Josef Hierl v Hauptzollamt Regensburg.
Date: 1992-03-19
10 With regard to the alleged infringement of Article 39 of the Treaty, it should be pointed out first of all that, according to the first recital of its preamble, the aim of Regulation No 775/87 is to attain a reasonable balance between supply and demand on the market in milk and milk products. Such an aim comes within the framework of the stabilization of the markets, which is one of the objectives of the common agricultural policy expressly laid down in Article 39(1)(c) of the Treaty.
13 It is true that the loss of earnings caused by the withdrawal of the reference quantities, in so far as it is not wholly made good by the compensation, may cause a temporary lowering of the standard of living of the farmers concerned and their families. Such an effect must, however, be accepted in this case. The Court has held that in pursuing the objectives of the common agricultural policy the Community institutions must secure the permanent harmonization made necessary by any conflicts between those objectives taken individually and, where necessary, give any one of them temporary priority in order to satisfy the demands of the economic factors or conditions in view of which their decisions are made (see, in particular, the judgment in Case 203/86 Spain v Council [1988] ECR 4563, paragraph 10). The Court has also held that, in matters concerning the common agricultural policy, the Community legislature has a broad discretion which corresponds to the political responsibilities imposed upon it by Articles 40 and 43 of the Treaty (see, most recently, the judgment in Joined Cases C-267/88 to C-285/88 Wuidart and Others [1990] ECR I-435, paragraph 14).
18 With regard to the alleged infringement of the principle of equal treatment, it should be noted that in the words of the second subparagraph of Article 40(3) of the Treaty the common organization of the agricultural markets is to exclude any discrimination between producers or consumers within the Community. As the Court has consistently held, that prohibition on discrimination is only a specific expression of the general principle of equal treatment in Community law, which means that comparable situations are not to be treated differently and that different situations are not to be treated alike unless such treatment is objectively justified (see, most recently, the judgment in Spain v Council, cited above, paragraph 25).
19 Apart from the fact that the argument before the Court has provided no evidence to support the view that the measure in issue, which is applicable without distinction to all recipients of reference quotas, does in fact place a heavier burden on small producers than on large producers, it must be pointed out that the fact that a measure adopted within the framework of the common organization of the market may affect producers in different ways, depending upon the particular nature of their production, does not constitute discrimination if that measure is determined on the basis of objective rules, which are formulated to meet the needs of the general common organization of the market (see the judgment in Case 179/84 Bozzetti v Invernizzi [1985] ECR 2301, paragraph 34). That is the case with the arrangements for the temporary withdrawal of reference quantities, which are such that the quantities withdrawn are proportional to the reference quantities, which are themselves fixed at such a level that their total does not exceed the overall guaranteed reference quantity of each Member State.