Luxembourg, 12/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU's Court of First Instance rejected the appeal by the Hamburg company Dieckmann & Hansen, currently bankrupt, that had asked it to condemns the Commission to compensate it for injury - estimated at DM 9 million - as it had been impossible for it to import caviar from Kazakhstan into Germany. The Commission was quite right in granting the protection of public health greater importance than economic considerations, says the Court, citing the Affish ruling where it was a question of the import of Japanese products derived from surimi (see EUROPE of 23 July 1997). The Fourth Chamber, presided over by Prenilla Lindh states that the Commission has the right to prohibit fisheries products for the simple reason of "deficiencies in the general system of control in Kazakhstan."
The German firm accused the Commission of not having sent experts to any of the caviar production factory-ships nor inspected the caviar production plants of the company Atyraubalyk (formerly Kolkhoze). The CFI rejected the argument: the Commission did not exceed its powers by applying to the caviar the negative assessment linked to deficiencies observed during inspections of the horsemeat and zander filet production plants.
The experts attribute great importance to this case in that it confirms that the Commission may ban the import of fisheries products for reasons of health without having to proceed with specific inspections. An analysis of the general control system of the products suffices.