Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 11 November 2015 —
Greece v Commission
(Case T‑550/13)
EAGGF — Guarantee Section — EAGF and EAFRD — Expenditure excluded from financing — Reasonable period — Absence of key controls — Extrapolation of the findings of default
1. Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — EAGGF financing — Clearance of accounts — Procedure — Obligations of the Commission — Duty to act within a reasonable time — Criteria for assessment — Infringement — Consequences (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(1); Council Regulations No 1258/1999, Art. 7(4), and No 1290/2005, Art. 31) (see paras 26-38)
2. Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — EAGGF financing — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenses arising from irregularities in applying EU rules — Challenge by the Member State concerned — Burden of proof — Shared by the Commission and the Member State (see para. 48)
3. Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — EAGGF financing — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenses arising from irregularities in applying EU rules — Extrapolation of findings of discrepancies in a Member State’s control system from one region to other regions — Lawfulness — Conditions (see paras 71-73)
4. 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. 296 TFEU) (see paras 84-86)
Re:
| APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Implementing Decision 2013/433/EU of 13 August 2013 on excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (OJ 2013 L 219, p. 49). |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs. |