Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:64
Date: 2013-02-07
Language of the case: Latvian
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Latvia

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 7 February 2013 Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — EAGGF financing — Support for rural development — Agri-environmental aid — Recovery of undue payments — National rules laying down the obligation, for the beneficiary of aid granted in return for his agri-environmental commitments covering several years, to repay all of the aid received in respect of previous years in the event of failure to submit an annual application — Admissibility — Beneficiary continuing to fulfil his obligations regarding the use of the areas concerned, and not having been given the opportunity to be heard by the competent authority — Impossibility of carrying out an on-the-spot check of the areas concerned because the year at issue has elapsed — No effect (Council Regulation No 1257/1999, as amended by Regulation No 1783/2003; Commission Regulations No 796/2004 and No 817/2004) Regulation No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain regulations, as amended by Regulation No 1783/2003, Regulation No 817/2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation No 1257/1999, and Regulation No 796/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system provided for in Regulation No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers must be interpreted as not precluding national rules according to which the beneficiary of aid granted in return for his agri-environmental commitments covering several years is required to repay all of the aid already received in respect of previous years on the ground that he did not submit an annual application in accordance with the applicable national provisions, where that beneficiary claims that he continued to fulfil his obligations regarding the use of the areas concerned, he was not given the opportunity to be heard by the competent authority, but it is no longer possible to carry out an on-the-spot check of the areas concerned because the year at issue has elapsed. (see para. 40, operative part)