Organización de Productores de Túnidos Congelados (OPTUC) v Commission of the European Communities.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 62001TJ0142
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:T:2004:25
• Court: General Court (European Union)
• Date: 28 January 2004
• Procedure Type: Recours en annulation - irrecevable
• Docket Number: T-142/01,T-283/01

Joined Cases T-142/01 and T-283/01


Organización de Productores de Túnidos Congelados (OPTUC)
v
Commission of the European Communities

«(Fisheries – Common organisation of the markets – Compensation for producers of tuna intended for the processing industry – Allocation between producers' organisations – Change of membership by producers – Effect on the allocation of the allowance – Legal basis – Principle of protection of legitimate expectations)»

Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fourth Chamber), 28 January 2004

Summary of the Judgment

1..

Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Rules – Lacuna – Solution

2..

Fisheries – Common organisation of the markets – Compensation for producers of tuna intended for the processing industry – Allocation between producers' organisations – Change of membership by producers – Effect on the allocation of the allowance

(Council Regulation No 3759/92, Art. 18(4) and (5))

3..

Acts of the institutions – Adoption foreseeable by a prudent and circumspect operator – Principle of the protection of legitimate expectations – Inapplicable – Reliance on that principle in order to require the repetition of a misinterpretation of an act – Inadmissible

1.

When there is a lacuna in the rules on the common organisation of a market, a solution must be sought in the light of the aims and objectives of the common organisation of the market, taking account of considerations of a practical and administrative nature. see para. 77

2.

In order to determine the compensation, provided for by Article 18 of Council Regulation No 3759/92 on the common organisation of the market in fishery and aquaculture products, as amended, due to a producers' organisation for a given quarter in accordance with Article 18(4), it is necessary to allocate to it the average previous production of all producers who, in that quarter, are members of that producers' organisation. If it were held otherwise, unjustified and unfair distortions would arise for the real beneficiaries of the compensatory allowances, that is the producers, whose level of income which the allowances are intended to protect would be likely to be seriously affected by changes of membership of the producers' organisations. see paras 89-90

3.

Any economic operator to whom an institution has given cause to entertain justified hopes may rely on the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations. On the other hand, if a prudent and circumspect economic operator could have foreseen the adoption of a Community measure likely to affect his interests, he cannot plead that principle if the measure is adopted. Finally, the principle of protection of legitimate expectations cannot be relied on to justify, or to require the repetition of, a misinterpretation of an act. see paras 100, 103

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fourth Chamber)
28 January 2004 (1)

((Fisheries – Common organisation of the markets – Compensation for producers of tuna intended for the processing industry – Allocation between producers' organisations – Change of membership by producers – Effect on the allocation of the allowance – Legal basis – Principle of protection of legitimate expectations))

In Joined Cases T-142/01 and T-283/01, Organización de Productores de Túnidos Congelados (OPTUC), established in Bermeo (Spain), represented, in Case T-142/01, by J.-R. García-Gallardo Gil-Fournier and M. Moya Díaz, lawyers, and, in Case T-283/01, by J.-R. García-Gallardo Gil-Fournier and J. Guillem Carrau, lawyers,

applicant,

v

Commission of the European Communities, represented by S. Pardo Quintillán and, in Case T-142/01, also by L. Visaggio, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg,

defendant,

supported byOrganización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores (Opagac), established in Madrid (Spain), represented by J. Casas Robla and V. Arrastia de Sierra, lawyers,

intervener in Case T-142/01,

APPLICATIONS for the annulment of Commission Regulation (EC) No 584/2001 of 26 March 2001 amending Regulations (EC) No 1103/2000 and (EC) No 1926/2000 providing for the granting of compensation to producer organisations in respect of tuna delivered to the processing industry from 1 July to 30 September 1999 and from 1 October to 31 December 1999 (OJ 2001 L 86, p. 4), and for the annulment of Article 2(2) of and the annex to each of Commission Regulations (EC) No 585/2001 of 26 March 2001, No 808/2001 of 26 April 2001, No 1163/2001 of 14 June 2001 and No 1670/2001 of 20 August 2001, providing for compensation to producer organisations for tuna delivered to the processing industry between 1 January and 31 March 2000, 1 April and 30 June 2000, 1 July and 30 September 2000 and 1 October and 31 December 2000 (OJ 2000 L 86, p. 8; OJ 2000 L 118, p. 12; OJ 2000 L 159, p. 10 and OJ 2000 L 224, p. 4 respectively),

THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (Fourth Chamber),

composed of: V. Tiili, President, P. Mengozzi and M. Vilaras, Judges, Registrar: J. Palacio González, Principal Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 18 September 2003,

gives the following

Judgment

Legal and factual background

1

Article 18 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3759/92 of 17 December 1992 on the common organisation of the market in fishery and aquaculture products (OJ 1992 L 388, p. 1), as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 3318/94 of 22 December 1994 (OJ 1994 L 350, p. 15), provides for the grant of a compensatory allowance when it is observed that, for a given quarter, the price of tuna intended for the processing industry is lower than a specific triggering threshold. It is worded as follows:

1.

An allowance may be granted to the producers' organisations for the quantities of products listed in Annex III [different species of tuna] caught by their members, then sold and delivered to processing industries established within the customs territory of the Community and intended for the industrial manufacture of products falling within CN code 1604. This allowance shall be granted when, for a given quarter:

─

the average selling price recorded on the Community market and

─

the free-at-frontier price referred to in Article 22 plus, where appropriate, the applicable countervailing charge are both lower than a triggering threshold equivalent to 91% of the Community producer price for the product in question.The Member States shall prepare or update and notify to the Commission the list of the industries referred to in this paragraph before the start of each fishing year.

2.

The amount of the allowance in any case may not exceed:

─

either the difference between the triggering threshold and the average selling price of the product in question on the Community market,

─

or a flat-rate amount equivalent to 12% of this threshold.

3.

The maximum total quantity of each of the products eligible for the allowance shall be limited to an amount equal to the average of the quantities sold and delivered, under the terms set out in paragraph 1, during the equivalent quarter in the three fishing years preceding the quarter for which the allowance is paid.

4.

The amount of the allowance granted to each producers' organisation shall be equal to:

─

the ceiling laid down in paragraph 2 for the quantities of the product in question which have been disposed of in accordance with paragraph 1 and which do not exceed the average of the quantities sold and delivered under the same conditions by its members in the equivalent quarter in the three fishing years preceding the quarter for which the allowance is paid,

─

50% of the ceiling laid down in paragraph 2 for the quantities of the product in question which exceed the quantities referred to in the first indent and which are equal to the surplus of the quantities resulting from the allocation of the quantities eligible pursuant to paragraph 3 among the producers' organisations. The allocation shall be made proportionally between the producers' organisations in question on the basis of their respective average production in the equivalent quarter in the three fishing years preceding the quarter for which the allowance is paid.

5.

The producers' organisations shall allocate the allowance granted to their members proportionally on the basis of the quantities produced by them and sold and delivered in accordance with paragraph 1.

6.

Detailed rules for the application of this Article, in particular the amount and the conditions under which the allowance is granted, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 32.

2

On the basis of Regulation No 3759/92, as amended, and in particular Article 18(6), the Commission adopted, on 21 January 1998, Regulation (EC) No 142/98 laying down detailed rules for granting the compensatory allowance for tuna intended for the processing industry (OJ 1998 L 17, p. 8).

3

On 1 July 1998, three undertakings (Nicra 7 SL, Aitzugana SL and Igorre SL, the undertakings concerned) who were members of the Organización de Productores de Túnidos Congelados (Frozen Tuna Producers' Organisation, hereinafter OPTUC or the applicant), one of two tuna producers' organisations established in Spain, left OPTUC and joined the other organisation, the Organización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores (Organisation of Associated Operators of Large Tuna Freezing Vessels, Opagac).

4

On 30 July 1998, the Spanish authorities notified the Commission of that change of membership and provided information concerning the landings...