Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 29 October 2015 —
Lithuania v Commission
(Case T‑110/13)
Community assistance programme for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe (SAPARD) — Financing by the European Union of certain expenditure incurred by Lithuania — Commission decision requiring Lithuania to reimburse part of the amount paid — Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 — Reference to the principles established by Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 — Scope of the multiannual financing agreement concerning the SAPARD programme — Sincere cooperation
1. Accession of new Member States — Lithuania — Overall budgetary undertakings made by way of pre-accession financial instruments — Special accession programme in favour of agriculture and rural development (Sapard) — Rules for implementation and recovery of expenditure carried out by Lithuania — Application of the provisions of the multiannual agreement concluded in the context of Sapard as a lex specialis in relation to the provisions of Regulation No 1268/1999 (Council Regulations No 1258/1999 and No 1268/1999, Art. 9(1), second para.) (see paras 27, 33)
2. EU budget — Financial regulation — Recovery of debts from third parties — Waiver — Condition — Insolvency of a debtor benefiting from EU financing managed by the creditor institution — No possibility of waiver in regard to a Member State benefiting from Sapard financing — No general principle of waiver by EU institutions of debts owing to them (Council Regulations No 1258/1999, No 1266/1999, Art. 12(2), and No 1605/2002, Art. 73(2); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 87(1)(b)) (see paras 31, 32, 42)
3. Accession of new Member States — Lithuania — Overall budgetary undertakings made by way of pre-accession financial instruments — Special accession programme in favour of agriculture and rural development (Sapard) — Recovery by the Commission of sums unduly paid — No clear stipulation in that respect in the multiannual agreement concluded in the context of Sapard — Irrelevant (Council Regulation No 1268/1999) (see paras 38, 39, 41, 47)
4. Accession of new Member States — Act of Accession 2003 — Immediate applicability of measures adopted by the institutions before accession — Commission using the rules under Regulations No 1605/2002 and No 2342/2002 to recover sums unduly paid in the context of a pre-accession programme — Lawfulness (Act of Accession 2003, Arts 2 and 10; Council Regulation No 1605/2002; Commission Regulation No 2342/2002) (see paras 50, 51)
5. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Commission decision demanding repayment of sums unduly paid in the context of the Sapard programme — Addressee State having been closely associated with the process of drawing up the decision — No infringement of the duty to give reasons (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1268/1999) (see paras 54, 55)
6. Accession of new Member States — Lithuania — Overall budgetary undertakings made by way of pre-accession financial instruments — Special accession programme in favour of agriculture and rural development (Sapard) — Irregularity of certain expenditures carried out by Lithuania — Consequences — Recovery by the Commission — Not a penalty (Council Regulation No 1268/1999) (see para. 62)
7. Member States — Obligations — Duty of sincere cooperation with the EU institutions — Reciprocity (Art. 4(3) TEU) (see paras 65, 68)
8. Judicial proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Plea raised for the first time at the reply stage — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 84(1)) (see paras 83, 84)
Re:
| Principally, application for annulment of Decision No FK/fa/D(2012)1707818 of the Commission of 10 December 2012 in so far as the debit note No 3241213460 attached to it relates to projects whose completion has been assigned to undertakings which have been placed in receivership and to Project P27010010. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders the Republic of Lithuania to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission. |