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The Commission justified the imposition of the flat-rate corrections on the following grounds, which are set out in the summary report attached to the contested decision (‘the summary report’): — as regards the LPIS-GIS, the Commission’s services were of the opinion that it did not comply with the requirements stemming from Article 20 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No 2019/93, (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001, (EC) No 1454/2001, (EC) No 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001 (OJ 2003 L 270, p. 1), as amended; in particular: — errors had been established regarding the boundaries of the reference parcels and their maximum eligible area, that information being materially incorrect; this was particularly so for the areas that were used for pasture, which, as audits have shown, could not always be considered eligible for aid on the basis of Article 2, first paragraph, points 2 and 2a of Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 of 21 April 2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system provided for in Regulation No 1782/2003 (OJ 2004 L 141, p. 18), as amended; consequently, the farmers were not correctly informed about the eligibility of the parcels that they intended to declare; moreover, the cross-checks to avoid undue multiple granting of the same aid in respect of the same parcel were not conclusive, unless on-the-spot checks detecting the incorrect location of the parcels and their eligibility had taken place; — from 2009, new LPIS-GIS information was used for declarations and cross-checks; the results of the cross-checks could not be used to evaluate the risk to the Fund in respect of 2008; in 2008, farmers were declaring their parcels on the basis of the former LPIS-GIS; if the system had operated correctly in 2008, some of those parcels would have been refused as ineligible, including a high proportion of the permanent pasture which the Greek authorities considered eligible, and in respect of which the Commission had already, in previous correspondence, indicated its ineligibility, because of its non-compliance with the relevant legal provisions; — the on-the-spot checks did not satisfy, for claim year 2008, the requirements of Articles 23 and 30 of Regulation No 796/2004; in particular: — as regards the pasture areas; the absence of measurement of the pasture areas was deemed a particular point of concern; in several cases, eligible areas were covered with ligneous plants and other parcels were partly covered with herbaceous forage, so that they did not meet the criteria of permanent pasture of Article 2, first paragraph, point 2 of Regulation No 796/2004; the land declared was often located in remote areas, without visible boundaries, and was not easily accessible; it was found that the inspectors had not measured areas in accordance with the requirements of Article 30 of Regulation No 796/2004; whereas the Hellenic Republic had on several occasions stated that the contested areas had always been used as pasture areas without the Commission contesting their eligibility, those areas had also been ineligible in the light of the rules applicable before 2006 and the Directorate General (DG) ‘Agriculture’ had also criticised their eligibility (enquiry AP/2001/06); — as regards the on-the-spot checks by remote sensing: the procedure applied did not comply with the requirements; consequently, aid was paid in respect of ineligible parcels under Article 44(2) of Regulation No 1782/2003 and Article 2 of Regulation No 796/2004; — as regards the standard on-the-spot checks: re-measurements showed some differences, without however demonstrating a systematic failure in the operation of that type of check, with the exception of pasture areas; in 2008, in view of the introduction of a new LPIS-GIS, the Hellenic Republic did not input in the LPIS-GIS the coordinates of the parcels subject to standard on-the-spot-checks; hence there was no graphical overlay making it possible to detect multiple claims; — the shortcomings established constituted a continued failure in the functioning of key control and ancillary controls and generated a risk for the Fund in respect of area aid; moreover, those findings were of a recurrent nature; — the shortcomings established had an effect on the additional ‘coupled’ area-based aid.