Opinion of Advocate General Lenz delivered on 9 July 1992

1 Original language: German.

2 Council Regulation (EEC) No 1442/88 of 24 May 1988 on the granting, for the 1988/1989 to 1995/1996 wine years, of permanent abandonment premiums in respect of winegrowing areas (OJ 1988 L 132, p. 3).

3 Regulation (EEC) No 777/85 of 26 March 1985 on the granting, for the 1985/1986 to 1989/1990 wine years, of permanent abandonment premiums in respect of wine-growing areas (OJ 1985 L 88, p. 8).

4 Article 7(1) speaks of a wine cooperative or other association of wine-growers. For simplicity, I shall use the expression wine cooperative in all cases.

5 See for example Case C-16/89 Spnnk [1990] ECR I-3185, paragraph 13.

6 The case of a member leaving a cooperative does not fall to be considered here; it may be resolved relatively easily by interpreting Article 7 (which refers to members).

7 See the judgment in Case C-16/89 Spronk, cited above, paragraph 13.

8 Contrary to the view of the national court, Article 7(1) prescribes a maximum limit but no minimum limit. A Member State could therefore choose a rate of less than 1%.

9 Joined Cases C-251/90 and C-252/90 Procurator Fiscal v Kenneth Gordon Wood and James Cowie [1992] ECR I-2873, paragraph 2.