larimo/cjeu-paragraph-retrieval huggingface dataset:
Pall Corp. v P. J. Dahlhausen & Co.
Date: 1990-12-13
11 The Court has consistently held since its judgment in Case 8/74 Procureur du Roi v Dassonville [1974] ECR 837, paragraph 5, that the prohibition of all measures having equivalent effect laid down in Article 30 of the Treaty covers all trading rules enacted by Member States which are capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-Community trade .
12 The Court has also consistently held that obstacles to intra - Community trade resulting from disparities between provisions of national law must be accepted in so far as such provisions, applicable to domestic and to imported products without distinction, may be justified as necessary in order to satisfy imperative requirements relating, inter alia, to consumer protection and fair trading . However, in order to be permissible, such provisions must be proportionate to the objective pursued and that objective must not be capable of being achieved by measures which are less restrictive of intra-Community trade ( see, in particular, the judgment in Case 120/78 Rewe v Bundesmonopolverwaltung [1979] ECR 649 ).
13 A prohibition such as the one at issue in this case is capable of impeding intra-Community trade because it can force the proprietor of a trade mark that has been registered in only one Member State to change the presentation of his products according to the place where it is proposed to market them and to set up separate distribution channels in order to ensure that products bearing the symbol ( R ) are not in circulation in the territory of Member States which have imposed the prohibition at issue .
19 Secondly, even assuming that consumers, or some of them, might be misled on that point, such a risk cannot justify so considerable an obstacle to the free movement of goods, since consumers are more interested in the qualities of a product than in the place of registration of the trade mark .
22 Finally, having regard to the arguments advanced by the Federal Republic of Germany based on Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 relating to the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning misleading advertising ( Official Journal 1984 L 250, p . 17 ), it must be added that, since the prohibition at issue has been found not to be justified by imperative requirements relating to consumer protection or fair trading, it can also find no basis in the aforementioned directive . That directive confines itself to a partial harmonization of the national laws on misleading advertising by establishing, firstly, minimum objective criteria for determining whether advertising is misleading, and, secondly, minimum requirements for the means of affording protection against such advertising .
Deltakabel BV v Staatssecretaris van Financiën.
Date: 1991-02-05
12 The same reasoning may be applied where a member waives a claim which he has against his company and which arose from the provision of sums to clear off losses incurred by that company. Such a transaction amounts in effect to taking over all or part of the company' s losses.
13 As regards the second condition - an increase in the value of the company' s shares - reference should be made to the judgment in Case 270/81 Felicitas Rickmers-Linie KG & Co v Finanzamt fuer Verkehrsteuern [1982] ECR 2771 in which the Court stated that "according to the principles on which harmonized capital duty is based, such duty should be charged only on transactions which constitute in law the raising of capital and only in so far as they contribute to increasing the company' s economic potential", that reasoning being taken from the preamble to Council Directive 74/553/EEC of 7 November 1974 amending Article 5(2) of Directive 69/335/EEC concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital (OJ L 303, p. 9).
14 It follows that the decisive test to be satisfied in order for a capital-raising transaction to attract capital duty is the strengthening of the economic potential of the company benefiting from it. In the present case, the remission of debt granted by the member has helped to strengthen the economic potential of that company by reducing its deficit. That transaction must therefore be regarded as being capable of increasing the value of its shares, as envisaged in Article 4(2)(b) of Directive 69/335.
Trave-Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG v Finanzamt Kiel-Nord.
Date: 1991-02-05
12 As regards the first condition - an increase in the assets - it must be observed that the granting of an interest-free loan allows the company to have capital available without having to bear its cost. The resultant saving in interest leads to an increase in its assets by allowing the company to avoid expenditure which it would otherwise have to bear.
13 As regards the second condition - an increase in the value of the company' s shares - reference must be made to the judgment of the Court in Case 270/81 Felicitas Rickmers-Linie KG & Co. v Finanzamt fuer Verkehrsteuern [1982] ECR 2771, in which the Court held that "according to the principles on which harmonized capital duty is based, such duty should be charged only on transactions which constitute in law the raising of capital and only in so far as they contribute to increasing the company' s economic potential", that reason having been taken from the preamble to Council Directive 74/553/EEC of 7 November 1974 amending Article 5(2) of Directive 69/335/EEC concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital (Official Journal 1974, L 303, p. 9). It follows that the decisive test to be satisfied in order for a capital-raising transaction to attract capital duty is the strengthening of the company' s economic potential.
14 In those circumstances, the granting of an interest-free loan must be regarded as helping to strengthen the company' s economic potential in so far as it enables the company to dispose of capital without having to bear its cost. It must therefore be regarded as likely to increase the value of the company' s shares.
17 Since no expenses are borne by the company, capital duty is to be charged, in application of Article 4(2)(b), on the amount of interest saved by the company, which is to be determined by the national court.
