Court of Justice 12 June 2003, C-159/01 (Kingdom of the Netherlands v Commission of the European Communities.)

Opinion of the Advocate-General Opinion of the Advocate-General 1. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has set up a system of levies designed to reduce the infiltration of nitrogen and phosphates into the ground as the result of the use of fertilisers on farms. Those levies are payable by farmers who cause losses into the environment of nitrogen and phosphates in excess of a given threshold.