Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1999:553
Date: 1999-11-11
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
Agriculture — Common agricultural policy — Structural reform — Improvement in the 
efficiency of structures — Aid for the extensification of production — Detailed rules for 
applying the aid scheme — Failure by the aid beneficiary to honour his extensification 
undertaking — Penalty — Reduction of the aid — Detailed rules for calculating 
reductions 
(Commission Regulation No 4115/88, Art. 16(1), as amended by Regulation No 838/93) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-414/98 
Article 16(1) of Regulation No 4115/88 
laying down detailed rules for applying 
the aid scheme to promote the extensifica-
tion of production, as amended by Regula­
tion No 838/93, must be interpreted as 
meaning that the method which it lays 
down of calculating the reduction of exten-
sification aid is applicable where the dis­
crepancy between the number of units for 
which the aid is requested and the number 
of units measured exceeds two hectares but 
is less than 10% of the surface for which 
aid is requested. 
The reduction of extensification aid provi­
ded for in the second sentence of Arti­
cle 16(1) above, covers the whole period of 
the undertaking given by the beneficiary of 
the aid, unless the latter can prove that the 
discrepancy between the number of units 
for which aid was requested and the 
number of units measured is neither inten­
tional nor the result of negligence on its 
part. 
(see paras 14, 20, 1-2) 
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