Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 3 July 2012 —
Denmark v Commission
(Case T-212/09)
EAGGF — Guarantee Section — Expenditure excluded from financing — Arable crops — Setting aside of land
1. Procedure — Measures of organisation of procedure — Request for production of documents — Discretion of the General Court (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 46(1)(d)) (see para. 24)
2. Union law — Interpretation — Methods (see para. 29)
3. Agriculture — EAGGF — Grant of aids and premiums — Obligation of Member States to organise an effective system of administrative controls and on-the-spot checks — Unreliable controls — Disallowance by the Fund (Commission Regulations No 3887/92, Art. 6(1), and No 2419/2001, Art. 15) (see paras 39, 40, 160)
4. Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenditure arising from irregularities in the application of the Community rules — Challenge by the Member State concerned — Burden of proof — Allocation between the Commission and the Member State (see paras 57, 58, 150)
5. Union law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Commission not replying to a letter — No infringement (see para. 134)
6. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision relating to the clearance of accounts in respect of expenditure financed by the EAGGF (Art. 253 EC) (see paras 139, 140)
7. Union law — Principles — Proportionality — Withdrawal of financial assistance for breach of essential obligations — Lawfulness (see paras 148, 149)
8. Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenditure arising from irregularities in the application of the Community rules — Assessment of losses incurred by the Fund — Irregular expenses not capable of sufficiently precise determination — Assessment based on flat-rate corrections — Lawfulness (see para. 152)
Re:
| ANNULMENT in part of Commission Decision 2009/253/EC of 19 March 2009 excluding from Community financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) (OJ 2009 L 75, p. 15), in so far as it excludes from Community financing certain expenditure incurred by the Kingdom of Denmark in respect of the setting aside of land. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders each party to bear its own costs. |