Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) 25 May 1993

In Case C-18/92, REFERENCE to the Court under Article 177 of the EEC Treaty by the Tribunal de Première Instance, Brussels, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber), composed of: C. N. Kakouris, President of the Chamber, G. F. Mancini, F. A. Schockweiler, M. Diez de Velasco and P. J. G. Kapteyn, Judges, Advocate General: C. Gulmann, Registrar: H. A. Rühl, Principal Administrator,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of: SA Chaussures Bally, by Luc Simonet, of the Brussels Bar, the Belgian State, by Ignace Maselis, of the Brussels Bar, the Government of the United Kingdom, by John Collins, of the Treasury Solicitor's Department, acting as Agent, assisted by David Anderson, Barrister, the Commission of the European Communities, by Henri Étienne, Principal Legal Adviser, and Johannes Fons Buhl, Legal Adviser, acting as Agents,

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral observations of SA Chaussures Bally, the Belgian State, the Government of the United Kingdom, represented by David Anderson and Susan Cochrane, of the Treasury Solicitor's Department, acting as Agents, and the Commission of the European Communities, at the hearing on 14 January 1993,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 3 March 1993,

gives the following

Judgment

The factual and legal background

First question

Second question

Costs

1 Language of the case: French.