natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Skønt det ikke kan udelukkes, at der kunne tænkes andre midler til at nå det forfulgte mål, kan Domstolen dog ikke sætte sit skøn i stedet for Rådets med hensyn til, om de af fællesskabslovgiver valgte foranstaltninger var mere eller mindre hensigtsmæssige, når der ikke er ført bevis for, at disse foranstaltninger var åbenbart uegnede til at nå det tilstræbte mål.
The applicant also argued that the arrangements for trade with third countries were in breach of the principle of proportionality, in that the objectives of supporting ACP producers and guaranteeing the income of Community producers could have been achieved by measures having less effect on competition and on the interests of certain categories of economic operators.
Domstolen har herom i fast praksis fastslået at GATT, som ifølge sin præambel blev virkeliggjort ved »gensidigt fordelagtige aftaler«, er karakteriseret ved stor smidighed i sine bestemmelser, navnlig dem, der vedrører mulighederne for fravigelse, de foranstaltninger, der kan træffes i tilfælde af særlige vanskeligheder, og ordningen for bilæggelse af tvister mellem de kontraherende parter.
In accordance with Protocol 5, the Community was obliged to permit the access, free of customs duty, only of the quantities of bananas actually imported 'at zero duty* in the best year before 1991 from each ACP Sute which was a traditional supplier. Moreover, Annexes LXXTV and LXXV relating to that Protocol confirmed that the Community's only obligation was to maintain the advantages, with respea to access of ACP bananas to the Community market which the ACP States had before the Lomé Convention.
Tilsidesættelse af Lomé-konventionens artikel 168
The Court pointed out in this respea that in matters concerning the common agricultural policy the Community legislature had a broad discretion which corresponded to the political responsibilities given to it by Articles 40 and 43 of the Treaty.
Disse særegenheder ved den almindelige overenskomst, på grundlag af hvilke Domstolen har fastslået, at en borger ikke under henvisning til denne kan anfægte en fællesskabsretsakts lovlighed, er ligeledes til hinder for, at Domstolen tager den almindelige overenskomsts bestemmelser i betragtning, når den tager stilling til lovligheden af en forordning under et søgsmål anlagt af en medlemsstat i henhold til traktatens artikel 173, stk. 1.
The Federal Republic of Germany submitted that compliance with GATT rules was a condition of the lawfulness of Community acts, regardless of any question as to the direct effect of GATT, and that the Regulation infringed certain basic provisions of GATT.
Det fremgår af de ovenfor nævnte forskellige særlige omstændigheder, at bestemmelserne i den almindelige overenskomst ikke er ubetingede, og at overenskomstens ånd, struktur eller ordlyd ikke kan give grundlag for en forpligtelse til at tillægge bestemmelserne virkning som bestemmelser i international ret, der er umiddelbart anvendelige i de kontraherende parters nationale retsordener.
In the present case, the Council inter alia had to reconcile the conflicting interests of some Member States which produced bananas and were concerned that their agricultural population living in economically less-favoured regions should be able to dispose of produce of vital importance for them and thus avoid social problems and of other Member States which did not produce bananas and were primarily concerned to ensure that their consumers were supplied with bananas on the best price terms and had unlimited access to thirdcountry production.
Ifølge protokol nr. 5 er Fællesskabet kun forpligtet til at give de mængder bananer adgang med toldfritagelse, som faktisk blev indført »med nultold« fra hver AVS-stat, som var traditionel leverandør, i løbet af det bedste år før 1991.
However, it had also held that in assessing the scope of GATT in the Community legal system, the spirit, the general scheme and the terms of GATT had to be considered.
Bilag LXXIV og LXXV om denne protokol bekræfter i øvrigt, at Fællesskabet alene har forpligtelse til, for så vidt angår AVS-bananers adgang til EF-markedet, at opretholde de fordele, som AVS-staterne havde før Lomékonventionen.
While other means for achieving the desired result were indeed conceivable, the Court could not substitute its assessment for that of the Council as to the appropriateness or otherwise of the measures adopted by the Community legislature if those measures had not been proved to be manifestly inappropriate for achieving the objective pursued.
Tilsidesættelse af GATTs bestemmelser
Infringement of Article 168 of the Lomé Convention
I mangel af en sådan forpligtelse på grundlag af overenskomsten selv er det kun for det tilfælde, at Fællesskabet har villet opfylde en særlig forpligtelse, som er påtaget inden for rammerne af GATT, eller at fællesskabsretsakten udtrykkeligt henviser til præcise bestemmelser i den almindelige overenskomst, at det tilkommer Domstolen at prøve lovligheden af den pågældende fællesskabsretsakt i forhold til GATTs bestemmelser.
