Opinion of Mr Advocate General Tesauro delivered on 10 November 1993

1 Original language: Italian.

2 The original Contracting States were Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Great Britain. At present Eurocontrol has 14 members: of the countries of the Community only Denmark, Spam and Italy do not belong to the organization.

3 Sec in this connection the judgment in Case 44/65 Hessische Knappschaft v Maison Singer et Fils [1965] ECR 965, especially at pp 969-971; see also the judgment in Joined Cases 28. 29 and 30/62 Da Costa en Schaake NV v Nederlandse Belastingadministratie [1963] ECR 31, especially at pp 38-39.

4 Case 41/90 Klaus Hofner and Fritz Elser v Macrolron GmbH [1991] ECR I-2010, in particular at paragraphs 21-23.

5 Case 118/85 Commission v Italy [1987] ECR 2599, especially at paragraphs 6-10.

6 See, among many, more recently and also for further bibliographical references, S. De Bellis, L'immunità delle organizzazioni internazionali dalla giurisdizione, Bari 1992.

7 For an application of such a distinction with respect to countries that are not members of the Community, attention should be drawn in this connection to the decision of the Commission of 19 December 1984 concerning a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (iV/26.870 — Imports of aluminium from Eastern Europe, OJ 1985, L 92, p. 1, especially paragraph 9).

8 Amongst those who have expressed such misgivings, see Lalive, L'immunité de juridiction des États et des Organisations internationales, in R.C.A.D.I., 1953, III, p. 14 et seq., especially p. 301; and Professor Seidl-Hohcnveldern, L'Immunité de juridiction et d'exécution des États et des Organisations internationales, in I.H.E.I. Droit International-I, Paris 1979/80, p. 109 et seq., particularly p. 166.

9 See, for the same interpretation, the judgments in Case 118/85 Commission v Italy [1987] ECR 2599, in particular at ParaGraphs 6 and 7, and Case 30/87 Bodson v Pompes funèbres des régions libérées SA [1988] ECR 2479, in particular at paragraph 18. That principle could, moreover, already have been deduced from the judgment in Case 94/74 Industria Gomma Articoli Vari v Ente Nazionale per la Cellulosa e per la Carta [1975] ECR 699, in particular at paragraph 35.

10 Sec, for example, on the right of establishment, the judgment in Case 2/74 Reyners v Belgian State [1974] ECR 631; on freedom of movement for workers, the judgments in Case 149/79 Commission v Belgium [1980] ECR 3881; Case 149/79 Commission v Belgium [1982] ECR 1845; Case 307/84 Commission v France [1986] ECR 1725; on the subject of VAT, the judgment in Joined Cases 231/87 and 129/88 Ufficio distrettuale delle imposte dirette di Fiorenzuola d'Arda [1989] ECR 3233.

11 Judgment cited above in the preceding footnote.

12 See, in this connection, the judgment in Case 107/84 Commission v Germany [1985] ECR 2655, especially at paragraphs 14 and 15.

13 The activities carried on by Eurocontrol with a view to coordinating the navigation policies of the Member States, the non-economic nature of which is beyond dispute, are not relevant here.

14 Judgment in Case 29/76 LTU v Eurocontrol [1976] ECR 1541. especially at paragraph 4.

15 See the judgments in Case 41/83 Italy v Commission [1985] ECR 873. and 107/84 Commission v Germany [1985] ECR 2655.

16 The Agreement relating to the provision and operation of air traffic facilities and services by Eurocontrol at the Maastricht control centre of 25 November 1986.

17 The amount of the so-called administrative rate — which is moreover very small in comparison with the amount of the charge — has not been challenged in any way in the course of the main proceedings.

18 See in this connection the judgments in Case 127/73 BRT [1974J ECR 313. and Joined Cases C-159/91 and C-160/91 Poncet et Piltre [1993] ECR I-637.