Luxembourg, 17/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The president of the first Chamber of the European Court of Justice, Peter Jann, rejects the appeal made by eight cruise ship companies which are demanding $70 million in damages for financial losses incurred during the Kosovo conflict because of the European Community's action.
Royal Olympic Cruises, Valentine Oceanic Trading, Caroline Shipping, Simpson Navigation, Solar Navigation Corporation, Ocean Quest Sea Carriers, Athena 2004 and Freewind Shipping, which are all established in Liberia, as well as the Greek company, Elliniki Etaireia Diipeirotikon Grammon (Piraeus) saw reservations plummet from 24 March 1999, when NATO began military action in Kosovo.
In their appeal, the shipping companies repeat the argument that European regulations taken by the Council and European Commission strengthened armed intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. They have not proved how such regulations caused injury, explains the president of the Chamber, Peter Jann.
The regulations in question mainly concerned the oil embargo and the ban on flights between the EU and the FRY.
The second Chamber of the Court of First Instance, presided by Dutch Judge Arjen Meij, had initially rejected the cruiser companies' appeal as they had not, it said, established that there was a sufficient causal link between these regulations and the financial losses incurred.