Bananas - Thirdcountry imports - Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 - Import licences for bananas from ACP countries - Measures under Article 20(d) of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 - Action for annulment - Action for compensation.

«(Bananas – Third-country imports – Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 – Import licences for bananas from ACP countries – Measures under Article 20(d) of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 – Action for annulment – Action for compensation)» Summary of the Judgment 1.. Actions for annulment – Actionable measures – Meaning – Measures producing binding legal effects – Letter from an institution – Letter which merely interprets a legislative provision – Not included (Art. 230 EC) 2.. Plea of illegality – Scope – Measures in respect of which a plea of illegality may be raised – General measure on which the contested decision is based (Art. 241 EC) 3.. Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Bananas – Import arrangements – Tariff quota – New scheme laid down in Regulation No 2362/98 – Applicability of Article 20(d) of Regulation No 404/93 to remedying of temporary difficulties arising from the transition from 1993 scheme to the 1999 scheme despite the existence of transitional provisions in Regulation No 2362/98 – Power of assessment of the Commission – Review by the Court – Limits (Council Regulation No 404/93, Art. 20(d); Commission Regulation No 2362/98) 4.. Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Bananas – Import arrangements – Tariff quota – New scheme laid down in Regulation No 2362/98 – Refusal by the Commission to adopt specific measures under Article 20(d) of Regulation No 404/93 in the light of the commercial nature of the difficulties encountered by an operator – No manifest error of assessment (Council Regulation No 404/93, Art. 20(d); Commission Regulation No 2362/98) JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fifth Chamber)10 April 2003 (1) ((Bananas – Third-country imports – Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 – Import licences for bananas from ACP countries – Measures under Article 20(d) of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 – Action for annulment – Action for compensation)) applicants, v defendant, THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (Fifth Chamber), having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 24 October 2002 gives the following On those grounds, THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fifth Chamber), García-Valdecasas Lindh Cooke H. Jung R. García-Valdecasas Registrar President 1 – Language of the case: Italian.