Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2013:172
Date: 2013-03-14
Language of the case: Bulgarian
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Overseas countries and territories;Fundamental rights;Charter of Fundamental Rights
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Bulgaria

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 27 June 2013 1. EU law — Direct effect — Individual rights — Safeguarding by the national courts — Legal action — Principle of procedural autonomy — Determination of the courts with jurisdiction to hear and determine actions based on Community law and of the procedural rules governing the action — Limits — Observance of the principles of equivalence and effectiveness — Verification by the national court 2. EU law — Direct effect — Individual rights — Safeguarding by the national courts — Legal action — Principle of procedural autonomy — Determination of the courts with jurisdiction to hear and determine actions based on Community law and of the procedural rules governing the action — National rule of jurisdiction conferring on a single court all disputes relating to decisions of a national authority responsible for the payment of agricultural support under the European Union common agricultural policy — Lawfulness — Conditions (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47) 1. See the text of the decision. (see paras 35-39, 42, 43, 48) 2. EU law, in particular the principles of equivalence and effectiveness and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, does not preclude a national rule of jurisdiction which results in conferring on a single court all disputes relating to decisions of a national authority responsible for the payment of agricultural support under the European Union common agricultural policy, provided that actions intended to ensure the safeguarding of the rights which individuals derive from EU law are not conducted in less advantageous conditions than those provided for in respect of actions intended to protect the rights derived from any aid schemes for farmers established under national law, and that jurisdiction rule does not cause individuals procedural problems in terms, inter alia, of the duration of the proceedings, such as to render the exercise of the rights derived from EU law excessively difficult, which it is for the referring court to ascertain. (see para. 61, operative part)