Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Acts of the institutions - Regulations - Basic regulations and implementing regulations - Power conferred on the Commission in general terms - Lawfulness

(EC Treaty, Arts 145 and 155 (now Arts 202 EC and 211 EC); Council Regulation No 3950/92, Art. 11; Commission Regulation No 536/93, Art. 3(2), second subpara.)

2. Agriculture - Common organisation of the markets - Milk and milk products - Additional levy on milk - Imposition of a mandatory financial penalty payable for exceeding the time-limit for communication, irrespective of the length of time by which that time-limit is exceeded

(Commission Regulation No 536/93, Art. 3(2), second subpara.)

Summary

1. Although, in applying Articles 145 and 155 of the Treaty (now Articles 202 EC and 211 EC), a distinction is drawn in case-law between essential rules, which are the Council's preserve, and those which, being merely of an implementing nature, may be delegated to the Commission, only provisions intended to give concrete shape to the fundamental guidelines of Community policy must be classified as essential rules. Since the essential rules of the additional milk levy scheme have been fixed by the Council in the basic regulation, it is sufficient for a general power to be delegated to the Commission to adopt the implementing measures. In those circumstances, Article 11 of Regulation No 3950/92, which authorises the Commission to adopt all the measures which are necessary for the implementation of that regulation, must be regarded as constituting a valid delegation to the Commission to lay down the penalty referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 3(2) of Regulation No 536/93.

( see paras 21-24, 32 )

2. The second subparagraph of Article 3(2) of Regulation No 536/93 laying down detailed rules on the application of the additional levy on milk and milk products is invalid in that it imposes on the purchaser, in the event of failure to observe the time-limit referred to in the first subparagraph of that article, a financial penalty equal to the amount of the additional levy on milk due for a 0.1% overrun on the quantities of milk and milk equivalent delivered by producers, without making any provision for the length of time by which the time-limit is exceeded to be taken into account.

( see para. 45 and operative part )