Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2017:385
Date: 2017-05-17
Language of the case: Greek
Subject matter: Provisions governing the Institutions
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Greece

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 9 November 2017 1. Acts of the institutions — Acts of the Commission — Enforceable decision ordering the recovery of sums unduly paid — Implementing measures — Identification of the national court having jurisdiction — Application of national law — Conditions (Art. 299 TFEU) 2. Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — European Union funding — Financial aid unduly paid — Recovery by an enforceable decision — Identification of the person liable to make payment in respect of the pecuniary obligation — Application of national law — Conditions (Art. 299 TFEU; Council Regulations No 2052/88, No 4253/88 and No 4256/88) 1. Article 299 TFEU must be interpreted as not determining the choice of the national competent court to hear actions connected with the enforcement of enforceable European Commission acts which impose a pecuniary obligation on persons other than States, in accordance with that article, that determination being a matter for national law by virtue of the principle of procedural autonomy, provided that that determination does not undermine the application and effectiveness of European Union law. It is for the national court to determine whether the application of the national procedural rules to actions concerning the enforcement of acts covered by Article 299 TFEU is made in a non-discriminatory manner compared to the procedures for deciding national disputes of the same type and in accordance with procedural rules which do not make the recovery of the sums referred to in those acts more difficult than in comparable cases involving the application of the corresponding national provisions. (see paras 25, 26, operative part 1) 2. Article 299 TFEU and Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments, Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments and Council Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 of 19 December 1988, laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section must be interpreted as meaning that they do not define, in circumstances such as those at issue in the main proceedings, the persons against whom enforcement may be pursued by virtue of an enforceable decision of the Commission ordering the recovery of sums paid. It is for the national court to define those persons, in compliance with the principles of equivalence and effectiveness. In that regard, it must be recalled that, under the first subparagraph of Article 299 TFEU, acts of the Council of the European Union, the Commission or the European Central Bank which impose a pecuniary obligation on persons other than States, are to be enforceable. It follows from that provision that those acts may be enforced against persons to whom they relate, other than States. With regard to the national rules on enforcement, it is clear from the second and third subparagraphs of Article 299 TFEU that those rules govern the means of enforcement and not the identity of persons capable of being the object of such enforcement. Accordingly, in the absence of EU law rules specifying those persons and enabling the determination in particular of whether enforcement may be pursued against a person other than the addressee of the Commission decision, it is for the internal legal order of each Member State to establish the persons against whom enforcement may be pursued, on condition, however, that the national rules are not less favourable than those governing similar domestic situations (principle of equivalence) and that they do not make it excessively difficult or impossible in practice to exercise the rights conferred by EU law (principle of effectiveness) (see, to that effect, judgment of 12 February 2015, Baczó and Vizsnyiczai, C‑567/13, EU:C:2015:88, paragraphs 41 and 42 and the case-law cited). (see paras 28-31, 35, operative part 2)