Danielle Roux v Belgian State.
Date: 1991-02-05
9 It should be pointed out that the Court has already held on several occasions that the right of residence is a right conferred directly by the Treaty subject only to the condition that the person concerned is carrying on an economic activity within the meaning of Articles 48, 52 or 59 of the Treaty (see in particular the judgment in Case 48/75 Royer [1976] ECR 497, at paragraph 31).
12 As the Court held in the Royer judgment, cited above (at paragraph 33), the grant of a residence permit is to be regarded not as a measure giving rise to rights but as a measure by a Member State serving to prove the individual position of a national of another Member State with regard to provisions of Community law.
14 Under Article 4 of Directive 68/360 a Member State may not make the issue of a residence permit subject to conditions other than the production of the document (passport or identity card) with which the person concerned entered its territory and of a confirmation of engagement from the employer or a certificate of employment. The prior registration of an employed person with the social security scheme cannot therefore in any event be imposed as a condition for issue of the residence permit.
15 Moreover, under Article 6 of Directive 73/148 the Member States may not require, for the issue of a residence permit to a self-employed person, anything other than the production of one of the abovementioned identity documents, and proof that the person concerned "comes within one of the classes of person referred to in Articles 1 and 4".
16 Since the means of proof admissible in that respect are not specified, it must be concluded that evidence may be adduced by any appropriate means. Consequently, prior registration of a self-employed person in the social security scheme cannot be regarded as a condition of the issue of a residence permit.
23 On that point it should be observed that Articles 48 and 52 of the EEC Treaty afford the same legal protection and that therefore the classification of an economic activity is without significance.
28 On the other hand, as the Court has consistently held, Community law does not preclude the application of sanctions or other enforcement measures attaching to the failure to comply with national social security provisions, which are comparable to sanctions also applying to nationals of the host State (see the judgments of the Court in Case 118/75 Watson and Belmann [1976] ECR 1185, at paragraph 21, in Case 157/79 R. v Pieck [1980] ECR 2171, at paragraph 19, and in Case C-265/88 Criminal proceedings against Lothar Messner [1989] ECR 4209, at paragraph 14).
30 That argument cannot be accepted. The reservation provided for in Articles 48(3) and 56(1) of the EEC Treaty concerning limitations justified on grounds of public policy must be construed not as a condition precedent to the acquisition of the right of entry and residence, but as affording the possibility of placing restrictions, in specific cases and where the circumstances justify it, on the exercise of a right directly conferred by the Treaty.
Italian Republic v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1991-02-19
6 In order to implement that judgment, the Commission, by telex message of 15 April 1988, asked the Italian Republic and the other Member States concerned to inform it before 29 April 1988 of the expenditure actually incurred for the colouring of cereals during 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986 and also to provide it with evidence to show that the colouring method adopted was the least costly. Italy did not respond to that request.
13 The Commission considers that argument to be without foundation. The issue in Case 256/85 was whether it could legitimately decide to reimburse colouring expenditure by way of standard amounts. It was only after that question had been answered in the negative that the Commission could raise the question whether the colouring operation had been carried out at minimum expense. Moreover, paragraph 18 of the judgment in Case 256/85 expressly left the matter open.
14 It must be observed that the principle of res judicata extends only to the matters of fact and law actually or necessarily settled by a judicial decision. The abovementioned judgment disposed only of the question whether, under the general rules applicable to the financing of intervention in the context of the common agricultural policy, the expenditure concerned was to be reimbursed by way of standard amounts or in full.
19 It is necessary in the first place to have regard to the general rules concerning the burden of proof in matters concerning the financing of the common agricultural policy. The Court has consistently held that it is for the Commission to prove an infringement of the rules on the common organization of the agricultural markets (see the judgment in Case 347/85 United Kingdom v Commission [1988] ECR 1749, in Case 262/87 Netherlands v Commission [1989] ECR 225 and in Case C-335/87 Hellenic Republic v Commission [1990] ECR I-2875). If the Commission establishes such an infringement, the Member State concerned must then, if appropriate, demonstrate that the Commission committed an error as to the financial consequences to be drawn from it.
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium.
Date: 1991-02-19
10 That fact cannot excuse the failure complained of. As the Court has consistently held, a Member State may not plead internal circumstances in order to justify a failure to comply with obligations and time-limits resulting from Community law. Moreover, it has been held that practical difficulties which appear at the stage when a Community measure is put into effect cannot permit a Member State unilaterally to choose not to fulfil its obligations (see most recently the judgment of 27 November 1990 in Case C-39/88 Commission v Ireland [1990] ECR I-4271, paragraph 11).
