Report for the Hearing delivered in Case 272/86

I — Summary of the facts

In and after 1983, the Commission received complaints from a number of Community traders to the effect that imports into the Hellenic Republic of olive oil of all kinds, coming both from Member States and nonmember countries, were prohibited. It was claimed that it was also difficult, if not impossible, to export certain types of olive oil from the Hellenic Republic to other Member States.

1. With respect to imports, the Commission sent a telex message to the Greek authorities on 13 August 1984 pointing out that since the accession of the Hellenic Republic no olive oil had been imported into that country, either from nonmember countries or from other Member States. An Italian company Alivar, had tried on two occasions, most recently in May 1984, to import olive oil into the Hellenic Republic, but did not receive authorization from the Greek authorities. In those circumstances the Commission asked the Greek authorities whether olive oil of Community origin could be freely imported into the Hellenic Republic in accordance with the Community rules and, in particular, what administrative formalities applied to such imports.

2. With respect to exports, on 1 February 1985 the Commission sent a telex message to the Greek Minister for Agriculture stating that according to reports in certain newspapers and on Greek television, the Greek Government had taken measures prohibiting bulk exports of extra and fine quality virgin olive oil to other Member States and nonmember countries, or at least imposing certain conditions on such exports. The Commission therefore asked the Greek government to confirm that no measure had been adopted which would directly or indirectly impede trade in olive oil, particularly within the Community.

3. The Commission subsequently decided to initiate the procedure under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty and sent a letter to the Greek Government on 24 April 1985 calling on it to submit its observations within two weeks. The Commission took the view that by prohibiting the exports of extra and fine quality virgin olive oil to the other Member States and imports into Greece of olive oil from other Member States and nonmember countries the Hellenic Republic had failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 30 and 34 of the EEC Treaty and Regulation No 136/66/EEC on the establishment of a common market in oils and fats, in particular Article 3 thereof. Moreover, by refusing or failing to provide the required information, the Hellenic Republic had infringed Article 5 of the EEC Treaty, under which Member States have a duty to facilitate the achievement of the Community's tasks.

4. On 21 October 1985 the Commission addressed a reasoned opinion to the Greek Government, calling upon it to take the measures needed to comply with it within one month after its notification. The Commission essentially reiterated the arguments contained in its letter of formal notice. With respect to the infringement of Article 5 of the Treaty, the Commission stated that the Greek Government's reply of 4 April 1985, which had been forwarded eight months after the Commission's telex message and which indicated that imports from the EEC were unrestricted, was inadequate in so far as it gave no explanation regarding the complaints lodged about the conditions and administrative formalities which traders had to fulfil in order to import oil. As regards imports from nonmember countries, the Greek authorities had also failed to respond to the telex message sent by the Commission.

5. By letter of 6 March 1986, the Greek Government replied to the reasoned opinion. The exceptional drop in the production of extra and fine quality olive oil during the period 1984-85 had led to an excessive price rise which had had an impact on the price index and disrupted the market, giving rise to considerable speculation. In order to stabilize the market and protect consumers' income the Greek Government had been obliged to take measures, albeit of a temporary nature, to withhold authorization for exports of olive oil, but only of the abovementioned categories. It was quite clear that the measures were temporary since, on 11 July 1985, 10000 tonnes had been exported to the Soviet Union.

6. On 10 April 1986, the Commission sent the Greek Government a further letter of formal notice, stating that Greece had not only continued to apply the prohibition on exports of extra and fine quality olive oil but had also extended it to all types of edible olive oil and to lampante grade oil. Only exports of extra and fine quality olive oil in packs not exceeding five litres were permitted.

7. Having received no reply, the Commission delivered a supplementary reasoned opinion on 26 June 1986, calling on the Greek Government to take the necessary measures to comply with it within a period of one month after its notification. In particular, the Greek Government's reply of 6 March 1986, although indicating that the restrictions on exports were limited to bulk exports of extra and fine quality virgin olive oil, conflicted outright with the information in the complaints made to the Commission and the information in the press. By virtue in particular of Article 13 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC of the Council on the establishment of a common market in oils and fats, the Greek authorities had no power to adopt national measures to stabilize prices. The fact that 10000 tonnes of oil had been exported to the Soviet Union in July 1985 did not prove that the prohibition of exports had been wholly lifted.

8. Following the supplementary reasoned opinion the Greek authorities informed the Commission, by letter of 18 July 1986, that during the previous two months private traders and cooperatives had exported 55000 tonnes of edible olive oil in bulk.

II — Written procedure and conclusions of the parties

The Commission's application was received at the Court Registry on 11 November 1986.

Upon hearing the report of the Judge-Rapporteur and the views of the Advocate General, the Court decided to open the oral procedure without any preparatory inquiry.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

The defendant contends that the Court should:

III — Submissions and arguments of the parties

1. The Commission claims that any prohibition of imports or exports, or both imports and exports, of the. products in question and any national measures or administrative practices whose purpose or effect is to restrict exports or imports within the Community are incompatible with Articles 30 and 34 of the EEC Treaty, which prohibit quantitative restrictions on trade and any measures having equivalent effect. Those provisions form an integral part of the common organization of the market in oils and fats, established by Regulation No 136/66/EEC of the Council.

2. The Hellenic Republic contests the Commission's allegations.

IV — Answers to the questions put by the Court

1. The Court asked the Hellenic Republic to specify the period during which it applied measures restricting exports of olive oil, the nature of those measures and the grades concerned.

2. At the request of the Court, the Commission produced documents showing the attempts made to import olive oil into the Hellenic Republic in January and May 1984 and June 1985. According to the Commission, those applications were rejected tacitly, without any explanation being given to the persons concerned.

1 Language of the Case: Greek.