Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Agriculture - Common agricultural policy - Objectives - Reconciliation of them - Discretionary power of the institutions - Stabilization of the market in milk products - Temporary withdrawal of a proportion of the quantities of milk exempt from the additional levy

(EEC Treaty, Arts 39(1)(b) and (c), 40 and 43; Council Regulation No 775/87, Art. 1(1), first, second and third subparagraphs)

2. Agriculture - Common organization of the markets - Discrimination between producers or consumers - Temporary withdrawal of a proportion of the quantities of milk exempt from the additional levy - Measure based on objective rules, formulated to meet the needs of the general common organization of the market - Different effects on different producers - No discrimination

(EEC Treaty, Art. 40(3)(2); Council Regulation No 775/87, Art. 1(1), first, second and third subparagraphs)

Summary

1. In pursuing the objectives of the common agricultural policy, the Community institutions must ensure the permanent harmonization made necessary by any conflicts between those objectives taken individually and, where necessary, give any one of them temporary priority in order to satisfy the demands of the economic factors or conditions in view of which their decisions are made.

The Community legislature, which has a broad discretion in this field which corresponds to the political responsibilities imposed upon it by Articles 40 and 43 of the Treaty, was therefore able, without exceeding the limits of its discretionary power, to give temporary priority to stabilizing the market, the objective mentioned in Article 39(1)(c) of the Treaty, while neglecting for the time being the objective, set out in Article 39(1)(b), of increasing the individual earnings of the farmers concerned, by deciding in the first three subparagraphs of Article 1(1) to withdraw temporarily a proportion of the quantities of milk exempt from the additional levy in order to deal with a situation on the market characterized for a long period by structural surpluses. The choice made by the Community legislature is all the more immune from criticism since the withdrawal is accompanied by the grant of compensation, in an amount proportional to the quantity withdrawn, so as to compensate at a standard rate the loss of earnings which it may cause and since small farmers, even supposing that they are more affected, may receive preferential treatment from other aspects of the additional levy scheme.

2. Even on the assumption that the temporary withdrawal, pursuant to the first three subparagraphs of Article 1(1) of Regulation No 775/87, of a proportion of the quantities of milk exempt from the additional levy, applicable without distinction to all producers, may place a heavier burden on small producers than on large ones, that measure none the less does not constitute discrimination if, being organized in such a way that the quantities withdrawn are proportional to the reference quantities, which are themselves fixed at such a level that their total does not exceed the overall guaranteed reference quantity of each Member State, it is determined on the basis of objective rules, formulated to meet the needs of the general common organization of the market.