It was settled law that GATT, which according to its preamble was based on the principle of negotiations undertaken on the basis of 'reciprocal and mutually advantageous arrangements', was characterized by the great flexibility of its provisions, in particular those conferring the possibility of derogation, the measures to be taken when confronted with exceptional difficulties and the settlement of conflicts between the contraaing parties.
Det følger af de foregående betragtninger, at Forbundsrepublikken Tyskland ikke under henvisning til GATTs bestemmelser kan bestride
The Federal Republic of Germany submitted that Article 168(1) of the Lomé Convention exempted imports of ACP products from all customs duties, and that the Council could not rely on Article 168(2)(a) to apply different treatment to
Forbundsrepublikken Tyskland har anført, at det er en betingelse for fællesskabsretsakters lovlighed, at GATTs bestemmelser overholdes, hvilket gælder helt uafhængigt af spørgsmålet om den almindelige overenskomsts direkte virkning, og at forordningen er i strid med visse grundlæggende bestemmelser i denne overenskomst
Those features of GATT, from which the Court concluded that an individual within the Community could not invoke it in a court to challenge the lawfulness of a Community act,
gennemførelseskonventionen vedrørende de oversøiske landes og territoriers associering med Fællesskabet, skønt denne konvention udløb den 31. december 1962.
The derogation, in paragraph 4 of the Banana Protocol, from the rule of unanimity related only to the possibility of amending an annual quota and did not permit the abolition of the Protocol as such.
Denne protokol blev imidlertid indført som overgangsforanstaltning i afventning afensartede betingelser for indførsel af bananer til fællesmarkedet
The Court acknowledged that the Banana Protocol was indeed an integral part of the Treaty since it was annexed to the Implementing Convention on the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the Community, even though that convention expired on 31 December 1962
Forbundsrepublikken Tyskland bar anført at protokollen om bananer udgør en integrerende del af traktaten, og at enhver ændring af denne protokol skulle være foretaget under overholdelse af betingelserne i traktatens artikel 236.
However, the Banana Protocol was adopted as a transitional measure pending standardization of the conditions for importing bananas into the common market
Fravigelsen afreglen om enstemmighed, som er fastsat i bananprotokollens stk. 4, gælder kun muligheden for at ændre et årligt kontingent, men giver ikke grundlag for at afskaffe denne protokol som sådan.
In the absence of such an obligation following from GATT itself, it was only if the Community intended to implement a particular obligation entered into within the framework of GATT, or if the Community act expressly referred to specific provisions of GATT, that the Court could review the lawfulness of the Community act in question from the point of view of the GATT rules.
I øvrigt bemærkes, at såfremt man accepterede sagsøgerens synspunkt, ville det føre til, at indførelse af en fælles markedsordning for bananer på de i traktatens artikel 43, stk. 2, fastsatte betingelser blev umuliggjort Protokollen kan imidlertid ikke bevirke, at der gøres undtagelse fra en grundlæggende bestemmelse i traktaten.
Accordingly, the Federal Republic of Germany could not invoke the provisions of GATT to challenge the lawfulness of certain provisions of the Regulation.
Det skal indledningsvis bemærkes, at protokollen om bananer faktisk er en integrerende del af traktaten som bilag til
Moreover, to accept the applicant's point of view would effectively make it impossible to set up a common organization of the market in bananas under the conditions set out in Article 43(2) of the Treaty.
Det hedder i domskonklusionen :
Infringement of the Banana Protocol
Sagsøgte frifindes.
The Court held:
Sagsøgeren betaler sagens omkostninger.
The application is dismissed;
Intervenienterne bærer deres egne omkostninger.*
The interveners are ordered to bear their own costs."
Generaladvokat C. Gulmann fremsatte forslag til afgørelse den 8. juni 1994.
