Judgment_paragraph 30 · Commission of the European Communities v Council of the European Union (C-211/01)

30To the same effect, the Council states that in Case C-268/94 Portugal v Council [1996] ECR I-6177, paragraph 39, the Court held that the fact that a development cooperation agreement contains clauses concerning various specific matters cannot alter the characterisation of an agreement, which must be determined having regard to its essential object and not in terms of individual clauses, provided that those clauses do not impose such extensive obligations concerning the specific matters referred to that those obligations in fact constitute objectives distinct from those of development cooperation. However, such is precisely the effect of Article 8 in each of the agreements.