Judgment_paragraph 2. · 68/77

2.Article 21 of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 of the Council of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal (Official Journal, English Special Edition 1968 (I), p. 187) provides inter alia as follows:1. If by reason of imports or exports the Community market in one or more of the products listed in Article 1 experiences or is threatened with serious disturbances which may endanger the objectives set out in Article 39 of the Treaty, appropriate measures may be applied in trade with third countries until such disturbance or threat of disturbance has ceased.’Article 31 of the regulation provides asfollows:‘This regulation shall be so applied that appropriate account is taken, at the same time, of the objectives set out in Articles 39 and 110 of the Treaty.’Pursuant to Article 21 of the regulation, the Commission adopted Regulation (EEC) No 610/75 of 7 March 1975 on protective measures for certain beef and veal products falling within subheading 16.02 B III (b) 1 of the CCT (Official Journal L 63 of 8 March 1975, p. 37) which entered into force on 15 March 1975. Article 1 of that regulation reads as follows:‘Free circulation within the Community of products falling within subheading 16.02 B III (b) 1 of the Common Customs Tariff originating in third countries shall be suspended, with the exception of prepared or preserved bovine meat or bovine meat offal put up in sealed containers weighing not more than three kg net.’The system thus established was replaced by Regulation (EEC) No 1090/75 of the Commission of 23 April 1975 on the issue by way of protective measures of import licences for certain beef and veal products (EXIM) (Official Journal L 108 of 26 April 1975, p. 1) which entered into force on 1 May 1975. The so-called EXIM system thus introduced made the issue of import licences subject to prior exportation of an equivalent quantity of beef or veal (Article 3).However, under subparagraph (a) of the second paragraph of Article 1 of the regulation, no impon licence was required for:‘prepared or preserved beef and veal or beef and veal offal in hermetically sealed containers weighing not more than 5 kg net.’The second, third and penultimate recitals of the preamble to Regulation No 1090/75 read:‘Whereas the Commission is keeping a close watch on the market situation for beef and veal; whereas it has accordingly been noted that, as a result of imports, this market continues to be threatened by serious disturbances which are likely to jeopardize the objectives of Article 39 of the Treaty;Whereas, however, it is evident that the market in beef and veal is tending to stabilize; whereas, in these circumstances, it is necessary to restructure the protective arrangements to allow a certain amount of trade to redevelop, but without creating an imbalance on the Community market;…Whereas the current position on the Community market enables import restrictions on certain products falling within subheading 16.02 B III (b) 1 of the Common Customs Tariff, which have a specific market, to be abolished entirely;’The scope of the exception arising under the provision quoted was changed by Regulation (EEC) No 2033/75 of the Commission of 5 August 1975, amending the definition as laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 1090/75 (EXIM) of products falling within CCT subheading 16.02 B III (b) 1 (Official Journal L 207 of 6 August 1975, p. 8).Article 1 of that regulation, after reproducing without amendment Article 1 (2) of Regulation No 1090/75, added the following paragraph to that article:4. Meat and offal which has been subject to seasoning (with pepper and salt, for example), whether minced, cut up or in a single piece shall not be regarded as falling under paragraph 2 (a) above, irrespective of the type of packing in which it is put up.’The following reasons were given for the amendment in the fourth recital of the preamble to the regulation:‘Whereas there has been a steady growth in the importation of seasoned meats exempted … from the protective measures; whereas the total imports effected and to be effected have reached a level incompatible with sound management of the market in beef and veal’;Although Regulation No 2033/75 was published in the Official Journal on 6 August 1975, under Article 2 thereof it entered into force only on 1 September 1975.Regulation No 1090/75 was replaced by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 76/76 of 16 January 1976 setting up a system linking imports of beef and veal products effected by way of protective measures with the sale of beef held by intervention agencies (Official Journal L 10 of 17 January 1976, p. 21); it came into force on 19 January 1976.Under Article 2 of the regulation the issue of import licences for, inter alia, seasoned beef and veal was subject to the purchase of an equal quantity of unboned frozen meat held by the intervention agencies.Finally, changes were made in the system applicable to imports of beef and veal as a result of Council Regulation (EEC) No 425/77 of 14 February 1977, amending Regulation No 805/68 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal and adapting Regulation No 827/68 and Regulation No 950/68 on the Common Customs Tariff (Official Journal L 61 of 5 March 1967, p. 1); it was applicable as from 1 April 1977. Under the new regulation the importation of seasoned beef and veal is, inter alia, limited by the obligation to produce an import licence and the imposition of a levy (Articles 9 and 15 of Regulation No 805/68 as amended by Regulation No 425/77).