36As the Court of Justice has consistently held (see, inter alia, the judgment in Case 327/82Ekro v Produktschap voor Vee en Vlees [1984] ECR 107), the terms of a provision of Community law which makes no express reference to the law of the Member States for the purpose of determining its meaning and scope must normally be given an independent interpretation, which must take into account the context of the provision and the purpose of the relevant regulations. The Court considers, however, that, in the absence of an express reference, the application of Community law may sometimes necessitate a reference to the laws of the Member States where the Community court cannot identify in Community law or in the general principles of Community law criteria enabling it to define the meaning and scope of such a provision by way of independent interpretation.