13 In its judgment in Case C-48/89 Commission v Italy [1990] ECR I-2425 the Court held that, since the defendant had failed to fulfil its specific obligations under a directive, no purpose was served by considering the question whether it had thereby also failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of the Treaty. However, in the present case the Commission complains of a distinct failure, namely a refusal to assist the Commission in the achievement of its task. It is therefore necessary to consider whether that complaint is well-founded.
G. C. Noij v Staatssecretaris van Financiën.
Date: 1991-02-21
9 It should be noted in the first place that none of the provisions of Title II of Regulation No 1408/71 is applicable in a case such as this. Mr Noij is not in one of the situations referred to in Article 13(2)(b), (c), (d) or (e) or in Articles 14 to 17. As for Article 13(2)(a), according to which "a worker employed in the territory of one Member State shall be subject to the legislation of that State even if he resides in the territory of another Member State or if the registered office or place of business of the undertaking or individual employing him is situated in the territory of another Member State", it applies only to those working as employed persons.
10 The latter provision is designed to resolve conflicts of legislation which may arise where, during a single period, the place of residence and the place of employment are not situated in the same Member State. Such conflicts can no longer arise in the case of workers who have definitively ceased all professional or trade activity.
11 As regards Title III of Regulation No 1408/71 which contains specific provisions for different categories of pensions, it should be noted that Article 33, in the version as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2864/72 of the Council of 19 December 1972 (OJ, English Special Edition 1972 (31 December) p. 15) which is applicable in this case, already precluded the institution of a Member State responsible for payment of a pension from charging contributions to cover the sickness and maternity benefits payable by an institution of another Member State (see the judgment of 28 March 1985 in Case 275/83, Commission v Belgium [1985] ECR 1097, at paragraph 3).
12 That article was amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2332/89 of 18 July 1989 (OJ 1989 L 224, p. 1), which added a second paragraph to Article 33, according to which a Member State in which a pensioner resides, which operates a general insurance scheme and under whose legislation no pension is payable cannot require the pensioner, by virtue of his residence in its territory, to pay contributions to cover benefits payable by the institution of another Member State.
14 It follows from the foregoing that the rules laid down by the aforesaid Article 33 concerning sickness or maternity benefits constitute the application of a more general principle according to which a pensioner cannot be required, because he resides in the territory of a Member State, to pay compulsory insurance contributions to cover benefits payable by an institution of another Member State.
HCM Daalmeijer v Bestuur van de Sociale Verzekeringsbank.
Date: 1991-02-21
11 Mr Daalmeijer does fall within the scope of Regulation No 1408/71 since Article 2(3) of that regulation provides that it "shall apply to civil servants and to persons who, in accordance with the legislation applicable, are treated as such, where they are or have been subject to the legislation of a Member State to which this regulation applies."
12 However, it should be noted that none of the provisions of Title II of Regulation No 1408/71 is applicable in this case. Mr Daalmeijer is not in one of the situations referred to in Article 13(2)(a), (b), (c) and (e), or in Articles 14 to 17. As for Article 13(2)(d), according to which, without prejudice to Articles 14 to 17, "civil servants and persons treated as such shall be subject to the legislation of the Member State to which the administration employing them is subject", it does not apply to persons who have definitively ceased to carry on any professional or trade activity.
15 In that regard, it should be borne in mind that, as the Court has consistently held, it is for the legislature of each Member State to lay down the conditions creating the right or the obligation to become affiliated to a social security scheme or to a particular branch under such a scheme, which include the conditions governing the cessation of affiliation, provided always that in that connection there is no discrimination between nationals of the host State and nationals of the other Member States (see, inter alia, the judgment of 24 September 1986 in Case 43/86, Sociale Verzekeringsbank v De Rijke [1987] ECR 3611, at paragraph 12).
Federal Republic of Germany v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1991-02-21
18 As regards the practical difficulties associated with carrying out tests after the expiry of the test period, it is sufficient to recall the case-law of the Court (see, most recently, the judgment of 27 November 1990 in Case C-39/88 Commission v Ireland [1990] ECR I-4271), according to which difficulties in the implementation of a Community measure may not justify a Member State in unilaterally absolving itself from observing its obligations.
31 As regards the question of the recovery of the amount to be paid in advance of export, reference should be made to the system laid down in Article 8 of Regulation No 729/70, cited above, which is considered an expression, as regards the financing of the common agricultural policy, of the general obligation of diligence laid down in Article 5 of the EEC Treaty (see the judgment in Case C-34/89 Italy v Commission [1990] ECR I-3603). Article 8(1) imposes on Member States an obligation to recover sums lost as a result of irregularities or negligence whilst Article 8(2) provides that, in the absence of total recovery, the financial consequences of irregularities or negligence attributable to administrative authorities or other bodies of the Member States are to be borne by them.
