Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 14 June 2012.#G. Brouwer v Staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie.#Reference for a preliminary ruling — College van Beroep voor het Bedrijfsleven — Interpretation of Council Directive 91/629/EEC of 19 November 1991 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves (OJ 1991 L 340, p. 28) and of Articles 4 and 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No 2019/93, (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001, (EC) No 1454/2001, (EC) No 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001 (OJ 2003 L 270, p. 1) — National legislation transposing the Directive by stating that the management requirements apply not only to calves confined for rearing and fattening, but also to calves confined for dairy farming.#Directive 91/629/EEC — Minimum standards for the protection of calves — Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 — Common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy — National legislation transposing Directive 91/629/EEC and declaring the management requirements provided for by that directive to be applicable to, inter alia, calves which are kept confined in the context of a dairy farming operation.#Case C-355/11.

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 14 June 2012 — Brouwer

(Case C-355/11)

Directive 91/629/EEC — Minimum standards for the protection of calves — Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 — Common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy — National legislation transposing Directive 91/629/EEC and declaring the management requirements provided for by that directive to be applicable to, inter alia, calves which are kept confined in the context of a dairy farming operation

1.                     European Union law — Interpretation — Texts in several languages — Uniform interpretation — Consideration of different language versions — Directive 91/629 — Definition of ‘rearing’ and ‘fattening’ (Council Directive 91/629, Arts 1 and 4) (see paras 36-39)

2.                     European Union law — Interpretation — Texts in several languages — Uniform interpretation — Differences between the various language versions — General scheme and purpose of the rules in question as a reference point — Directive 91/629 (Council Directive 91/629, Art. 1) (see paras 40-42)

3.                     Agriculture — Approximation of laws — Minimum standards for the protection of calves — Directive 91/629 — Scope — Calves kept confined in the context of a dairy farming operation for agricultural purposes — Included (Council Directive 91/629, Arts 1 and 4) (see paras 44-46, operative part)

Re:

Operative part:

Council Directive 91/629/EEC of 19 November 1991 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 of 14 April 2003, must be interpreted as meaning that the requirement, referred to in Article 4 of that directive, according to which the conditions relating to the rearing of calves must comply with the general provisions set out in the annex to that directive, including point 8 of that annex, which prohibits, subject to exceptions, the tethering of calves, applied to calves kept confined by a farmer in the context of a dairy farming operation for agricultural purposes.