Judgment_paragraph 1 · Léon Van Parys NV v Belgisch Interventie- en Restitutiebureau (BIRB) (C-377/02)

1This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the validity of Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 on the common organisation of the market in bananas (OJ 1993 L 47, p. 1) as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1637/98 of 20 July 1998 (OJ 1998 L 210, p. 28), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 of 28 October 1998 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 regarding imports of bananas into the Community (OJ 1998 L 293, p. 32), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2806/98 of 23 December 1998 on the issuing of import licences for bananas under the tariff quotas and for traditional ACP bananas for the first quarter of 1999 and on the submission of new applications (OJ 1998 L 349, p. 32), Commission Regulation (EC) No 102/1999 of 15 January 1999 on the issuing of import licences for bananas under the tariff quotas and for traditional ACP bananas for the first quarter of 1999 (second period) (OJ 1999 L 11, p. 16), Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/1999 of 19 March 1999 on the issuing of import licences for bananas under the tariff quotas and for traditional ACP bananas for the second quarter of 1999 and on the submission of new applications (OJ 1999 L 75, p. 18), in the light of Articles I and XIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (OJ 1994 L 336, p. 103,‘GATT 199‘) which appears in Annex 1A of the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation (‘WTO’), approved by Council Decision 94/800/EC of 22 December 1994 concerning the conclusion on behalf of the European Community, as regards matters within its competence, of the agreements reached in the Uruguay Round multilateral negotiations (1986-1994) (OJ 1994 L 336, p. 1), and of Article 4 of the Framework agreement on cooperation between the European Economic Community and the Cartagena Agreement and its member countries, namely the Republic of Bolivia, the Republic of Colombia, the Republic of Ecuador, the Republic of Peru and the Republic of Venezuela, approved on behalf of the Community by Council Decision 98/278/EC of 7 April 1998 (OJ 1998 L 127, p. 10, ‘the framework agreement’).