62018TJ0295_INF
Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 19 December 2019 –Greece v Commission
(Case T‑295/18)
(EAGF and EAFRD — Expenditure excluded from financing — Expenditure incurred by Greece — Rural development — Decoupled direct aid — Key controls — Flat-rate financial corrections)
1.
Agriculture — EAFRD financing — Clearance of accounts — Limitation of refusal of financing — Twenty-four month period — Point from which time starts to run — Communication by the Commission of the results of verifications — Date of payment of the aid to be taken into consideration for calculating the period — Date of final payment of the aid
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1306/2013, Art. 52(4)(a) and (c))
(see paras 49-52, 64, 66)
2.
Agriculture — EAFRD financing — Support for rural development — Eligibility of operations and expenses — Setting eligibility criteria at national level — Member States' discretion — Limits — Actual selection of the projects by the managing authority
(Council Regulation No 1698/2005, Recital 61 and Art. 71(2) and (3))
(see paras 79, 83, 84)
3.
Agriculture — 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 — Defective or unsatisfactory character of key controls established by a Member State — Admissibility of the application of a flat rate of 5% in the event of deficiencies found in the assessment of aid applications, in the review of the management of assessment tasks, and in the review of whether the costs were reasonable
(Commission Regulation No 65/2011, Art. 24(2))
(see paras 121-123, 138)
4.
Acts of the institutions — Choice of legal basis — EU rules — Requirements of clarity and foreseeability — Express indication of the legal basis — Limit — Continuity between the old and the new regulatory framework
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1306/2013; Council Regulation No 485/2008)
(see paras 146-148, 150)
Re:
Application under Article 263 TFEU seeking the partial annulment of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/304 of 27 February 2018 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 2018 L 59, p. 3).
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action;
2.
Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.