Advocate General Gulmann delivered his Opinion at the sitting of the Full Court on 8 June 1994
» - at frifinde Rådet
— find in favour of the Council,
Præjudiciel »Kunstig inseminering af hornkvæg — geografisk monopol* (Domstolens plenum) sag
Geographical monopoly)
Første spørgsmål
The first part of the first question
I det foreliggende tilfælde har den nationale lovgivning indrømmet insemineringscentrene eksklusive rettigheder ved at gøre driften af centrene betinget af en godkendelse og ved at bestemme, at hvert center har eneret til at betjene et bestemt område. Ved således til fordel for disse virksomheder at oprette en række sideordnede monopoler, der territorialt er begrænsede, men tilsammen omfatter hele medlemsstatens område, skaber disse nationale bestemmelser en dominerende stilling på en væsentlig del af fællesmarkedet, jf. traktatens artikel 86.
By judgment of 15 June 1993, received at the Court on 24 June 1993, the French Cour de Cassation (Court of Cassation) referred for a preliminary ruling two questions on the interpretation of Articles 5, 86, 90(1), 30 and 36 of the EEC Treaty, Council Directive 77/504/EEC on pure­bred breeding animals of the bovine species and Directive 87/328/EEC on the acceptance for breeding purposes of pure­bred breeding animals of the bovine species.
For det første ønsker den oplyst, om traktatens artikel 5, 86 og artikel 90, stk. 1, skal fortolkes således, at de er til hinder for, at en medlemsstat giver godkendte centre, der foretager insemineringer af tyresæd, visse enerettigheder inden for et bestemt område.
The Court noted that so far as concerned the relevant provisions of the Treaty, Article 5 required Member States to carry out their Community obligations in good faith.
For det andet ønsker den oplyst, om disse bestemmelser — når opdrættere i det område, hvor centret har eneret anmoder dette om at levere sæd fra et produktionscenter, de selv har valgt — er til hinder for, at centret fakturerer opdrætterne de supplerende omkostninger, dette valg kan give anledning til.
However, that provision could not be applied independently when the situation concerned was governed by a specific provision of the Treaty, as in the present case.
Første spørgsmål, første del
The first question
Den blotte omstændighed, at der skabes en sådan dominerende stilling ved tildeling af en eneret som omhandlet i artikel 90, stk. 1, er ikke i sig selv uforenelig med traktatens artikel 86. En medlemsstat overtræder nemlig kun forbuddene i disse to bestemmelser, såfremt den pågældende virksomhed ved den blotte udøvelse af den eneret, som er indrømmet den, foranlediges til at udnytte sin dominerende stilling på en måde, der er udtryk for misbrug.
Article 90(1) of the Treaty provided that, in the case of public undertakings and undertakings to which Member States granted special or exclusive rights, Member States could neither enact nor maintain in force any measure contrary to the rules contained in the Treaty, in particular to those rules provided for in Article 7 and Articles 85 to 94.
Med hensyn til de omhandlede bestemmelser i traktaten bemærkes indledningsvis, at medlemsstaterne efter artikel 5 har pligt til loyalt at opfylde deres forpligtelser i henhold til fællesskabsretten.
It asked first whether Articles 5, 86 and 90(1) of the Treaty had to be interpreted as precluding a Member State from granting approved bovine insemination centres certain exclusive rights within a defined area.
Ifølge fast praksis kan denne bestemmelse dog ikke anvendes selvstændigt, når den konkrete situation er omfattet af en særlig traktatbestemmelse, som det er tilfældet i denne
Secondly, it asked whether, in the event that breeders established in the area coming under the exclusive competence of an approved centre requested the centre to supply semen from a production centre of their choice, those provisions prevented the centre from charging those breeders for the additional costs which that choice might entail.
I det foreliggende tilfælde består det påståede misbrug i, at insemineringscentrene fastsætter
In this case, by making the operation of the insemination centres subjea to authorization and providing that each centre should have the exclusive right to serve a defined area, the national legislation granted those centres exclusive rights.
I den forbindelse må det fastslås, at loven blot bestemmer, at insemineringscentrene kan forlange, at opdrættere, som anmoder dem om at levere sæd fra andre produktionscentre, betaler de supplerende omkostninger, der følger af dette valg.
The second question those national provisions created a dominant position, within the meaning of Article 86 of the Treaty, in a substantial part of the common market
Det fremgår imidlertid af Domstolens faste praksis, at når de i medfør af EØF-traktatens artikel 100 udstedte fællesskabsdirektiver foreskriver harmonisering af — blandt andet -foranstaltninger, som er nødvendige for at sikre beskyttelsen af menneskers og dyrs sundhed, og der hermed indføres fællesskabsprocedurer for at kontrollere, om disse foranstaltninger respekteres, ophører begrundelsen for at anvende artikel 36, og de egnede kontrolforanstaltninger og beskyttelsesforanstaltninger må herefter træffes inden for de rammer, som harmoniseringsdirektiverne angiver.
