Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 17 May 2013 — Bulgaria v Commission
(Case T‑335/11)
EAGF and EAFRD — Expenditure excluded from financing — Single area payment — ‘Disadvantaged areas’ — Complementary national direct payments — Operation of the geographic information system and of the identification system for agricultural parcels — Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 — Proportionality — Legal certainty — obligation to state reasons
1. Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — Financing by EAGF and EAFRD — Principles — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenses arising from irregularities in applying EU rules — Challenge by the Member State concerned — Burden of proof — Allocation between the Commission and the Member State (Council Regulation No 1290/2005, Art. 31) (see paras 19-22, 85, 109)
2. Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — Financing by EAGF and EAFRD — Grant of aids and premiums — Obligation of Member States to organise an effective system of administrative controls and on-the-spot checks — Scope — Unreliable controls — Disallowance (Council Regulation No 1290/2005, Art. 9) (see paras 29, 132-135)
3. Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — Financing by EAGF and EAFRD — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenses arising from irregularities in applying EU rules — Assessment of losses suffered by the funds — Irregular expenses not capable of sufficiently precise determination — Assessment based on flat-rate corrections — Lawfulness (Council Regulation No 1290/2005, Art. 31) (see paras 86-89, 112, 119)
4. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision on the clearance of EAGF and EAFRD accounts (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1290/2005, Art. 31) (see paras 143, 144)
Re:
| APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Implementing Decision 2011/244/EU of 15 April 2001, 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 2011 L 102, p. 33), as regards the Republic of Bulgaria. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders the Republic of Bulgaria to pay the costs. |