Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2017:483
Date: 2017-07-12
Language of the case: Estonian
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Estonia

summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — General reference to documents annexed to the application — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1)(c)) (see para 94) 10. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Account-clearing decision for expenses financed by EAGGF and EAFRD (Art. 296 TFUE) (see paras 106, 107) 11. Agriculture — EAGF and EAFRD financing — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenses arising from irregularities in applying EU rules — Flat-rate correction issued by the Commission in accordance with internal guidelines — Application of a financial correction without prior finding of a systematic or significant fault in the application of EU rules — Lawfulness (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1306/2013, Art. 52(1) and (2)) (see para 116) 12. Agriculture — EAGF and EAFRD financing — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenses arising from irregularities in applying EU rules — Flat-rate correction issued by the Commission in accordance with internal guidelines — Minor gravity of the infringement — Application of a financial correction of 2% — Breach of principle of proportionality — None (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1306/2013, Art. 52) (see paras 127, 128) 13. EU law — Principles — Principle of sound administration — Duty of diligence — Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41) (see para 144) 14. Agriculture — EAGF and EAFRD financing — Clearance of accounts — Procedure — Bilateral meeting with the Member State concerned convened by the Commission — Purpose — Need to allow an adversarial debate on the issues in dispute (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41; Commission Regulation No 885/2006, Art. 11(1) al. 3) (see paras 147, 148, 151) Re: APPLICATION based on Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/103 of 16 January 2015 excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (OJ 2015 L 16, p. 33) to the extent that it concerns the expenditure incurred by the Republic of Estonia amounting to EUR 691 746.53. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders the Republic of Estonia to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission.