COMMISSION DECISION of 15 November 1989 on the clearance of the accounts presented by the Member States in respect of the expenditure for 1987 of the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (89/627/EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70
of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy(1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2048/88(2), and in particular Article 5 (2) thereof,
After consulting the Fund Committee,
Whereas, pursuant to Article 5 (2) (b) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, the Commission, on the basis of the annual accounts presented by the Member States, clears the accounts of the authorities and bodies referred to in Article 4 of that Regulation;
Whereas the Member States have transmitted to the Commission the documents required to clear the accounts for 1987 and that the latter has carried out on-the-spot inspections as provided for in Article 9 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70;
Whereas Article 8 of Commission Regulation (EEC)
No 1723/72 of 26 July 1972 on the clearance of accounts of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guarantee Section(3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 295/84(4), provides that the
decision to clear the accounts must include the determination of the amount of expenditure incurred in each Member State during the financial year in question recognized as chargeable to the Guarantee Section of the Fund, and also the determination of the amount of the Community's financial resources still available in each Member State; whereas Article 99 of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977(5), as last amended by Regulation (ECSC, EEC, Euratom) No 2049/88(6), provides that the outcome of the clearance decision, i. e. any discrepancy which may exist between the total expenditure booked to the accounts for a financial year pursuant to Articles 97 and 98 and the total expenditure recognized as allowable by the Commission when clearing the accounts is to be booked, under a single article, as additional expenditure or a reduction in expenditure;
Whereas, pursuant to Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, only refunds on exports to third countries and intervention to stabilize agricultural markets, respectively granted and undertaken according to Community rules within the framework of the common organization of the agricultural markets, may be financed; whereas the inspections carried out show that a part of the expenditure declared by the Member States does not meet these conditions and therefore must be disallowed; whereas the amounts declared by each of the Member States concerned, those recognized as chargeable to the EAGGF Guarantee Section and the differences between the two amounts and the differences between the expenditure recognized as chargeable to the EAGGF Guarantee Section and that charged in respect of the year are shown in the Annex to this Decision;
Whereas the Member States have been fully informed of the corrections made to their accounts and have been able to give their views thereon;
Whereas the expenses declared by Italy relating to processing aid for skimmed-milk powder amounting to Lit 5 534 795 215 and to aid for the consumption of olive oil amounting to Lit 123 720 168 921 and by France relating to the additional distillation of table wines amounting to FF 424 963 697,24 are not covered by the present Decision, given that further examination of these cases is necessary; whereas these amounts have therefore been deducted from the expenditure declared by the Member States in respect of the year under consideration and will be cleared subsequently; whereas, in addition, as regards the processing aid for skimmed-milk powder in Italy, the securities lodged under Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1624/76(7), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3183/86(8), will also be cleared subsequently;
Whereas the expenditure disallowed for Italy comprises an amount of Lit 20 920 524 089 in respect of financial compensations paid by producers' organizations in the sector of fruit and vegetables; whereas this amount must be charged to this Member State pursuant to this Decision; whereas, the special circumstances of this case, however, justify re-examination by the Commission of the disallowance during the present clearance, provided
this Member State provides the necessary evidence by
31 December 1989 at the latest; whereas this Decision is none-the-less immediately applicable;
Whereas the expenditure disallowed for Germany comprises an amount of DM 367 473 219 in respect of the supplementary levy which would have collected in the milk and milk products sector; whereas this amount must be charged to this Member State pursuant to this Decision; whereas, however, the special circumstances of this case justify re-examination by the Commission of the disallowance of DM 234 334 970 as and when expenditure is declared by this Member State before 31 March 1991 within the framework of a programme for buying back reference quantities which may no longer be redistributed consequently; whereas this Decision is none-the-less immediately applicable;
Whereas, when clearing the accounts for 1985 and 1986, in the case of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, the Commission deferred reaching a decision on the possible financial consequences resulting from the non-application or the incorrect application of the system of additional levies in the milk sector; whereas these
consequences must now be calculated on the basis of the
second subparagraph of Article 4a (3a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 857/84(9), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1117/89(10); whereas pursuant to that Regulation, the payments made by Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom must also be corrected;
Whereas, when clearing the accounts for 1986, in the case of Italy, the Commission deferred examining certain expenditure provisionally disallowed while awaiting additional evidence regarding aid for the consumption of olive oil; whereas this Decision rules as to the further action to be taken with regard to this case, details of which have been notified to the Member State;
Whereas, in the case of Greece, the inquiry regarding the quality of intervention stocks of tobacco is now closed; whereas this Decision rules as to further action to be taken with regard to this case;
Whereas, pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC)
No 1078/77 of 17 May 1977 setting up a system of milk non-marketing and dairy herd conversion premiums(11), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1300/84(12), 60 % of the expenditure relating to these schemes is chargeable to the EAGGF Guarantee Section and 40 % to the Guidance Section; whereas these schemes rank as intervention within the meaning of Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 and constitute a common measure within the meaning of Article 6 (1) of that Regulation; whereas it is therefore necessary to include Guidance Section expenditure when clearing the accounts in respect of expenditure financed by the EAGGF;
Whereas this Decision is without prejudice to any financial consequences which may be drawn in any subsequent clearance of accounts in respect of national aid or infringements for which the procedures started under Articles 93 and 169 of the Treaty are now being implemented or were terminated after 11 October 1988 or to any consequences relating to infringements committed in 1987 or to national aid incompatible with the Treaty paid in 1987 and liable to affect EAGGF expenditure during a year subsequent to 1987.
Whereas this Decision is without prejudice to any financial consequences resulting, during a subsequent accounts clearance procedure taken by the Commission, from current investigations underway at the time of this Decision, from irregularities within the meaning of Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 or from judgments of the Court of Justice in cases now pending and relating to matters covered by this Decision;
Whereas, as the clearance of accounts concerning food aid operations has not yet been concluded, the financial consequences for the Guarantee Section will be determined during a subsequent clearance of accounts,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1 The Member States' accounts concerning expenditure financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section in respect of 1987 are hereby cleared as indicated in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2 The amounts arising under point 2 (e) in column (c) of the Annex are to be taken into account as part of the
expenditure referred to in Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2776/88(13) as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2735/89(14), for the month following that of the notification of this Decision.
Article 3 This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 15 November 1989.