Opinion of Advocate General Van Gerven delivered on 2 March 1993

1 Original language: Dutch.

2 OJ 1982 L 292, p. 20 and OJ 1984 L 125, p. 38.

3 Case 327/82 Ekro [1984] ECR 107.

4 OJ 1968 L 148, p. 24. This regulation was last amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 125/93 of 18 June 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal, OJ 1993 L 18, p. 1.

5 OJ 1977 L 61, p. 1.

6 The essential part of the procedure laid down in Article 27 is a matter for the Commission.

7 Regulation (EEC) No 2773/82 entered into force on I November 1982, Regulation (EEC) No 1315/84 on 12 May 1984 (Article 2 of the rwo regulations).

8 OJ 1984 L 273, p. 5.

9 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2787/81 of 25 September 1981 fixing the export refunds on beef and veal, OJ 1981 L 271, p. 44.

10 Case 55/87 [1988] ECR 3845.

11 Case 29/69 [1969] ECR 419.

12 Written observations, paragraphs 19 and 20. The cut taken from the first and eighth ribs includes neither Fleischdiinnung nor Knochendiinnung. It is divided into cuts which arc not relevant to the present proceedings.

13 Written observations, paragraph 23.

14 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1354/92 of 26 May 1992 on the sale by the procedure laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2539/84, of boneless beef held by certain intervention agencies and intended for export, amending Regulation (EEC) No 569/88 and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 665/92, OJ 1992 L 145, p. 53.

15 In principle, I agree with GruSa in considering that it is better not to interpret a 1982 regulation by using a 1992 regulation. However, the particulars which emerge from the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 1354/92 arc more than confirmed by, for example, the Annex to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 132/83 of 19 January 1983, OJ 1983 L 17, p. 15 as well as by the annexes to dozens of other regulations from the period in question (sec the relevant tables in the first part of Official Journal, in the chapter on Agriculture, under the keywords beef and veal).

16 From this point of view, the question should be asked why Knochendunnung was removed from the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 2891/84. However, this removal is not in question in these proceedings (see also paragraph 17 below).

17 Case 349/85 [1988] ECR 169.

18 The case concerned subheading ex 16.02 B III b) 1 in che Annex to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 187/80 of 29 January 1980, OJ 1980 L 23, p. 11.

19 Judgment of 12 November 1981 Salumi (Joined Cases 212/80 and 217/80 [1981] ECR 2735), at paragraphs 9 and 10; implicitlv also in the judgment of 3 October 1985, FKF (Case 154/84 [1985] ECR 3165), at paragraphs 17 to 22.

20 Preamble to Regulation (EEC) No 805/68, tenth recital.

21 Case 135/79 [1980] ECR 1713.

22 Written observations, paragraph 27.

23 For a recent example, see Case C-368/89 Crispoltoni [1991] ECR I-3695.