Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2008:529
Date: 2008-11-26
Language of the case: Greek
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)
Concepts: Procedure for clearance of accounts;General;Conditions subject to which expenditure is borne by the EAGGF
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Greece

Action brought on 25 September 2006 - Greece v Commission (Case T-263/06) Language of the case: Greek Parties Applicant: Hellenic Republic (represented by: I. Khalkias, G. Kanellopoulos) Defendant: Commission of the European Communities Form of order sought annul the Commission Decision of 27 July 2006 excluding from Community financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), notified under document number C(2006) 3331 final and published under number 2006/554/EC; 1 in the alternative, alter it as set out more specifically below; order the Commission to pay the costs. Pleas in law and main arguments By the contested decision, the Commission, clearing accounts under Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, 2 excluded from Community financing inter alia certain expenditure which had been incurred by the Hellenic Republic in the area of measures accompanying rural development and had been declared under the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF. The applicant advances as a general ground for annulment of Commission Decision C(2006) 3331 final the infringement of an essential requirement of the procedure for clearing accounts laid down in subparagraph (a) of the third subparagraph of Article 8(1) of Regulation No 1663/95. 3 Specifically, it submits that the Commission failed to engage in a bilateral discussion with the Greek authorities on an evaluation of the gravity of the infringements attributed to them and the financial loss to the Community; in the alternative it raises the Commission's lack of power ratione temporis to impose the financial corrections at issue. ____________ 1 - OJ L 218, 9.8.2006, p. 12. 2 - Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of the Council of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (OJ, English Special Edition 1970 (I), p. 218). 3 - Commission Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 of 7 July 1995 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 regarding the procedure for the clearance of the accounts of the EAGGF Guarantee Section (OJ L 158, 8.7.1995, p. 6).