Opinion of Mr Advocate General Lenz
Mr President,
Members of the Court,
The second reference for a preliminary ruling which I am to consider today also concerns monetary compensatory amounts; in this case it is a question of the amounts fixed by Regulation No 3013/80 (Official Journal 1980, L 312, p. 12) and transactions which took place in a country with a so-called hard currency.
A. Between 24 November and 8 December 1980 the plaintiffs in the main action, processors of maize, exported glucose (dextrose) falling with tariff subheadings 17.02 B I (a) and 17.02 B II (b) and maize starch falling within tariff subheading 11.08 A I, or transferred maize to the processing arrangements giving rise to a right to a refund, in order to manufacture from it products falling within the same tariff subheadings. They consider that the monetary compensatory amounts paid to them in respect of those transactions on the basis of the abovementioned regulation were too low. Because Regulation No 974/71 requires monetary compensatory amounts to be the same for imports and exports of one and the same product, they assume that that should also apply to the relationship between the basic product and products processed from it. That is not the case, in their view, however, with maize and products processed from it; on the contrary, they claim that the sum of the compensatory amounts applicable to processed products is well below the level of the amount applicable to maize. (I shall touch upon the actual figures later in my Opinion). They claim that the position is further aggravated by the fact that, although monetary compensatory amounts are fixed for the secondary product of maize germ, there is virtually no market for it and no export trade in it. On the other hand, no monetary compensation is payable on exports of kibbled germ, germ oil or feeding-stuffs (which may be processed out of germs by means of a recently-developed manufacturing process). The plaintiffs allege that, in that respect, Regulation No 3013/80 does not comply with Regulation No 974/71, cited above, which is the basic regulation applicable to monetary compensatory amounts. Moreover, they claim that if it is remembered that there must be a corresponding advantage for processing undertakings in countries with so-called soft currencies, it must also be accepted that Articles 3 (f), 9 et seq. and 43 of the EEC Treaty are infringed.
B. My views on those questions are as follows :
C. Accordingly, I propose that the answers to the questions submitted to the Court by the Finanzgericht Hamburg should be as follows:
1 Translated from the German.
2 Judgment of 15 October 1980 in Case 4/79, Société cooperative providence agricole de la Champagne v Office nationale interprofessionel des céréales, [1980] ECR 2823.
3 Judgment of 15 October 1980 in Case 4/79, Société cooperative providence agricole de la Champagne v Office nationale interprofessionel des céréales, [1980] ECR 2823.
4 Judgment of 15 October 1980 in Case 109/79 Maïseries de Beauce Sàrl v Office nationale interprofessionnel des céréales, [1980] ECR 2883.
5 Judgment of 15 October 1980 in Case 145/79, Roquette Frères SA v French State, [1980] ECR 2917.
6 Opinion in Case 33/84 Fragd SpA v Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato, [1985] ECR 1606.
7 Judgment of 15 October 1980 in Case 4/79, Société cooperative providence agricole de la Champagne v Office nationale interprofessionel des céréales, [1980] ECR 2823.
8 Our italics.
9 Judgment of 15 October 1980 in Case 4/79, Société cooperative providence agricole de la Champagne v Office nationale interprofessionel des céréales, [1980] ECR 2823.
10 Case 46/84, Firma Nordgetreide GmbH & Co. KG v Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Jonas, [1985] ECR 1985-8.
11 Opinion in Case 33/84 Fragd SpA v Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato, [1985] ECR 1606.
12 Judgment of 15 October 1980 in Case 4/79, Société cooperative providence agricole de la Champagne v Office nationale interprofessionel des céréales, [1980] ECR 2823.
13 Opinion in Case 33/84, Fragd SpA v Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato, [1985] ECR 1606.