Opinion of Mr advocate-general Reischl

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

The cases which have led to the present requests for a preliminary ruling come procedurally from two different levels. Case 65/75 is concerned with criminal proceedings against a dealer who is charged with having sold 500 sacks of caster sugar in bags of 50 kg above the maximum price which was laid down by Order of the Italian Comitato Interministeriale dei Prezzi (CIP) No 39/74 of 13 August 1974 on the composition of the price of sugar. The other cases are proceedings in the administrative court brought by various Italian companies dealing in sugar for the annulment on the one hand of the said Order No 39/74 and of Order No 28/74 of 28 June 1974 (likewise adopted by the CIP) on the price of sugar (Cases 88-90/75) and on the other hand of Regulation No 9/74 of 20 February 1974 laying down the maximum price for sugar (Case 89/75).

Although the case before the Pretura di Padova is not the same as that before the Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale del Lazio, the questions are basically the same.

In Case 65/75 they are:

In Cases 88-90/75 the questions in each case seek a ruling on:

I therefore consider it expedient to give a single opinion covering the two groups of cases.

1. In considering the questions referred I shall compare the national rules with the Community rules.

2. The Italian price system must now be considered against the agricultural provisions of the Community in the sphere of sugar prices, that is, it is necessary to examine whether the national system contains elements which are incompatible with the Community system.

3. Moreover, and here I come to a further question from the national court, the price rules are also to be considered in the light of the prohibition contained in Article 30 of the EEC Treaty to which Article 35 of Regulation No 1009/67 refers, that is, the prohibition on measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions on imports.

4. In view of what has been said it is no longer difficult to deal with the further question whether the maximum price rules represent a national measure which the Italian Government continued to be entitled to adopt in the context of its own conjunctural policy.

5. Finally I have still an observation to make on the question relating to the direct applicability of the Community rules relevant in these proceedings or in other words on the possibility of individuals relying on them in opposition to national provisions.

6. In view of the foregoing I propose that the questions referred for a preliminary ruling should be answered as follows:

1 Translated from the German.