larimo/cjeu-paragraph-retrieval huggingface dataset:
Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany.
Date: 1990-07-10
10 According to the established case-law of the Court ( see, in particular, the judgment in Case 298/86 Commission v Belgium [1988] ECR 4343, paragraph 10 ), an application brought under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty can be based only on the arguments and submissions already set forth in the reasoned opinion .
26 The Federal Republic of Germany contends in this regard that the conditions laid down by German law for the adoption of such a decision were not satisfied . Even if this view is assumed to be correct, it cannot justify the failure by the Federal Republic of Germany to comply with an obligation which it has under Community law . According to well-established case-law of the Court, a Member State may not plead provisions, practices or circumstances existing in its internal legal system in order to justify a failure to comply with its obligations under Community law ( see, in particular, the judgment in Case C-74/89 Commission v Belgium [1990] ECR I-491 ).
SA Sermes v Directeur des services des douanes de Strasbourg.
Date: 1990-07-11
23 The aim of that provision is to prevent account from being taken of prices and costs in non-market-economy countries which are not normally the result of market forces ( judgment in Joined Cases 294/86 and 77/87 Technointorg v Commission and Council [1988] ECR 6077, paragraph 29 ).
24 However, as the Court held in its judgment in Joined Cases C-305/86 and C-160/87 Neotype v Commission and Council [1990] ECR I-2945, paragraphs 26 and 27, Yugoslavia cannot be regarded as a country which does not have a market economy . During the period under consideration, there was no general system for the fixing of prices in Yugoslavia, and in any event there was no such system in the electric motors sector .
27 In accordance with Article 4(2 ) of the basic regulation, an examination of the injury suffered by the Community must involve a series of factors no one of which can give decisive guidance .
33 A decision is vitiated by a misuse of powers only if it appears, on the basis of objective, relevant and consistent indications, to have been adopted in order to achieve purposes other than those for which it was intended ( judgment in Case C-198/87 Kerzmann v Court of Auditors [1989] ECR 2083 - see summary of the judgment, paragraph 2 ).
38 As the Court has consistently held ( see in particular the judgments in Case 255/84 Nashi Fujikoshi v Council [1987] ECR 1861, paragraph 39 and in Case C-156/87 Gestetner v Commission [1990] ECR I-781, paragraph 67 ), the statement of reasons required by Article 190 of the Treaty must disclose in a clear and unequivocal fashion the reasoning followed by the Community authority which adopted the measure in question in such a way as to make the persons concerned aware of the reasons for the measure and thus enable them to defend their rights, and to enable the Court to exercise its supervisory jurisdiction .
46 As the Court has already held ( see judgment in Case 12/88 Schaefer Shop v Minister van Economische Zaken [1989] ECR 2937, paragraph 14 ) it is pursuant to the "Protocol on German internal trade and connected problems" of 25 March 1957, annexed to the EEC Treaty, that the Federal Republic of Germany is exonerated from applying the rules of Community law to German internal trade and that the German Democratic Republic, while not a member of the Community, is not a non-member country vis-à-vis the Federal Republic of Germany .
Société CdF Chimie azote et fertilisants SA and Société chimique de la Grande Paroisse SA v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1990-07-12
15 However, as is pointed out in the experts' report, contrary to the applicants' claim, tariff F is a public tariff whose conditions of availability are public and perfectly open, by contrast with the previous system, which was embodied in contracts entered into direct between Gasunie and Netherlands ammonia producers . Secondly, like tariff E, tariff F is also applicable to individual plants . Finally, like tariffs A to E, tariff F is available to all customers who fulfil the objective conditions prescribed for its application .
23 It is apparent from the foregoing considerations that the applicants' submission that tariff F is sectoral in nature since it applies to certain undertakings, namely Dutch ammonia producers, must be upheld .
The value of the savings accruing to Gasunie from the tariff F contracts
Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic.
Date: 1990-07-12
29 With regard to whether such State intervention is compatible with Regulation No 2727/75, it should 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 national provisions adopted unilaterally, affecting the machinery of price-formation as established under the common organization ( judgment in Case C-281/87 Commission v Greece [1989] ECR 4015, paragraph 16 ).
34 It should be recalled at the outset that the Commission may avail itself of the procedure under Article 169 of the Treaty when it seeks a finding by the Court that a Member State is in breach of Article 93(3 ) of the Treaty, which obliges Member States to inform the Commission of any plans to grant or alter aid within the meaning of Article 92 of the Treaty ( judgment in Case 169/82 Commission v Italy [1984] ECR 1603 ).
Commission of the European Communities v French Republic.
Date: 1990-07-12
14 It follows that to make payment of the supplementary allowance in question conditional on residence within French territory is incompatible with Article 10(1 ) of Regulation No 1408/71 .
