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Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Karlsson & Ors (Agriculture) [2000] EUECJ C-292/97 (13 April 2000) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2000/C29297.html Cite as: [2000] ECR I-2737, [2000] EUECJ C-292/97 |
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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber)
13 April 2000 (1)
(Additional levy on milk - Milk quota scheme in Sweden - Initial allocation of milk quotas - National rules - Interpretation of Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 - Principle of equal treatment)
In Case C-292/97,
REFERENCE to the Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) by the Regeringsrätten, Sweden, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings brought before that court by
Kjell Karlsson and Others
on the interpretation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 of 28 December 1992 establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector (OJ 1992 L 405, p. 1), Article 5 of the EC Treaty (now Article 10 EC), Article 40(3) of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 34(2) EC) and the principle of equal treatment,
THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),
composed of: P.J.G. Kapteyn, acting for the President of the Sixth Chamber, G. Hirsch (Rapporteur) and H. Ragnemalm, Judges,
Advocate General: D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer,
Registrar: L. Hewlett, Administrator,
after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:
- Mr Karlsson and Mr Gustafsson, by J. Borgström and C.M. von Quitzow, Advocater, Jönköping,
- the Swedish Government, by L. Nordling, Rättschef in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent,
- the Commission of the European Communities, by A.M. Alves Vieira and K. Simonsson, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents,
having regard to the Report for the Hearing,
after hearing the oral observations of Mr Karlsson, Mr Gustafsson and Mr Torarp, represented by J. Borgström and C.M. von Quitzow, and also by P. Bentley QC; of the Swedish Government, represented by L. Nordling; and of the Commission, represented by A.M. Alves Vieira and K. Simonsson, at the hearing on 10 December 1998,
after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 26 January 1999,
gives the following
Legislation
Community legislation
Swedish legislation
Facts and procedure in the main proceedings
'Do Council Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector, Articles 5 and 40(3) of the EC Treaty and the fundamental Community law principle of equal treatment permit national provisions of a State which acceded to the Union on 1 January 1995 under which:
(a) for producers who have not altered their production, average deliveries in 1991, 1992 and 1993 are adopted as the basis for the award of a milk quota,
(b) producers who have commenced or increased production of milk between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1994 must accept a reduction in milk quota, unlike milk producers whose production circumstances have not altered in that period and producers of ecologically produced milk, and that reduction is determined differently for producers who have commenced production than for those who have increased production,
(c) producers who delivered milk before the State's accession to the EC's milk quota system but who - for reasons outside their control - have not delivered milk throughout the necessary qualification period for the award of a quota (1 March 1994 to 1 January 1995) are refused a quota?
The relevant Community legislation
The principles of Community law governing the initial allocation of milk quotas
The principle of equal treatment
Calculation based on the average quantities delivered between 1991 and 1993
The treatment of new producers and producers who have increased their production compared with normal producers
The treatment of producers who have increased their production compared with that of new producers
The treatment of 'ecological producers
The alleged discrimination suffered by Swedish producers compared with producers in other Member States
The requirement that production be continuous
Observance of the principle of proportionality
The principle of the protection of legitimate expectations
Costs
64. The costs incurred by the Swedish Government and the Commission, which have submitted observations to the Court, are not recoverable. Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the proceedings pending before the national court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court.
On those grounds,
THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),
in answer to the question referred to it by the Regeringsrätten by decision of 27 May 1997, hereby rules:
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 of 28 December 1992 establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector, as amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, and the principle of equal treatment enshrined more specifically in the second subparagraph of Article 40(3) of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, the second subparagraph of Article 34(2) EC), are to be interpreted as not precluding national legislation governing the initial allocation of individual reference quantities and adopted by a Member State which acceded to the European Communities on 1 January 1995, whereby:
- individual reference quantities for producers who did not alter their production between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1994 are determined on the basis of the average quantities delivered between 1991 and 1993;
- new producers who commenced production between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1994 and producers who increased their production during the same period, but not producers who did not alter their production between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1994 and 'ecological milk producers, have a reduction applied (and at different rates) in the calculation of their milk quotas;
- an individual reference quantity is granted only to producers who can show that their production was continuous between 1 March 1994 and 1 January 1995, unless a producer who was compelled to interrupt delivery during that period can show special circumstances justifying the grant of a reference quantity.
Kapteyn Hirsch Ragnemalm
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Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 13 April 2000.
R. Grass J.C. Moitinho de Almeida
Registrar President of the Sixth Chamber
1: Language of the case: Swedish.