larimo/cjeu-paragraph-retrieval huggingface dataset:
Johannes Peter v Hauptzollamt Regensburg.
Date: 1993-05-27
8 In order to reply to the question referred, first of all it must be observed that, in accordance with the general principles on which the Community is based and which govern the relations between the Community and the Member States, it is for the Member States, by virtue of Article 5 of the Treaty, to ensure that Community legislation is implemented within their territory. In so far as Community law, including its general principles, does not contain common rules in that respect, national authorities, when implementing Community legislation, follow the procedural and substantive rules of their own national law; however, those national rules must be reconciled with the requirement of uniform application of Community law so as to avoid unequal treatment of economic operators. Furthermore, such rules must not have the effect of making it virtually impossible to implement Community legislation (see, to that effect, Joined Cases 205/82 to 215/82 Deutsche Milch-Kontor GmbH v Germany [1983] ECR 2633, paragraphs 17 and 19).
Hugo Schmid v Belgiand State, represented by the Minister van Sociale Voorzorg.
Date: 1993-05-27
10 At the outset it should be stated that disability benefit comes within the substantive scope of Regulation No 1408/71. Article 4(1)(b) thereof refers expressly to "invalidity benefits". Secondly, according to the documents before the Court and the judgment in Case C-243/91 Belgian State v Taghavi [1992] ECR I-4401, paragraph 8, the benefits provided for by the national legislation in question are rights in person which are not granted on the ground of status as a member of a worker' s family.
17 Since Regulation No 1612/68 applies in general to freedom of movement for workers, it may apply to the social advantages which, at the same time, come under the specific scope of Regulation No 1408/71 (Case C-111/91 Commission v Luxembourg [1993] ECR I-817, paragraph 21).
18 According to the judgment in Case C-249/83 Hoeckx v Openbaar Centrum voor Maatschappelijk Welzijn Kalmthout [1985] ECR 973, paragraph 20, "social advantages" should be interpreted as meaning all advantages which, whether or not linked to a contract of employment, are generally granted to national workers because of their objective status as workers or by virtue of the mere fact of their residence on the national territory, and whose extension to workers who are nationals of other Member States therefore seems likely to facilitate the mobility of such workers within the Community. This is so in the case of disability allowances.
20 There can be no doubt that a Eurocontrol official has the status of a migrant worker. Indeed, as the Court held in Joined Cases 389/87 and 390/87 Echternach and Moritz v Minister for Education and Science [1989] ECR 723, paragraph 11, a Community national working in a Member State other than his State of origin does not lose his status of worker within the meaning of Article 48(1) of the Treaty through occupying a post within an international organization, even if the rules relating to his entry into and residence in the country in which he is employed are specifically governed by an international agreement.
22 As a result a person in Mr Schmid' s position may invoke the provisions of Regulation No 1612/68 and, in particular, Article 7(2).
23 It follows from Case C-316/85 Centre Public d' Aide Sociale de Courcelles v Lebon [1987] ECR 2811, paragraph 13, that the adult offspring of a worker who is still dependent on that worker may rely on the right to equal treatment guaranteed by Article 7(2) in order to claim a social benefit provided for by the legislation of the Member State of residence, since that constitutes a social advantage for the worker.
Gausepohl-Fleisch GmbH v Oberfinanzdirektion Hamburg.
Date: 1993-05-27
9 It should be first borne in mind that the Court has consistently held that the decisive criterion for the customs classification of goods under the Common Customs Tariff must generally speaking be sought in the objective characteristics and properties of the products at the time of their presentation for customs clearance (see judgment in Case 175/82 Dinter [1983] ECR 969).
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Date: 1993-06-08
26 However, it is clear from the judgments in Case C-62/89 Commission v France [1990] ECR I-925, paragraphs 17 and 18, and in Case C-244/89 Commission v France [1991] ECR I-163, paragraph 17, that Article 10(2) of the control Regulation implies that the Member States are to adopt in good time all the measures necessary to prevent the quotas at issue being exceeded, so as to ensure compliance with the quotas allocated to the Member States for the purpose of conserving fishery resources. It follows that the Member States have an obligation to take binding measures to prohibit provisionally all fishing activity even before the quotas are exhausted.
36 However, it must be borne in mind that the Court has consistently held that a Member State cannot plead provisions, practices or situations in its internal legal system to justify non-compliance with obligations and time-limits arising from rules of Community law.
42 As stated in the judgment in Case 290/87 Commission v Netherlands [1989] ECR 3083, at paragraph 13, it is therefore impossible for the Court to determine whether the established breaches of quotas were due to the late prohibition of fishing or to illegal catches made after the decision by the national authorities.
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium.