16 However, in the absence of specific rules applicable to the non-contributory benefits in question, the solution to the problems raised by the French Government must be found in the existing provisions of the regulations concerned, as interpreted by the Court .
17 Although it is true that the application of those provisions may give rise to practical difficulties, that fact, as already pointed out by the Court in paragraph 12 of its judgment in Case 187/73 Callemeyn v Belgium [1974] ECR 553, paragraph 12, must not prejudice the rights which individuals derive from the principles of the social legislation of the Community . It should be pointed out, moreover, that practical problems may always be referred to the Administrative Commission on Social Security for Migrant Workers, specifically set up for that purpose by Article 81(d ) of Regulation No 1408/71 .
19 As regards the French Government' s reference to the Commission' s proposal of 8 August 1985, it must be emphasized that the fact that a proposal which could terminate an infringement is submitted to the Council cannot relieve the Member State responsible for that infringement of its obligation to comply with the provisions of Community law in force .
20 It must therefore be held that, by refusing to grant or to continue granting the supplementary allowance of the Fonds national de solidarité to recipients of a French invalidity, old-age or survivor' s pension who reside in or transfer their residence to another Member State of the Community, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 10 of Regulation No 1408/71 .
Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic.
Date: 1990-07-12
12 Consequently, in accordance with that which the Court has consistently held ( see the judgment in Case 8/74 Procureur du Roi v Dassonville [1974] ECR 837, paragraph 5 ), that legislation is caught by prohibition contained in Article 30 of the EEC Treaty, which is applicable without distinction to products originating in the Community and to those which were put into free circulation in any one of the Member States, irrespective of the actual origin of these products ( see the judgment in Case 41/76 Donckerwolcke v Procureur de la République [1976] ECR 1921, paragraph 18 ).
16 That type of directive is intended to promote the free movement of goods by eliminating or at least reducing obstacles to free movement which might be created by national health inspection measures adopted pursuant to Article 36 of the EEC Treaty ( see, for example, the judgment in Case 46/76 Bauhuis v Netherlands [1977] ECR 5, paragraph 30 ).
18 National rules or practices adopted in order to achieve one of the objectives referred to in Article 36 of the EEC Treaty are compatible with that Treaty only in so far as they do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to achieve the desired objective ( see, for example, the judgment in Case 104/75 De Peijper [1976] ECR 613, paragraphs 16 and 17 ).
22 It is pointed out that, according to the case-law of the Court ( see the judgment in De Peijper, cited above, paragraph 18 ), the Member States may not derogate from Article 30 of the EEC Treaty by introducing or maintaining rules or practices which, even though they are beneficial, contain restrictions which are explained primarily by a concern to lighten the administration' s burden or reduce public expenditure, unless, in the absence of the said rules or practices, this burden or expenditure clearly would exceed the limits of what can reasonably be required .
23 It is also pointed out that it is in each case the duty of the Member States to prove that the conditions for derogating from Article 30 of the EEC Treaty are met ( see, for example, the judgment in Case 251/78 Denkavit Futtermittel v Minister fuer Ernaehrung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten [1979] ECR 3369, paragraph 24 ).
Farfalla Flemming und Partner v Hauptzollamt München-West.
Date: 1990-09-18
12 In answering those questions it must be borne in mind at the outset that the distinction between CCT headings cannot be based on qualities which are defined essentially by reference to subjective and indeterminate criteria but must be founded on the objective criteria adopted by the CCT for the purposes both of its effective operation and of legal certainty ( see judgments in Case 23/77 Westfaelischer Kunstverein v Hauptzollamt Muenster [1977] ECR 1985, paragraph 3, and Case C-1/89 Raab [1989] ECR 4423, paragraph 25 ).
13 As the Court has held on numerous occasions, the decisive criterion for the customs classification of goods must be sought generally in their objective characteristics and qualities, as defined in the relevant heading of the CCT and in the notes to the sections or chapters ( see for example Case 200/84 Daiber v Hauptzollamt Reutlingen [1985] ECR 3363, paragraph 13, and Case 252/84 Collector Guns v Hauptzollamt Koblenz [1985] ECR 3387, paragraph 10 ).
Gebr. Vismans Nederland BV v Inspecteur der Invoerrechten en Accijnzen.
Date: 1990-09-18
13 It should be remembered first of all that, in relation to the interpretation of the Common Customs Tariff, the Council has conferred upon the Commission, acting in cooperation with the Customs experts of the Member States, a wide margin of discretion in defining the subject-matter of tariff headings falling to be considered for the classification of particular goods, provided only that the provisions adopted by the Commission do not amend the text of the Tariff ( judgments in Case 141/86 Customs and Excise ex parte Imperial Tobacco Ltd [1988] ECR 57 and in Case 37/75 Bagusat KG v Hauptzollamt Berlin-Packhof [1975] ECR 1339 ).