In order to reply to the national court's second question, which concerned the interpretation of Articles 30 and 36 of the Treaty and of Directives 77/504 and 87/328, it should be remembered that all trading rules enacted by Member States which were capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, imra-Community trade were to be considered as measures having an effea equivalent to quantitative restrictions.
Selv om denne bestemmelse overlader det til insemineringscentrene at fastsætte disse omkostninger, foranlediger den dem ikke til at opkræve uforholdsmæssigt store beløb og således misbruge deres dominerende stilling.
A Member State contravened the prohibitions contained in those two provisions only if, in merely exercising the exclusive right granted to it the undertaking in question could not avoid abusing its dominant position.
Første spørgsmål, anden del
The alleged abuse in the present case consisted in the charging of exorbitant prices by the insemination centres.
Der er tale om misbrug af en dominerende stilling, når en virksomhed, som har et administrativt monopol, for sine tjenesteydelser opkræver gebyrer, der ikke står i et rimeligt forhold til de præsterede ydelser.
Article 36 of the Treaty provided that the prohibition of restriaions on imports, exports and goods in transit was not to preclude measures of that nature if they were justified on grounds of the protection of health and life of humans and animals.
Desuden bestemmer artikel 2 i direktiv 91/174, at handel med sæd fra racerene dyr ikke kan forbydes, begrænses eller hindres af genealogiske årsager.
The question to be examined was therefore whether such a practice constituting the alleged abuse was the direct consequence of the national Law.
Af disse bestemmelser fremgår det at de zootekniske og genealogiske betingelser har været genstand for en fuldstændig harmonisering på fællesskabsplan.
The Court noted in this regard that the Law merely allowed insemination centres to require breeders who requested the centres to provide them with semen from other production centres to pay the additional costs entailed by that choice.
De godkendte centre ville misbruge deres dominerende stilling, hvis de lod brugerne bære omkostninger ud over de supplerende omkostninger, der faktisk påløber ved at skaffe og opbevare sæd indført fra en anden medlemsstat på brugerens anmodning indtil insemineringen.
However, the Court had consistently held that where, in application of Article 100 of the EEC Treaty, Community directives provided for the harmonization of the measures necessary to ensure inter alia the protection of animal and human health and established Community procedures to check that they were observed, invoking Article 36 was no longer justified and the appropriate checks had to be carried out and protective measures adopted within the framework outlined by the harmonizing direaive.
Hvad angår de sundhedsmæssige hensyn, er de omhandlet i direktiv 88/407, som finder anvendelse på handelen inden for Fællesskabet og importen fra tredjelande af frosset tyresæd.
Although it left to the insemination centres the task of calculating those costs, such a provision did not lead the centres to charge disproportionate costs and thereby abuse their dominant position.
Andet spørgsmål
The second part of the first question
Med henblik på besvarelsen af den forelæggende rets andet spørgsmål vedrørende fortolkningen af traktatens artikel 30 og 36 og af direktiv 77/504 og 87/328 bemærkes, at enhver af medlemsstaternes bestemmelser for handelen, som direkte eller indirekte, aktuelt eller potentielt, kan hindre samhandelen i Fællesskabet må betragtes som en foranstaltning med tilsvarende virkning som kvantitative restriktioner.
An undertaking abused its dominant position where it had an administrative monopoly and charged for its services fees which were disproportionate to the economic value of the service provided.
De sundhedsmæssige betingelser i handelen med tyresæd inden for Fællesskabet har endnu ikke været genstand for en fuldstændig harmonisering på fællesskabsplan for så vidt angår det land, der er modtagerland for sæden.
As regards the reasons relating to the genetic improvement of bovine stock, the Court noted that Article 2(1) of Direaive 87/328, which was designed to remove zootechnical obstacles to intraCommunity trade in bovine semen, required Member States to remove all barriers to entry into, or use within, their territory of bovine semen imported from other Member States in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 4 of the direaive.
Ifølge traktatens artikel 36 gøres der undtagelse fra forbuddet mod restriktioner vedrørende indførsel, udførsel eller transit, når sådanne foranstaltninger er begrundet i hensynet til beskyttelse af menneskers og dyrs liv og sundhed.