Date: 1993-06-08
8 In deciding on this action, it should be recalled that in the absence of comprehensive Community rules in this matter, Member States may adopt measures seeking to ensure that imported products are not capable of adversely affecting public health, provided that the measures adopted are suitable for achieving the objective of protection of health and that that objective cannot be achieved by measures which are less restrictive of intra-Community trade (Case C-62/90 Commission v Germany [1992] ECR I-2575).
Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic.
Date: 1993-06-09
7 According to the consistent case-law of the Court, each Member State must implement directives in a manner which fully meets the requirement of legal certainty and must consequently transpose their terms into national law as binding provisions (see Case 239/85 Commission v Belgium [1986] ECR 3645, paragraph 7).
Abertal SAT Ltda and others v Council of the European Communities.
Date: 1993-06-15
16 As to the question whether applicants are individually concerned, the Court has consistently held that the possibility of determining more or less precisely the number or even the identity of the persons to whom a measure applies by no means implies that it must be regarded as being of individual concern to them as long as it is established that such application takes effect by virtue of an objective legal or factual situation defined by the measure in question (see, for example, Case 123/77 UNICME v Council [1978] ECR 845 and Case 26/86 Deutz und Geldermann v Council [1987] ECR 941).
French Republic v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1993-06-16
9 It must be pointed out that, as the Court has consistently held, an action for annulment is available in the case of all measures adopted by the institutions, whatever their nature or form, which are intended to have legal effects (Case 22/70 Commission v Council [1971] ECR 263, paragraph 42).
26 However, as the Court has repeatedly held, Community legislation must be clear and its application foreseeable for all interested parties. As a result of that requirement for legal certainty, the binding nature of any act intended to have legal effects must be derived from a provision of Community law which prescribes the legal form to be taken by that act and which must be expressly indicated therein as its legal basis.
X v Staatssecretaris van Financiën.
Date: 1993-06-17
11 Articles 13 and 14 of the Protocol establish a division of taxation powers between the Communities, the Member State where the official had his domicile for tax purposes before entering the service of the Communities and the Member State where he performs his duties in the service of the Communities.
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Denmark.
Date: 1993-06-22
13 Before considering that claim, it should be recalled that, according to the case-law of the Court (see the judgment in Case C-306/91 Commission v Italy [1993] ECR I-2151, paragraph 22), in actions brought under Article 169 the pre-litigation stage defines the subject-matter of the proceedings and this cannot subsequently be widened. The possibility for the Member State concerned to submit its observations constitutes an indispensable guarantee required by the Treaty and observance of that guarantee is an essential formal requirement of the procedure for establishing that a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations.
15 On this issue the Court must find that the only matters at issue at the pre-litigation stage were Condition 6, Clause 2, of the general conditions, that is to say, the Danish content clause, and the commencement of negotiations on the basis of a tender which did not comply with Condition 3, Clause 3, of those conditions, concerning the tenderer' s responsibilities where an alternative project was tendered for.
16 It follows that the action is admissible only in so far as the two grounds of application relate to those two provisions of the general conditions.
17 As regards the ground of application relating to the Danish content clause, the Commission is not, however, barred from supporting its arguments in that regard by referring to other provisions of the contract documents which amplify that clause on specific points.
20 With respect to the first point, it need only be observed that the Commission was entitled to clarify the form of order sought in order to take into account the information, furnished by the Danish Government in its defence, concerning the conduct of the tendering procedure and the negotiations between Storebaelt and ESG.
30 In an action for failure to fulfil obligations, brought by the Commission under Article 169 of the Treaty, whose expediency only the Commission decides, it is for the Court to determine whether or not the alleged breach of obligations exists, even if the State concerned no longer denies the breach and recognizes that any individuals who have suffered damage because of it have a right to compensation. Otherwise, by admitting their breach of obligations and accepting any ensuing liability, Member States would be at liberty at any time during Article 169 proceedings before the Court to have them brought to an end without any judicial determination of the breach of obligations and of the basis of their liability.
33 On this issue, it need only be observed that, although the directive makes no express mention of the principle of equal treatment of tenderers, the duty to observe that principle lies at the very heart of the directive whose purpose is, according to the ninth recital in its preamble, to ensure in particular the development of effective competition in the field of public contracts and which, in Title IV, lays down criteria for selection and for award of the contracts, by means of which such competition is to be ensured.
Hellenic Republic v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1993-06-22
30 It should be observed that the present case is identical to the case which gave rise to the judgment in Case C-385/89 Greece v Commission [1992] ECR I-3253, paragraphs 9 to 14. In that judgment the Court considered that it was for national authorities which subsequently amended figures of decisive significance for the purposes of the calculation of the co-responsibility levy to provide sufficient specific information to justify that change.
Ministero delle Finanze and Ministero della Sanità v Philip Morris Belgium SA and others.