14 As the Court has consistently held, in the interests of legal certainty and ease of verification, the decisive criterion for the customs classification of goods must generally be their objective characteristics and properties, as defined by the wording of the headings of the Common Customs Tariff and the notes to the sections or chapters ( judgments in Case 164/88 Ministère publique v Rispal [1989] ECR 2041 and in Case C-233/88 Gijs van de Kolk - Douane Expediteur BV v Inspecteur der Invoerrechten en Accijnzen [1990] ECR I-265 ).
Luc Van Landschoot v NV Mera.
Date: 1990-09-20
24 It follows that, having regard to the objective pursued by the co-responsibility levy, the question whether or not the products are placed on the market is the distinguishing criterion for determining whether or not traders are liable to pay the levy .
Criminal proceedings against Eleonora Nino and others.
Date: 1990-10-03
11 As the Court stated in its judgment in Case 204/87 Bekaert [1988] ECR 2029, the absence of any element going beyond a purely national setting in a given case means, in matters of freedom of establishment, that the provisions of Community law are not applicable to such a situation .
Criminal proceedings against Marc Gaston Bouchoucha.
Date: 1990-10-03
13 It is apparent from the judgment in Knoors, supra, that Article 52 of the EEC Treaty cannot be interpreted in such a way as to exclude from the benefit of Community law a given Member State' s own nationals where the latter, owing to the fact that they have lawfully resided in the territory of another Member State and have there acquired a vocational qualification which is recognized by the provisions of Community law are, with regard to their Member State of origin, in a situation which may be regarded as equivalent to that of any other person enjoying the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Treaty ( paragraph 24 ).
14 However, as has been rightly pointed out by the French Government, the SNMOF and the SNMSRRF, the diploma from the European School of Osteopathy held by Mr Bouchoucha does not at present enjoy any mutual recognition within the Community . It cannot therefore be regarded as a professional qualification recognized by the provisions of Community law . Furthermore, according to Knoors, supra, it is not possible to disregard the legitimate interest which a Member State may have in preventing certain of its nationals, by means of facilities created under the Treaty, from attempting to evade the application of their national legislation as regards vocational training ( paragraph 25 ).
French Republic v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1990-10-09
8 It must be pointed out in the first place that, as the Court has consistently held, an action for annulment is available in the case of any measures adopted by the institutions, whatever their nature or form, which are intended to have legal effects ( judgment in Case 22/70 Commission v Council [1971] ECR 263 ).
9 It must also be observed that in principle internal instructions have effects only within the administration itself and give rise to no rights or obligations on the part of third parties . They do not therefore constitute acts adversely affecting any person, against which, as such, an action for annulment can be brought under Article 173 of the Treaty ( see judgment in Case 190/84 "Les Verts" v European Parliament [1988] ECR 1017, paragraph 8 ).
20 Under the system of supervision provided for by Regulation No 729/70, the Commission exercises only a supplementary function . That fact is clearly expressed in the eighth recital in the preamble to Regulation No 729/70, according to which, in addition to supervision carried out by the Member States on their own initiative, which remains essential, provision should be made for verification by officials of the Commission and for the Commission to have the right to enlist the help of the Member States .
Italian Republic v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1990-10-11
12 In the first place, Member States must respect the obligation of general diligence in Article 5 of the EEC Treaty as specifically embodied in the abovementioned Article 8(1 ) and ( 2 ) with regard to the financing of the common agricultural policy . The obligation implies that the Member States must take steps to rectify irregularities promptly . With the passage of time, recovery of sums wrongly paid is likely to become complicated or impossible for reasons such as the fact that undertakings may have ceased trading or accounting documents may have been lost . The Court has already had occasion to make observations to that effect in a different context ( see the judgment in Case 343/85 Italy v Commission [1987] ECR 4711 ).
Criminal proceedings against Enzo Nespoli and Giuseppe Crippa.
Date: 1990-10-11
8 It should be noted, in the first place, that although the Court may not, in proceedings under Article 177 of the Treaty, give a ruling on the compatibility of national rules with the Treaty, it is competent to provide the national court with all the elements of interpretation under Community law to enable it to assess such compatibility for the purpose of deciding the case before it .
15 Furthermore, in order to be permissible, such rules must be necessary for the attainment of the objective pursued and that objective must not be capable of being achieved by measures which are less restrictive of intra-Community trade .