Likewise, approved centres would be abusing their dominant position if they were to charge to users costs in excess of the additional costs actually incurred in obtaining and conserving until insemination semen imported at the request of a user from another Member State.
undersøges, om disse virkninger er direkte, indirekte eller blot hypotetiske, og om de hindrer afsætningen af importerede produkter mere end afsætningen af indenlandske produkter.
they were the subjea of Direaive 88/407, which applied to intra -Community trade in, and imports from third countries of, deep-frozen semen of domestic animals of the bovine species.
virksomhed, for så vidt angår betingelserne for opbevaring af sæden, i praksis fører til en forskelsbehandling af det importerede produkt, henhører under bedømmelsen af de faktiske omstændigheder, som det tilkommer den nationale retsinstans at foretage.
In order to ascertain that the restrictive effects on intra-Communiry trade of the rules at issue did not exceed what was necessary to achieve the aim in view, it was necessary to consider whether those effects were direct indirect or purely speculative and whether those effects did not impede the marketing of imported products more than the marketing of national products.
Spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt de godkendte centres
It followed that health conditions in intraCommunity trade in bovine semen had not yet been fully harmonized at Community level in relation to the State for which the semen was destined.
Domstolen kender for ret :
The Court ruled:
EØF-traktatens artikel 90, stk 1, og artikel 86 er ikke til hinder for, at en medlemsstat giver godkendte centre, der foretager insemineringer af tyresæd, visse enerettigheder indenfor et bestemt område.
Articles 90(1) and 86 of the EEC Treaty do not preclude a Member State from granting to approved bovine insemination centres certain exclusive rights within a defined area.
Traktatens artikel 86 skal fortolkes således, at den ikke er til hinder for, at insemineringscentre, der har eneret til at foretage insemineringer i et bestemtgeografisk område, lader brugere, som anmoder dem om at levere soul fra produktionscentre i andre medlemsstater, bære de supplerende omkostninger, på betingelse af, at insemineringscentrene faktisk har måttet afholde omkostningerne for at kunne efterkomme brugernes anmodning.
Article 86 of the Treaty must be interpreted as not precluding insemination centres which alone are authorized to operate within a defined area from charging additional costs to users who request them to supply semen from production centres in other Member States, provided that those costs were actually incurred by the insemination centres in meeting the requests of those users.
Traktatens artikel 30 og 36 set under ét, artikel 2 i Rådets direktiv 77/504/EØF af 25. juli 1977 om racerent aviskvæg, og artikel 4 i Rådets direktiv 87/328/EØF af 18. juni 1987 om godkendelse af racerent aviskvæg til avlsbrug skal fortolkes således, at de ikke er til hinder for nationale bestemmelser, hvorefter erhvervsdrivende, der indfører sæd fra en af Fællesskabets medlemsstater, er forpligtet til at leven denne til et godkendt inseminerings- ellerproduktionscenter.* produktionscenter.*
Articles 30 and 36 of the EEC Treaty, considered together, Article 2 of Council Directive 77/504/EEC of 25 July 1977 on pure-bred breeding animais of the bovine species and Article 4 of Council Directive 87/328/EEC of 18 June 1987 on the acceptance for breeding purposes of pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species must be interpreted as not precluding national rules that require economic operators who import semen from a Member State of the Community to detiver it to an approved insemination or production centre."
Generaladvokat C. Gulmann fremsatte forslap til afgørelse for Domstolens plenum den 4. maj 1994.
Advocate General Gulmann delivered his Opinion at the sitting of the Full Court on 4 Mav 1994
Han foreslog Domstolen at besvare de forelagte spørgsmål således :
He proposed that the Court should rule that:
»EØF-traktatens artikel 90, stk. 1, sammenholdt med artikel 86 skal fortolkes således, at den ikke er til hinder for en national lovgivning, hvorved der oprettes centre, der gives eneret til i et bestemt geografisk område at foretage insemineringer, og som giver dem adgang til at fakturere beløb for supplerende omkostninger i tilfælde, hvor opdrættere med bopæl i det område, hvor centret har eneret anmoder om at få leveret sæd fra produktionscentre efter eget valg.
Article 90(1) of the EC Treaty, in conjunction with Article 86, must be interpreted as meaning that it does not preclude national legislation from setting up centres to which the exclusive right is granted to perform inseminations in a given geographical area and which authorizes them to invoice amounts for additional expenses in cases in which breeders residing in the area in which the centre has an exclusive right apply for the delivery of semen from production centres of their own choice.