Date: 1993-06-22
11 Other provisions of the directive allow the Member States a degree of discretion to adapt the labelling of tobacco products to the requirements of public health protection. One such provision is Article 4(2), which allows the Member States to select the specific warnings which must appear on cigarette packets by choosing them from those listed in the annex to the directive. Another is Article 4(3), which allows Member States to stipulate that the general warning "Tobacco seriously damages health", as well as the specific warnings, must be combined with the indication of the authority that is their author.
17 As is established in the judgment delivered today in Case C-11/92 The Queen v Secretary of State for Health, ex parte Gallaher Ltd and Others, Articles 3(3) and 4(4) of the directive confer on Member States a discretion allowing them to require that the indications of tar and nicotine content and the general and specific warnings should each cover an area greater than 4% of the relevant surface. The new version of Article 4(5) of the directive is also a minimum provision and it does not therefore prohibit a Member State from requiring manufacturers of tobacco products to ensure that the general warning covers a minimum of 4% of the surface to which it is affixed. As pointed out above (paragraph 13), such a requirement cannot be imposed with regard to imported products which comply with the directive.
Sofitam SA (formerly Satam SA) v Ministre chargé du Budget.
Date: 1993-06-22
10 It is settled case-law (see, inter alia, Case 50/87 Commission v France [1988] ECR 4797, paragraph 15) that the deduction system is meant to relieve the trader entirely of the burden of VAT payable or paid in the course of all his economic activities. The common system of VAT consequently ensures that all economic activities, whatever their purpose or results, provided they are themselves subject to VAT, are taxed in a wholly neutral way.
11 It follows from the deduction system, as laid down in Articles 17 to 20 of the Sixth Directive, that the right to deduct must be applied in such a way that its scope corresponds as far as possible to the sphere of the taxable person' s business activity (see Case 165/86 Intiem v Staatssecretaris van Financiën [1988] ECR 1471, paragraphs 13 and 14).
12 The Court has held that a holding company whose sole purpose is to acquire holdings in other undertakings, without involving itself directly or indirectly in the management of those undertakings, without prejudice to its rights as a shareholder, does not have the status of taxable person and has no right to deduct tax under Article 17 of the Sixth Directive (see Case C-60/90 Polysar Investments Netherlands v Inspecteur der Invoerrechten [1991] ECR I-3111, paragraph 17). That conclusion was based, inter alia, on the finding that the mere acquisition of financial holdings in other companies did not constitute an economic activity within the meaning of the Sixth Directive.
13 Since the receipt of dividends is not the consideration for any economic activity within the meaning of the Sixth Directive, it does not fall within the scope of VAT. Consequently, dividends resulting from holdings fall outside the deduction entitlement.
14 Consequently, dividends must be excluded from the calculation of the deductible proportion referred to in Articles 17 and 19 of the Sixth Directive, if the objective of wholly neutral taxation ensured by the common system of VAT is not to be jeopardized.
The Queen v Secretary of State for Health, ex parte Gallaher Ltd, Imperial Tobacco Ltd and Rothmans International Tobacco (UK) Ltd.
Date: 1993-06-22
14 Other provisions of the directive allow the Member States a degree of discretion to adapt the labelling of tobacco products to the requirements of public health protection. One such provision is Article 4(2), which allows the Member States to select the specific warnings which must appear on cigarette packets by choosing them from those listed in the annex to the directive. Another is Article 4(3), which allows Member States to stipulate that the general warning "Tobacco seriously damages health", as well as the specific warnings, must be combined with the indication of the authority that is their author.
20 Articles 3(3) and 4(4) of the directive contain provisions directed to the Member States, to whom the directive is addressed, and not to the manufacturers of tobacco products, who have no interest in using a greater surface area for the indications and warnings in question. The expression "at least" contained in both articles must be interpreted as meaning that, if they consider it necessary, Member States are at liberty to decide that the indications and warnings are to cover a greater surface area in view of the level of public awareness of the health risks associated with tobacco consumption.
Dr Tretter GmbH & Co. v Hauptzollamt Stuttgart-Ost.
Date: 1993-06-24
11 As the Court has previously held, when the wording of secondary Community law is open to more than one interpretation, preference should be given to the interpretation which renders the provision consistent with the Treaty (see, inter alia, the judgment in Case 218/82 Commission v Council [1983] ECR 4063, paragraph 15). An implementing regulation must also be given, if possible, an interpretation consistent with the provisions of the basic regulation (see, in that regard, the judgment in Case 38/70 Tradax [1971] ECR 145, paragraph 10).
13 In that regard, it should be pointed out, first, that the actual wording of Article 1(1) of Regulation No 1739/85, and in particular, the words "falling within heading No ex 84.62 of the Common Customs Tariff", allows it to be concluded that the possible classification of a product under that heading does not automatically result in that product' s being subjected to an anti-dumping duty under that provision.