23 With regard to the request by the Associazione italiana lattiero-casearia, the intervener in the main proceedings, which submitted observations to the Court asking for a ruling on the interpretation of the second subparagraph of Article 40(3 ) of the Treaty, it is sufficient to state that, as the national court did not submit any question concerning that provision, there is no need to interpret it .
FUNOC v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1990-10-11
14 In this submission, the applicant is disregarding the fact that, as the Court recognized in Case 48/69 ICI v Commission [1972] ECR 619, paragraphs 10 to 14 and in Case 8/72 Cementhandelaren v Commission [1972] ECR 977, paragraphs 10 to 14, delegation of signature is the normal means whereby the Commission exercises its powers . The applicant has not provided any evidence to show that the Community administration failed to comply with the relevant rules in this case .
Weddel & Co. BV v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1990-11-06
20 As regards the second condition, it is not disputed that Regulation No 2806/87 was adopted in view of the quantities of beef and veal in respect of which individual applications for import licences had been lodged in the first 10 days of the month of September 1987 .
Italian Republic v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1990-11-06
15 Secondly, according to the figures given in the contested decision for wine production in Italy, for exports of Italian wine to other Member States, for imports into Italy of wine from other Member States, for exports of grape musts from Italy and for imports into Italy of grape musts from other Member States, the disputed aid is capable of affecting intra-Community trade in grape must and wine . It should be observed that the Italian Government has not contested any of the information thus provided by the Commission .
16 Consequently, the Commission rightly took the view that the supplementary Italian aid is aid within the meaning of Article 92(1 ) of the Treaty .
18 That argument must be rejected . It must be observed that the Commission has shown that the aid in question, which was granted without any specific conditions and solely according to the quantities used, should be regarded as an operating aid to the undertakings concerned and that, as such, it affected trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest . The Italian Government has failed to provide any relevant evidence to the contrary .
19 It should also be pointed out that, as the Court has consistently held ( see, in particular, the judgment in Case 90/86 Criminal Proceedings against Zoni [1988] ECR 4285 ), once the Community has established a common market organization in a particular sector, it is for the Community to seek solutions to problems, such as those posed by wine surpluses, arising in the context of the common agricultural policy . Member States must therefore refrain from taking any unilateral measure even if that measure is likely to support the common policy of the Community .
Elisabeth Johanna Pacifica Dekker v Stichting Vormingscentrum voor Jong Volwassenen (VJV-Centrum) Plus.
Date: 1990-11-08
10 Consideration must be given to the question whether a refusal of employment in the circumstances to which the national court has referred may be regarded as direct discrimination on grounds of sex for the purposes of the Directive . The answer depends on whether the fundamental reason for the refusal of employment is one which applies without distinction to workers of either sex or, conversely, whether it applies exclusively to one sex .
12 In that regard it should be observed that only women can be refused employment on grounds of pregnancy and such a refusal therefore constitutes direct discrimination on grounds of sex . A refusal of employment on account of the financial consequences of absence due to pregnancy must be regarded as based, essentially, on the fact of pregnancy . Such discrimination cannot be justified on grounds relating to the financial loss which an employer who appointed a pregnant woman would suffer for the duration of her maternity leave .
13 In any event, the fact that pregnancy is assimilated to sickness and that the respective provisions of the Ziektewet and the Ziekengeldreglement governing reimbursement of the daily benefits payable in connection with pregnancy are not the same cannot be regarded as evidence of discrimination on grounds of sex within the meaning of the Directive . Lastly, in so far as as an employer' s refusal of employment based on the financial consequences of absence due to pregnancy constitutes direct discrimination, it is not necessary to consider whether national provisions such as those mentioned above exert such pressure on the employer that they prompt him to refuse to appoint a pregnant woman, thereby leading to discrimination within the meaning of the Directive .
22 It must be observed in this regard that Article 2(2 ), ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) of the Directive provide for exceptions to the principle of equal treatment set out in Article 2(1 ), but that the Directive does not make liability on the part of the person guilty of discrimination conditional in any way on proof of fault or on the absence of any ground discharging such liability .
23 Article 6 of the Directive recognizes the existence of rights vesting in the victims of discrimination which can be pleaded in legal proceedings . Although full implementation of the Directive does not require any specific form of sanction for unlawful discrimination, it does entail that that sanction be such as to guarantee real and effective protection ( judgment in Case 14/83 Von Colson and Kamann v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen [1984] ECR 1891, paragraph 23 ). It must, furthermore, have a real deterrent effect on the employer .
25 It follows that when the sanction chosen by the Member State is contained within the rules governing an employer' s civil liability, any breach of the prohibition of discrimination must, in itself, be sufficient to make the employer liable, without there being any possibility of invoking the grounds of exemption provided by national law .