Luxembourg, 04/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Mbanga Plantations company of Douala, which processes and sells bananas, wants the Commission and Council to give it EUR 15,000 in compensation and interest for damages caused by the European regulation, which it says has compelled it to go through European groups and multinationals to obtain EU import certificates for which the latter have been overcharging. According to the Cameroon company, these groups (“import operators”) are using Community provisions to their advantage on imports of ACP bananas into the EU because they are reintroducing a kind of import duty through “excessive and disproportionate” charges, when bananas are not subject to duty.
The Mbanga Plantations company considers that the Council and Commission are liable for damages because they failed to take into consideration a category of independent producers of which it part. It explains that it is obliged to obtain import certificates from the “import operators” because it is not classified as an “operator” in the sense of the Community regulation and that it is not part of a European or multinational group.
The Cameroon company has criticised the Community institutions for having adopted legislation that creates anti-competitive practices and for having failed to mitigate these effects. It also accuses the institutions of having breached the non-discriminatory principle between importers, as well as its right to exercise its professional activities.