Case T‑346/12
Hungary
v
European Commission
(Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Fruit and vegetable sector — National financial assistance granted to producer organisations — Commission implementing decision concerning the reimbursement by the European Union of national financial assistance granted by Hungary to its producer organisations — Article 103e of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 — Article 97 of Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007)
Summary — Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber), 15 September 2015
1.      EU law — Interpretation — Texts in several languages — Differences between the various language versions — Account to be taken of the overall scheme and purpose of the legislation in question
(Commission Regulation No 1580/2007, Art. 94)
2.      Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Fruit and vegetables — Producers’ organisations — Repayment of financial assistance granted by a Member State — Commission placing ceiling on the amounts repaid — Lawfulness
(Council Regulations No 1234/2007, Arts 103e and 180, and No 72/2009, twentieth recital; Commission Regulation No 1580/2007, Arts 94 and 97)
3.      Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Fruit and vegetables — Producers’ organisations — Repayment of financial assistance granted by a Member State — Retrospective application of Regulation No 543/2011 to applications arising during the period of validity of Regulation No 1580/2007 – Exclusion
(Commission Regulations No 1580/2007, Art. 94, and No 543/2011, Art. 95)
4.      Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Fruit and vegetables — Producers’ organisations — Repayment of financial assistance granted by a Member State — Applicability of Articles 67 and 94a of Regulation No 1580/2007 — Exclusion
(Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 103e; Commission Regulation No 1580/2007, Arts 67 and 94a)
5.      Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Fruit and vegetables — Producers’ organisations — of financial assistance granted by a Member State – Interpretation of the provisions on national financial assistance in the light of those on EU financial assistance — Not permissible
(Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Arts 103d and 103e; Commission Regulation No 1580/2007, Art. 97(1))
6.      Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Fruit and vegetables — Producers’ organisations — Repayment of financial assistance granted by a Member State — No obligation on the Commission, in its decision authorising aid, to mention the amount of the aid concerned
(Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 103h; Commission Regulation No 1580/2007, Art. 94(1))
7.      Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Fruit and vegetables — Producers’ organisations — Repayment of financial assistance granted by a Member State — Amounts notified to the Commission for a prior authorisation in the nature of estimates — Use as the basis for the authorisation decision — Lawfulness
(Council Regulation No 1234/2007, Art. 103e; Commission Regulation 1580/2007, Art. 94)
1.      See the text of the decision.
(see paras 58, 73, 74)
2.      The Commission has a legal basis to limit reimbursement by the European Union to the amounts of assistance notified in the context of the authorisation procedure under Article 94 of Regulation No 1580/2007, laying down implementing rules of Regulations No 2200/96, No 2201/96 and No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector, on the basis of both Article 103e of Regulation No 1234/2007, establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products, and Article 97(1) of Regulation No 1580/2007. Under Article 103e of Regulation No 1234//2007, the assistance must not exceed 80% of the financial contributions of the producer organisation concerned, which means that, in accordance with Article 94(1) of Regulation No 1580/2007, the amount of assistance and compliance with the 80% threshold must be checked for each producer organisation and, therefore, the Commission’s authorisation relates to the assistance as broken down per producer organisation.
Moreover, an interpretation according to which the Commission is required to reimburse all assistance falling below the ceiling of 80% irrespective of its amount, without being able to exercise the discretion it enjoys under Article 103e of Regulation No 1234/2007 during the authorisation stage, would deprive Article 180 of Regulation No 1234/2007, read in the light of recital 20 of Regulation No 72/2009, amending Regulations No 247/2006, No 320/2006, No 1405/2006, No 1234/2007, No 3/2008 and No 479/2008 and repealing Regulations No 1883/78, No 1254/89, No 2247/89, No 2055/93, No 1868/94, No 2596/97, No 1182/2005 and No 315/2007, to adapt the common agricultural policy, as well as the objectives it pursues relating to competition policy, particularly State aid control, of their effectiveness.
(see paras 66, 67, 70, 72)
3.      See the text of the decision.
(see paras 82, 83, 85)
4.      Article 67 of Regulation No 1580/2007, laying down implementing rules of Regulations No 2200/96, No 2201/96 and No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector, which allows producer organisations to increase the amount of the operational fund by a maximum of 25% of the amount initially approved, does not apply to the national financial assistance referred to in Article 103e of Regulation No 1234/2007, establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products. Article 103e provides that national financial assistance ‘shall be additional to the operational fund’, meaning that any subsequent increase in the operational fund, such as that envisaged in Article 67 of Regulation No 1580/2007, is not intended to trigger a consequential increase in the national financial assistance.
Similarly, neither does Article 94a of Regulation No 1580/2007 apply in that context, since that article covers not the situation where an amount of national financial assistance is approved by the Commission and subsequently increased, but the situation where the content of an operational programme is modified before being approved by the national authority.
(see paras 88, 89, 92, 93)
5.      The provisions on reimbursement of national financial assistance must be interpreted in the light of the Article 103e of Regulation No 1234/2007, establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products, should not be interpreted in the light of the provisions on EU financial assistance which allow the assistance to be adjusted depending on the value of the marketed production. First, Article 103d of Regulation No 1234/2007 does not lay down any procedure for the authorisation of EU financial assistance before the Commission, unlike Article 103e. Moreover, Article 103d of Regulation No 1234/2007 provides that EU financial assistance is to be equal to the amount of the financial contributions actually paid, while Article 97(1) of Regulation No 1580/2007, laying down implementing rules of Regulations No 2200/96, No 2201/96 and No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector, bases reimbursement by the European Union on the ‘approved’ national financial assistance actually paid.
(see paras 95-97)
6.      There is no provision in Regulation No 1234/2007, establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products, or in Regulation No 1580/2007, laying down implementing rules of Regulations No 2200/96, No 2201/96 and No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector, obliging the Commission to refer specifically to the amount of assistance notified in its authorisation decision. Furthermore, it is apparent from Article 103h of Regulation No 1234/2007 that the Commission has full powers to establish rules on the reimbursement. Accordingly, no provision expressly obliged it, in the absence of any requirement to that effect, to mention the amounts of assistance notified in the letter of authorisation.
Moreover, since national financial assistance necessarily includes the amount of such assistance broken down by producer organisation, communicated for the purpose of authorisation, pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 94(1) of Regulation No 1580/2007, the fact that the authorisation decision contains no express reference to the amounts of assistance notified cannot result in there being no limit on the amounts of assistance that can be paid up to the 80% threshold, since authorisation to pay assistance is based, under the second subparagraph of Article 94(1) of Regulation No 1580/2007, on such amounts being taken into account.
(see paras 109, 110)
7.      As regards the estimated amounts submitted by a Member State in the context of the procedure for authorising national financial assistance provided for in Article 94 of Regulation No 1580/2007, laying down implementing rules of Regulations No 2200/96, No 2201/96 and No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector, the notification of estimates is an inherent part of the authorisation procedure, since national financial assistance depends on members’ contributions to the operational fund. Those contributions depend, in turn, on members’ agricultural production, which becomes known only at the end of the financial year. Consequently, the fact that the amounts notified were estimates is not capable of preventing the Commission from refusing to reimburse the amounts paid over and above the amounts notified, in so far as such estimates must be duly substantiated within the meaning of Article 103e of Regulation No 1234/2007, establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products. The notification of estimates does not therefore preclude the Commission from using these amounts as the basis for authorising the assistance notified and treating them as a constituent element of its consent to that authorisation.
(see para. 117)