Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Actions for annulment - Pleas in law - Not possible to rely on the WTO agreements in order to contest the lawfulness of a Community act - Exceptions - Community measure intended to implement WTO agreements or expressly and specifically referring thereto

(EC Treaty, Art. 173 (now, after amendment, Art. 230 EC))

2. Association of the overseas countries and territories - Implementation by the Council - Preservation of Community interests by the introduction of safeguard measures applicable to imports of agricultural products originating in the associated countries and territories - Power of the Council to reduce certain advantages previously granted to the overseas countries and territories

(EC Treaty, Art. 132(1) (now Art. 183(1) EC) and Art. 136, second para. (now, after amendment, Art. 187, second para., EC); Council Decision 91/482, Art. 101)

3. Association of the overseas countries and territories - Safeguard measures in respect of imports of agricultural products originating in the associated countries and territories - Conditions governing introduction - Discretion of the Community institutions - Judicial review - Limits

(Council Regulation No 1036/97; Council Decision 91/482, Art. 109)

4. Association of the overseas countries and territories - Safeguard measures in respect of imports of agricultural products originating in the associated countries and territories - Principle of proportionality - Breach - None

(Council Regulation No 1036/97; Council Decision 91/482)

5. Actions for annulment - Pleas in law - Misuse of powers - Definition - Regulation introducing safeguard measures in respect of imports of rice originating in the overseas countries and territories - Lawfulness

(Council Regulation No 1036/97, Council Decision 91/482, Art. 109)

6. Acts of the institutions - Statement of reasons - Obligation - Scope

(EC Treaty, Art. 190 (now Art. 253 EC)

Summary

1. Having regard to their nature and structure, the WTO agreements are not in principle among the rules in the light of which the Court is to review the legality of measures adopted by the Community institutions.

It is only where the Community intended to implement a particular obligation assumed in the context of the WTO, or where the Community measure refers expressly to the precise provisions of the WTO agreements, that it is for the Court to review the legality of the Community measure in question in the light of the WTO rules.

( see paras. 53-54 )

2. The arrangements for association with the overseas countries and territories (OCTs) defined in Part Four of the Treaty confer advantages on those countries and territories in order to further their economic and social development. Those advantages are reflected, in particular, in the customs exemptions applicable to products originating in the OCTs when they are imported into the Community. However, when the Council adopts measures under the second paragraph of Article 136 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, the second paragraph of Article 187 EC), it must take account not only of the principles in Part Four of the Treaty but also of the other principles of Community law, including those relating to the common agricultural policy.

In weighing the various objectives laid down by the Treaty, the Council, which enjoys for that purpose a considerable margin of discretion reflecting the political responsibilities entrusted to it by Treaty articles such as Article 136, may be prompted, in case of need, to curtail certain advantages previously granted to the OCTs. It follows that, when it considers that imports of rice originating in the OCTs cause or risk causing, by the combined effect of the quantities imported and the prices charged, serious disturbances to the Community market in rice, the Council may be prompted, by derogation from the principle set out in Article 132(1) of the Treaty (now Article 183(1) EC) and Article 101(1) of Decision 91/482 on the association of the overseas countries and territories, to curtail certain advantages previously granted to the OCTs.

( see paras. 64-65, 67-68 )

3. The Community institutions have been given a wide discretion in the application of Article 109 of Decision 91/482 on the association of the overseas countries and territories (OCTs) which empowers them to adopt or authorise safeguard measures where certain conditions are met. In cases involving such a discretion, the Community courts must restrict themselves to considering whether the exercise of that discretion contains a manifest error or constitutes a misuse of power or whether the Community institutions clearly exceeded the bounds of their discretion. The Community court's review must be limited in particular if the Community institutions have to reconcile divergent interests and thus to select options within the context of the policy choices which are their own responsibility.

It has not therefore been established that the Council committed a manifest error of assessment in adopting Regulation No 1036/97 introducing safeguard measures in respect of imports of rice originating in the overseas countries and territories, in taking the view that imports of rice originating in the OCTs had increased considerably and that that increase necessitated the introduction of a tariff quota to ensure that imports into the Community of rice originating in the OCTs remained within limits compatible with the stability of the Community market.

( see paras. 73-75, 85 )

4. In order to establish whether a provision of Community law complies with the principle of proportionality, it must be ascertained whether the means which it employs are suitable for the purpose of achieving the desired objective and whether they do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve it. The safeguard measures adopted under Regulation No 1036/97 which only exceptionally, partially and temporarily limited the free importation into the Community of rice originating in the overseas countries and territories were suitable for the objective pursued by the Community institutions as it appears from that Regulation and from Decision 91/482 on the association of the overseas countries and territories.

( see paras. 131, 134 )

5. A measure is only vitiated by misuse of powers if it appears, on the basis of objective, relevant and consistent evidence, to have been taken with the exclusive or main purpose of achieving an end other than that stated or evading a procedure specifically prescribed by the Treaty for dealing with the circumstances of the case. As for the objectives pursued by the Council in adopting Regulation No 1036/97 introducing safeguard measures in respect of imports of rice originating in the overseas countries and territories, there is nothing to support the claim that the Council was pursuing an aim other than that of remedying the disturbances noted on the Community market in rice or of avoiding more serious disturbances than those already existing.

As regards the fact that, in deciding on the safeguard measures, the Council resorted to the mechanism under Article 109 of Decision 91/482 on the association of the overseas countries and territories, rather than amending that decision, it should be noted that the objective of the mechanism laid down by that article is precisely to enable the Council to end or prevent serious disturbances in a sector of the economy of the Community. There is nothing requiring the Council to have recourse to another mechanism on the ground that the intended safeguard measures would substantially limit imports. It is for the Council alone, in accordance with Article 109(2) of Decision 91/482, to ensure that those measures which least disturb the functioning of the association and of the Community are adopted, and that they do not exceed the limits of what is strictly necessary to remedy those difficulties.

( see paras. 153-155 )

6. The statement of reasons required by Article 190 of the Treaty (now Article 253 EC) must show clearly and unequivocally the reasoning of the institution which enacted the measure so as to inform the persons concerned of the justification for the measure adopted and to enable the Court to exercise its powers of review. It is not necessary, however, for details of all relevant factual and legal aspects to be given, in so far as the question whether the statement of grounds for a decision meets the requirements of Article 190 of the Treaty must be assessed with regard not only to its wording but also to its context and to all the legal rules governing the matter in question. This is a fortiori the case where the Member States have been closely associated with the process of drafting the contested measure and are thus aware of the reasons underlying that measure. Furthermore, in the case of a measure intended to have general application, the preamble may be limited to indicating the general situation which led to its adoption, on the one hand, and the general objectives which it is intended to achieve, on the other. Moreover, if the contested measure clearly discloses the essential objective pursued by the institution, it would be excessive to require a specific statement of reasons for the various technical choices made. That is all the more so where the Community institutions enjoy a wide margin of discretion in their choice of the means necessary to achieve a complex policy.

( see paras. 187-191 )