32 National authorities cannot justify a failure to fulfil their obligation to rectify irregularities quickly by relying on the length of administrative or judicial proceedings commenced by an economic agent.
Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic.
Date: 1991-02-26
5 It ought to be noted at the outset that, according to the established case-law of the Court, Article 95 of the Treaty lays downs a prohibition of discriminatory taxation of imported goods. That prohibition produces direct effects and creates for individuals personal rights which national courts are bound to protect (see, in particular, paragraph 46 of the judgment in Case 15/81 Gaston Schul Douane Expediteur BV v Inspecteur der Invoerrechten en Accijnzen, Roosendaal [1982] ECR 1409 - the first Gaston Schul case).
9 Such provisions are incompatible with the prohibition of discriminatory taxation of imported goods since, despite the direct effect of Article 95, they keep non-taxable importers in a state of uncertainty as to their right to rely on that article and may induce officials of national authorities responsible for collecting VAT to refrain from applying the principle that residual VAT is to be deducted.
10 The right of non-taxable importers to rely on the directly applicable provisions of Article 95 before national courts is only a minimum guarantee and is not sufficient in itself to ensure the full and complete implementation of the Treaty (see the judgment in Case 168/85 Commission v Italy [1986] ECR 2945, at paragraph 11).
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain.
Date: 1991-02-26
5 It ought to be noted at the outset that, according to the established case-law of the Court, Article 95 of the Treaty lays down a prohibition of discriminatory taxation of imported goods. That prohibition produces direct effects and creates for individuals personal rights which national courts are bound to protect (see, in particular, paragraph 46 of the judgment in Case 15/81 Gaston Schul Douane Expediteur BV v Inspecteur der Invoerrechten en Accijnzen, Roosendaal [1982] ECR 1409 - the first Gaston Schul case).
8 Such provisions are incompatible with the prohibition of discriminatory taxation of imported goods since, despite the direct effect of Article 95, they keep non-taxable importers in a state of uncertainty as to their right to rely on that article and may induce officials of national authorities responsible for collecting VAT to refrain from applying the principle that residual VAT is to be deducted.
9 The right of individuals to rely on the directly applicable provisions of the Treaty before national courts is only a minimum guarantee and is not sufficient in itself to ensure the full and complete implementation of the Treaty (see the judgment in Case 168/85 Commission v Italy [1986] ECR 2945, at paragraph 11).
Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic.
Date: 1991-02-26
6 It ought to be noted at the outset that, according to the established case-law of the Court, Article 95 of the Treaty lays downs a prohibition of discriminatory taxation of imported goods. That prohibition produces direct effects and creates for individuals personal rights which national courts are bound to protect (see in particular paragraph 46 of the judgment in Case 15/81 Gaston Schul Douane Expediteur BV v Inspecteur der Invoerrechten en Accijnzen, Roosendaal [1982] ECR 1409 - the first Gaston Schul case).
10 The right of non-taxable importers to rely on the directly applicable provisions of Article 95 before national courts is only a minimum guarantee and is not sufficient in itself to ensure the full and complete implementation of the Treaty (see the judgment in Case 168/85 Commission v Italy [1986] ECR 2945, at paragraph 11).
Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany.
Date: 1991-02-28
21 That interpretation of Article 4(4) of the directive is borne out, moreover, by the ninth recital in the preamble, which underlines the special importance which the directive attaches to special conservation measures concerning the habitats of the birds listed in Annex I in order to ensure their survival and reproduction in their area of distribution. It follows that the power of the Member States to reduce the extent of a special protection area can be justified only on exceptional grounds.
22 Those grounds must correspond to a general interest which is superior to the general interest represented by the ecological objective of the directive. In that context the interests referred to in Article 2 of the directive, namely economic and recreational requirements, do not enter into consideration. As the Court pointed out in its judgments in Case 247/85 (Commission v Belgium [1987] ECR 3029) and Case 262/85 (Commission v Italy [1987] ECR 3073), that provision does not constitute an autonomous derogation from the general system of protection established by the directive.
Criminal proceedings against André Marchandise, Jean-Marie Chapuis and SA Trafitex.
Date: 1991-02-28
22 It must be pointed out in that regard that Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty per se are concerned only with the conduct of undertakings and not with national legislation. The Court has consistently held, however, that Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty, in conjunction with Article 5, require the Member States not to introduce or maintain in force measures, even of a legislative nature, which may render ineffective the competition rules applicable to undertakings. Such would be the case, the Court has held, if a Member State were to require or favour the adoption of agreements, decisions or concerted practices contrary to Article 85 or to reinforce their effects, or to deprive its own legislation of its official character by delegating to private traders responsibility for taking decisions affecting the economic sphere (see the judgment of 21 September 1988 in Case 267/86, Van Eycke v ASPA [1988] ECR 4769, at paragraph 16).