Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 24 March 2011 – Greece v Commission
(Case T-184/09)
EAGGF – Guarantee Section – Expenditure excluded from Community financing – Common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector – Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 and Article 11(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 – Assessment of the risk of financial loss to the EAGGF – Principle of proportionality
1. Agriculture – EAGGF – Clearance of accounts – Definitive refusal to accept responsibility for certain expenses – Need for a prior inter partes procedure – Communication by the Commission of the results of verifications – Duty to submit an assessment of the expenses to be disallowed before communication of the results of the verifications – None – Infringement of defence rights – None (Commission Regulations Nos 1663/95, modified by Regulation No 2245/1999, Art. 8, and 885/2006, Art. 11) (see paras 39-40, 44-48, 50, 52)
2. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision relating to the clearance of accounts in respect of expenditure financed by the EAGGF – Obligation respective of the mere fact of the close association of the addressee Member State with the process of establishing the decision (Art. 253 EC) (see points 56-57)
3. Agriculture – EAGGF – Clearance of accounts – Disallowance of expenditure arising from irregularities in the application of the Community rules – Financial correction – Conditions – Existence of significant failure to act exposing the EAGGF to a real risk of loss (Council Regulations Nos 729/70 and 1258/1999, Art. 7(4)) (see paras 59-65)
4. Agriculture – Common agricultural policy – EAGGF financing – Disallowance of irregular expenses – Finding of failures in the control system implemented by a Member State – Blanket correction of 10% of expenses – Lawfulness – Conditions – Lack of sufficient control mechanisms – Breach of principle of proportionality – None (Commission Decision 2009/253) (see paras 70-73)
Re:
| APPLICATION for annulment 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 certain expenditure incurred by the Hellenic Republic in the context of the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs. |