Order of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 3 September 2014 — Kėdainių rajono Okainių and Others v Council and Commission

(Case T‑386/13)

Action for annulment — Common Agricultural Policy — Direct support schemes for farmers — Authorisation for granting complementary national direct payments in Lithuania for 2012 — Time limit for bringing an action — Point from which time runs — Inadmissibility — Plea of illegality

1.                     Actions for annulment — Time-limits — Mandatory — Examination by the EU judicature of its own motion (Art. 263, sixth para., TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 102(2)) (see paras 27, 28)

2.                     Actions for annulment — Time-limits — Point from which time starts to run — Decision neither published nor notified to the applicant — Precise knowledge of the content and reasons — Duty to request the whole text of the decision within a reasonable time once its existence is known (Art. 263, sixth para., TFEU) (see paras 29-32)

3.                     Plea of illegality — Incidental nature — Main action inadmissible — Inadmissibility of the plea (Art. 277 TFEU) (see para. 47)

Re:

APPLICATION seeking, first, the annulment of Commission Implementing Decision C(2012) 4391 final of 2 July 2012 authorising the making of complementary national direct payments in Lithuania for 2012 and, secondly, a declaration of the partial illegality of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 of 19 January 2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 247/2006, (EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (OJ 2009 L 30, p. 16).

Operative part

1. The action is dismissed as inadmissible.

2. Kėdainių rajono Okainių ŽŪB and the 134 other applicants appearing in the annex shall, in addition to bearing their own costs, pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

3. The Republic of Lithuania is ordered to bear its own costs.