# C_2018104EN.01002801.xml

| 19.3.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 104/28 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

19.3.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 104/28

---

Judgment of the General Court of 1 February 2018 — France v Commission

(Case T-518/15) (1)

1

((EAGF and EAFRD - Expenditure excluded from financing - Metropolitan France’s rural development programme - Rural development support measures - Areas with natural handicaps - Flat-rate financial correction - Expenditure incurred by France - On-the-spot controls - Loading criterion - Counting of animals - Increase in the flat-rate correction due to the recurrence of failure - Procedural safeguards))

(2018/C 104/36)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Parties

Applicant: French Republic (represented by: initially G. de Bergues, D. Colas, R. Coesme and A. Daly, then D. Colas, R. Coesme and A. Daly, finally D. Colas, R. Coesme, S. Horrenberger and E. de Moustier, acting as Agents)

Applicant:

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: A. Bouquet, A. Lewis and J. Aquilina, acting as Agents)

Defendant:

Intervener in support of the applicant: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: initially M. Sampol Pucurull, then V. Ester Casas, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the applicant:

Re:

Re:

Action based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking the partial annulment of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1119 of 22 June 2015 excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (OJ 2015 L 182, p. 39).

Operative part of the judgment

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

| 1. | Annuls Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1119 of 22 June 2015 excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) in so far as it applies a flat-rate correction increased by 10 % on the ground that the failure alleged of the French authorities in the field of the counting of animals was recurrent and had not been subject to improvements carried out by those authorities; |
| --- | --- |

1.

Annuls Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1119 of 22 June 2015 excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) in so far as it applies a flat-rate correction increased by 10 % on the ground that the failure alleged of the French authorities in the field of the counting of animals was recurrent and had not been subject to improvements carried out by those authorities;

| 2. | Dismisses the action as to the remainder; |
| --- | --- |

2.

Dismisses the action as to the remainder;

| 3. | Orders the French Republic and the European Commission to bear their own costs; |
| --- | --- |

3.

Orders the French Republic and the European Commission to bear their own costs;

| 4. | Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs. |
| --- | --- |

4.

Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs.

---

(1)  OJ C 354, 26.10.2015.

1

---