Government of Gibraltar v Council of the European Communities.
Date: 1993-06-29
16 It should also be noted that even though a directive is in principle binding only on the parties to whom it is addressed, namely the Member States, it is normally a form of indirect regulatory or legislative measure. Moreover, the Court has already had occasion to classify a directive as a measure of general application (see, for example, the judgment in Case 70/83 Kloppenburg [1984] ECR 1075, paragraph 11, and the order in Case 160/88 R Fédération européenne de la santé animale v Council [1988] ECR 4121, paragraph 28).
17 Furthermore, the Court has consistently held that the general application, and thus the legislative nature, of a measure is not called in question by the fact that it is possible to determine more or less precisely the number or even the identity of the persons to whom it applies at any given time, as long as it is established that such application takes effect by virtue of an objective legal or factual situation defined by the measure in question in relation to its purpose (judgments in Case 6/68 Zuckerfabrik Watenstedt v Council [1968] ECR 409; Case 64/69 Compagnie française commerciale et financière v Commission [1970] ECR 221, paragraph 11; Case 242/81 Roquette Frères v Council [1982] ECR 3213, paragraph 7; Joined Cases 97/86, 193/86, 99/86 and 215/86 Asteris v Commission [1988] ECR 2181, paragraph 13; order in Fédération européenne de la santé animale, cited above, paragraph 29; Joined Cases C-15/91 and C-108/91 Buckl [1992] ECR I-6061, paragraph 25).
18 Lastly, the Court has already recognized that, where an instrument contains limitations or derogations which are temporary (judgments in Zuckerfabrik Watenstedt, cited above, and Compagnie française commerciale et financière, cited above, paragraphs 12 to 15) or territorial in nature (judgment in Joined Cases 103/78 to 109/78 Société des Usines de Beauport v Council [1979] ECR 17, paragraphs 15 to 19), they form an integral part of the provisions as a whole within which they are found and, in the absence of any misuse of powers, are of the same general nature as those provisions.
European Parliament v Council of the European Communities and Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1993-06-30
13 However, the Court has consistently held that an action for annulment is available in the case of all measures adopted by the institutions, whatever their nature or form, which are intended to have legal effects (Case 22/70 Commission v Council [1971] ECR 263).
16 Before considering those complaints, it should be pointed out that the Community does not have exclusive competence in the field of humanitarian aid, and that consequently the Member States are not precluded from exercising their competence in that regard collectively in the Council or outside it.
Anthony Hubbard (Testamentvollstrecker) v Peter Hamburger.
Date: 1993-07-01
12 In that respect, it should be noted that in the so-called "tourist guide" cases (Case C-154/89 Commission v France [1991] ECR I-659, paragraph 10; Case C-180/89 Commission v Italy [1991] ECR I-709, paragraph 9; and Case C-198/89 Commission v Greece [1991] ECR I-727, paragraph 10) the Court held that the provisions of Article 59 must apply in all cases where a person providing services offers those services in a Member State other than that in which he is established, wherever the recipients of those services may be established.
19 On that point, it should be observed that, as the Court held in Case 82/71 Pubblico Ministero Italiano v SAIL [1972] ECR 119, paragraph 5, the effectiveness of Community law cannot vary according to the various branches of national law which it may affect. In this case, the national law affected by Community law is not the law relating to the substantive proceedings but national procedural law.
Commission of the European Communities v Alessandro Albani and others.
Date: 1993-07-06
13 According to settled case-law of the Court of Justice, where, in an open competition for the purpose of constituting a reserve for future recruitment, a test is annulled, an applicant' s rights will be adequately protected if the board and the appointing authority reconsider their decisions and seek a just solution in his case, without its being necessary to call in question the entire results of the competition or to annul the appointments made as a result thereof (Case 144/82 Detti v Court of Justice [1983] ECR 2421, paragraph 33).
14 That principle is based on the need to reconcile the interests of the candidates put at a disadvantage by an irregularity committed in the course of a competition and the interests of the other candidates. The Court is required to take account not only of the need to restore the rights of the candidates who have been adversely affected but also of the legitimate expectations of the candidates already selected.
Kingdom of Spain v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1993-07-07
20 In that regard, it should be pointed out that the prohibition, set out in Article 5(1) of the basic regulation, of the use of the term "brandy" to describe spirit drinks other than those referred to in Article 1(4) of that regulation, is laid down "without prejudice to measures adopted pursuant to Article 6". That reservation shows that the Council intended to permit the Commission to derogate from Article 5 in the context of the powers conferred on it by Article 6(1).
37 Those arguments cannot be upheld. According to settled case-law, the principle of equal treatment, when considered as a general principle of Community law, requires that similar situations should not be treated differently and different situations should not be treated identically unless such a differentiation is objectively justified.