.
Date: 1991-06-11
13 The Court has held that the maintenance of national legislation which is in itself incompatible with Community law, even if the Member State concerned acts in accordance with Community law, gives rise to an ambiguous state of affairs by maintaining, as regards those subject to the law who are concerned, a state of uncertainty as to the possibilities available to them of relying on Community law. This uncertainty can only be reinforced by the internal character of the purely administrative directions to waive the application of the national law (see the judgment in Case 167/73 Commission v French Republic [1974] ECR 359, paragraphs 41 and 42).
Piageme and others v BVBA Peeters.
Date: 1991-06-18
7 On the first point it should be noted that the Court has consistently held that, whereas it is not for the Court, in the context of Article 177 of the Treaty, to rule on the compatibility of a national law with Community law, it does have jurisdiction to provide the national court with all the elements of interpretation under Community law to enable it to assess that compatibility for the purpose of deciding the case before it (see for example the judgment in Case C-373/89 Caisse d' assurances sociales pour travailleurs indépendants "Integrity" v Rouvroy [1990] ECR I-4243, paragraph 9).
10 It is worth remembering that it has been consistently held that it is only for national courts before which actions have been brought, and which must assume responsibility for the subsequent judgment, to assess, in the light of the circumstances of each case, both the necessity for a preliminary ruling in order to be able to give their judgment and the relevance of the questions they refer to the Court. Consequently where questions referred by national courts relate to the interpretation of a Community-law provision, the Court is, in principle, obliged to make a ruling (judgment in Case C-231/89 Gmurzynska-Bscher v Oberfinanzdirektion Koeln [1990] ECR I-4003, paragraph 20).
The preliminary question
16 It follows from the foregoing that, on the one hand, imposing a stricter obligation than the use of a language easily understood, that is to say for example the exclusive use of the language of a linguistic region and, on the other hand, failing to acknowledge the possibility of ensuring that the purchaser is informed by other measures, goes beyond the requirements of the directive. The obligation exclusively to use the language of the linguistic region constitutes a measure having equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction on imports, prohibited by Article 30 of the Treaty.
Cargill BV v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1991-06-20
20 While it must be acknowledged that any Community institution which establishes that a measure which it has just adopted is tainted with illegality has the right to withdraw it within a reasonable period, with retroactive effect, that right may be restricted by the need to fulfil the legitimate expectations of a beneficiary of the measure, who has been led to rely on the lawfulness thereof (see the judgment in Case 14/81 Alpha Steel v Commission ([1982] ECR 749).
26 It should be pointed out, in that respect, that in its consistent case-law (see, most recently, the judgment in Case C-331/88 The Queen v Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ex parte Fedesa ([1990] ECR I-4023), the Court defines misuse of powers as the adoption, by a Community institution, of a measure with the exclusive purpose, or at any rate the main purpose, of achieving an end other than that stated or evading a procedure specifically prescribed by the Treaty for dealing with the circumstances of the case.
Roger Stanton Newton v Chief Adjudication Officer.
Date: 1991-06-20
11 Pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation No 1408/71 that regulation is applicable to all legislation concerning the branches of social security which cover invalidity benefits, including those intended for the maintenance or improvement of earning capacity. Article 4(4) of Regulation No 1408/71, however, provides that the regulation is not applicable to social and medical assistance.
14 Having regard to the broad definition of the persons entitled to the benefit in issue, such legislation in fact has a two-fold function. On the one hand it seeks to ensure a minimum level of income for handicapped persons who are entirely outside the social security system. On the other hand it provides supplementary income for recipients of social security benefits who suffer from physical disablement affecting their mobility.
15 Consequently, in the case of an employed or self-employed person who by reason of his previous occupational activity is already covered by the social security system of the State whose legislation is invoked, that legislation must be deemed to fall within the field of social security within the meaning of Article 51 of the Treaty and the legislation adopted in implementation of that provision, although in the case of other categories of beneficiaries it may be deemed not to.
23 As the Court held in its judgment of 24 February 1987 in the Giletti case, cited above, under Article 10 of Regulation No 1408/71 neither the acquisition nor the retention of entitlement to the benefits covered by that provision may be denied on the sole ground that the person concerned does not reside in the territory of the Member State in which the institution responsible for payment is situated.
24 Consequently, the reply to the second question asked by the Social Security Commissioner must be that where an allowance for handicapped persons constitutes an invalidity benefit within the meaning of Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation No 1408/71, Article 10 of that regulation precludes the withdrawal of that benefit on the sole ground that the recipient resides in the territory of a Member State other than that in which the institution responsible for payment is situated.
Cargill BV v Produktschap voor Margarine, Vetten en Olien.
Date: 1991-06-20
18 In that regard, while it must be acknowledged that any Community institution which establishes that a measure which it has just adopted is tainted with illegality has the right to withdraw it within a reasonable period, with retroactive effect, that right may be restricted by the need to fulfil the legitimate expectations of a beneficiary of the measure, who has been led to rely on the lawfulness thereof (see the judgment in Case 14/81 Alpha Steel v Commission ([1982] ECR 749).