OPINION OF MR CAPOTORTI — CASE 53/76 PROCUREUR DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE v BOUHELIER

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

1. In this case, the Court is required to give a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of the concept of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions on exports, which are prohibited under Article 34 (1) of the EEC Treaty.

2. The case-law of this Court leaves no room for doubt that the prohibition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions on exports laid down in Article 34 (1) of the EEC Treaty prevents Member States from requiring a customs licence even if it is issued automatically on application and free of charge.

3. Nor, finally, is there any substance in the other argument of the French Government that exports of clocks and watches from France have recently shown an annual increase of 30 % in value and 20 % in quantity, a fact from which the Government concludes that the quality control measures have encouraged exports.

4. For the foregoing reasons, I suggest that, in its reply to the question from the Tribunal de Grande Instance, Besançon, the Court should rule that the prohibition laid down in Article 34 of the EEC Treaty on quantitative restrictions on exports and on measures having equivalent effect applies to the rules laid down by a Member State which, for the export of specific goods, requires a customs licence or a certificate of approval issued on the basis of a quality control which is not required for the same products marketed within that State.

1 Translated from the Italian.