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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Scheucher- Fleisch & Ors v Commission (State aid) [2009] EUECJ T-375/04 (18 November 2009) URL: https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2009/T37504.html Cite as: [2009] EUECJ T-375/4, [2009] EUECJ T-375/04 |
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(State aid Agriculture State aid for quality programmes in the agricultural foodstuffs sector in Austria Decision not to raise objections Action for annulment Standing as party concerned Safeguarding procedural rights Admissibility Serious difficulties Guidelines for State aid for advertising)
In Case T-375/04,
Scheucher-Fleisch GmbH, established in Ungerdorf (Austria),
Tauernfleisch Vertriebs GmbH, established in Flattach (Austria),
Wech-Kärntner Truthahnverarbeitung GmbH, established in Glanegg (Austria),
Wech-Geflügel GmbH, established in Sankt Andrä (Austria),
Johann Zsifkovics, established in Vienna (Austria),
represented by J. Hofer and T. Humer, lawyers,
applicants,
Commission of the European Communities, represented by V. Kreuschitz and A. Stobiecka-Kuik, acting as Agents,
defendant,
APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Decision C(2004) 2037 final of 30 June 2004 on State aid NN 34A/2000 concerning the quality programmes and labels AMA'Biozeichen and AMA'Gütesiegel in Austria,
composed of A.W.H. Meij, President, V. Vadapalas (Rapporteur) and L. Truchot, Judges,
Registrar: T. Weiler, Administrator,
having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 12 February 2009,
gives the following
Facts
Procedure and forms of order sought by the parties
annul the contested decision;
order the Commission to pay the costs.
dismiss the action as inadmissible, or in the alternative, as unfounded;
order the applicants to pay the costs.
Law
Admissibility
Arguments of the parties
Findings of the Court
Substance
Arguments of the parties
Findings of the Court
'49. National quality control schemes should be dependent solely on the existence of intrinsic objective characteristics which give the products the quality required or which concern the production process required, and not dependent on the origin of the products or the place of production. Irrespective of whether the quality control schemes are compulsory or voluntary, access to such schemes must therefore be granted to all products produced in the Community, irrespective of their origin, provided that they meet the conditions laid down ...
50. Where the scheme is restricted to products of a particular origin ..., the scheme itself is contrary to the Treaty, and it is self-evident that the Commission cannot consider aid for the advertising of such a scheme to be compatible with the common market.
...'
'The use of the quality label is available for all products grown or produced within the Community which meet the quality conditions for that use. Those particular conditions for candidate products must either concern the quality of the product or seem to be limited to enabling their geographical origin to be verified. The particular conditions can in all cases be met irrespective of the product's geographical provenance.'
'... [T]he measures notified, relating to the bio-label and to the quality label, which have been applied since 26 September 2002, are not restricted to Austrian products and ... the products' origin does not constitute the principal message either in the labels or in the corresponding advertising.
...'
'The contribution for the purposes of agricultural marketing ... is to be collected for the pursuit of the following objectives:
1. promoting and guaranteeing the sale of national agricultural and forestry products and their derivative products;
2. opening and servicing markets for those products within the country and abroad;
3. improving the distribution of those products;
4. encouraging general measures for improving and guaranteeing the quality of those products (in particular of the corresponding agricultural products);
5. promoting other marketing measures (in particular the supply of services and staff costs connected therewith).'
Costs
On those grounds,
hereby:
1. Annuls Commission Decision C (2004) 2037 final of 30 June 2004 on State aid NN 34A/2000 concerning the quality programmes and labels AMA'Biozeichen and AMA'Gütesiegel in Austria;
2. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Scheucher-Fleisch GmbH, Tauernfleisch Vertriebs GmbH, Wech-Kärntner Truthahnverarbeitung GmbH, Wech-Geflügel GmbH and Johann Zsifkovics.
Meij |
Vadapalas |
Truchot |
Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 18 November 2009.
[Signatures]
* Language of the case: German.