No L 197/54 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 8. 93 COMMISSION DECISION of 19 July 1993 on a procedure for the application of the second paragraph of Article 53 of the ‘ EAEC Treaty (Only the Portuguese text is authentic) (93/428/Euratom) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular the second paragraph of Article 53 thereof, Having regard to the letter of 21 December 1990 from the Empresa Nacional de Urdnio SA, a company consti- tuted under Portuguese law, to the Commission, Whereas : M I. THE FACTS The Empresa Nacional de Urdnio SA, a company constituted under Portuguese law, hereinafter referred to as ENU, is a mining company which produces natural uranium concentrates in Portugal and which is encountering serious difficulties following the non-renewal of a long-term contract which covers practically three-quarters of its productions. The ENU approached the Euratom Supply Agency requesting it to resolve the problem of the disposal of the Portuguese output and to exercise its right of option pursuant to Article 57 of the EAEC Treaty on its output. The Agency tried unsuccessfully to find users prepared to take supplies from the ENU. By letter of 8 December 1989, the Member States of the Commission responsible for energy and the Euratom Supply Agency indicated that the Agency’s supply policy should in his view include a ‘special course of action’ to enable the Portuguese problem to be resolved. The Agency has continued to try to find buyers for the production among Community users but always without success, as the prices asked by the ENU are not competitive in market terms. On 21 December 1990 the ENU formally requested that the Commission, pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 53 and Article 148 of the EAEC Treaty, direct the Agency to restore the machinery established by Chapter VI of the Treaty, to undertake an investigation into the provision of supplies to users from outside the Community, to discuss compensation to the ENU and to require the Agency to adopt a ‘special course of action’ : @ ‘(@) to order the Agency pursuant to Article 53 of the Treaty ... to restore the proper functioning of the machinery established by the Treaty under Chapter VI, requiring compliance with the provisions concerning the common supply policy, etc.; (b) that the Commission immediately undertake an investigation and thereafter take action accordingly — to determine how it was possi- bile that, without any check by it under Atrticle 66 of the Treaty, the Community users freely obtain supplies of uranium on foreign markets, despite the availability at a reasonable price of the entire output of the ENU ... and that the Commission, either directly or through the Agency, warn the offending under- takings that it will take action against them if they effect further imports whilst the ENU output remains on sale; ‘ ~— (c) that the Commission discuss ... with the ENU the amount of the fair compensation which must be paid to the ENU for the damage caused to it by the unlawful failure on the part of the Commission and the Supply Agency to exercise their Community powers ; (d) to require compliance with the Commission’s decision, which was not complied with by the Supply Agency, and to direct that the Agency urgently adopt a “special course of action” so as to achieve an immediate resolution of the problem regarding the disposal of the ENU’s uranium and to support it in that regard; (e) that the Commission therefore direct the Agency to implement the Decision which it addressed to it, by finding a satisfactory solu- tion to the problem of the ENU, without prejudice to the application of the provisions of the Treaty, in a manner which will make it possible to lessen the effects of any future diffi- culties. By written application addressed to the Registrar on 3 April 1991(), the ENU brought proceedings pursuant to Article 148 of the EAEC Treaty for failure to act (Case C-107/91), claiming that the Court should declare : () OJ No C 125, 15. 5. 1991, p. 10.