point 23 of Annex IX relates to investments made on holdings and/or premises which are, in law and in fact, under the exclusive control of that producer organisation, so that any use of those investments for the benefit of a third party be excluded.

the mere fact that an investment made in the context of an operational programme covered by Article 60(1) of that regulation is located on land which is owned by a third party, and not the producer organisation concerned, is not, in principle, under point 23 of Annex IX, a ground for non-eligibility of aid for the expenditure incurred, by that producer organisation, in respect of that investment;

Point 23 of Annex IX to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 of 7 June 2011 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 in respect of the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors, in so far as it refers to investments made ‘on holdings and/or premises of producer organisations’, must be interpreted as meaning that:

The principle of the protection of legitimate expectations must be interpreted as not precluding, in circumstances such as those at issue in the case in the main proceedings, the competent national authority, first, refusing payment of the amount of the financial aid which had been requested by a producer organisation for an investment finally considered to be ineligible for that aid pursuant to point 23 of Annex IX to Implementing Regulation No 543/2011 and, second, requesting the producer organisation to reimburse the aid already received for that investment.

In that regard, it should be recalled that the exercise by a Member State of any discretion to decide whether or not it would be expedient to demand repayment of EU funds unduly or irregularly granted would be inconsistent with the duty under the common agricultural policy for national administrations to recover such funds (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgment of 21 September 1983, Deutsche Milchkontor and Others, 205/82 to 215/82, EU:C:1983:233, paragraph 22).

Following settled case-law of the Court, the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations cannot be relied upon against an unambiguous provision of EU law; nor can the conduct of a national authority responsible for applying EU law, which acts in breach of that law, give rise to a legitimate expectation on the part of a trader of beneficial treatment contrary to EU law (judgments of 1 April 1993, Lageder and Others, C‑31/91 to C‑44/91, EU:C:1993:132, paragraph 35, and of 20 June 2013, Agroferm, C‑568/11, EU:C:2013:407, paragraph 52).

Moreover, when approving the operational programme concerned, it was already well established that, in the context of financing the common agricultural policy, a strict interpretation of the conditions for the European Union taking over costs was necessary, since the management of the common agricultural policy, on the basis of equality between traders in the Member States, requires that the national authorities of a Member State, by means of a wide interpretation of a specific provision, should not favour traders of that Member State (see, to that effect, judgment of 27 February 1985, Italy v Commission, 55/83, EU:C:1985:84, paragraph 31 and the case-law cited, and of 6 November 2014, Netherlands v Commission, C‑610/13 P, not published, EU:C:2014:2349, paragraph 41).

(see paras 68, 69, 71, operative part 2)