In applying article 177 of the Treaty the court is not competent to decide questions of compatibility of a provision of national law with community law. It can, however, infer from the wording of the questions formulated by the national court, in the light of the facts as found by the latter, the matters involving interpretation of the treaty. An undertaking which enjoys certain privileges for the accomplishment of tasks entrusted to it by law, maintaining for this purpose close links with the public authorities, and which is responsible for ensuring the navigability of the state’ s most important waterway, may fall under article 90(2) of the EEC treaty. The application of article 90(2) involves an appraisal of the requirements, on the one hand, of the particular task entrusted to the undertaking concerned and, on the other hand, the protection of the interests of the community. This appraisal depends on the objectives of general economic policy pursued by the states under the supervision of the commission. Consequently, and without prejudice to the exercise by the commission of the powers conferred by article 90(3), article 90(2) cannot create individual rights which the national courts must protect.
Citations:
C-10/71
Jurisdiction:
European
European
Updated: 20 December 2022; Ref: scu.131967