Case T-251/04: Action brought on 22 June 2004 by the Hellenic Republic against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2004-08-28
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: EAGGF Guarantee Section, EU financing, European Commission, Greece, action for annulment (EU), common agricultural policy, fruit, operational expenditure (EU), public stock, vegetable

C 217/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.8.2004

— breach of the principle of non-discrimination: applications
by other officials in circumstances similar to those of the
applicant were admitted to the procedure;

— defective statement of reasons and error of assessment, in
that it was not considered that the applicant's role and the
duties carried out by him, albeit under the formal title of
Adviser resident in Guatemala, were B since he undertook
tasks relating to the management of the Guatemala Delega-
tion on the basis of
full managerial and economic
autonomy B equivalent to those of a Head of Unit.

Another part of the expenditure which was excluded from
financing concerns
failure to pay the
the correction for
minimum price to producers of peaches. On that point of the
contested decision, the Hellenic Republic acknowledges that
than the
producer organisations were paid directly rather
processor, but cites exceptional circumstances which,
in its
view, justify that action, which it considers to be in keeping
with the aim of
the common agricultural policy and the
common organisation of the market, asserting further that this
did not occasion any harm. The Hellenic Republic maintains in
addition that the amount of the correction was wrongly calcu-
lated.

Action brought on 22 June 2004 by the Hellenic Republic
against the Commission of the European Communities

As regards the correction of 2 % in relation to the programme
for helping deprived persons, the Hellenic Republic alleges that
Articles 1, 2 and 9 of Regulation No 3149/92 (1) were misinter-
preted, that the circumstances were wrongly assessed, and that
there was inadequate reasoning.

(Case T-251/04)

(2004/C 217/61)

(Language of the case: Greek)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 22 June 2004 by the Hellenic
Republic, represented by V. Kontolaimos and I. Khalkias.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul Decision 2004/457/EC of 29 April 2004 (OJ 2004 L

156, p. 47).

Pleas in law and main arguments

In the contested decision the Commission,
in clearing the
accounts in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 729/70,
expenditure
excluded from Community financing various
effected by the Hellenic Republic in the fruit and vegetables
sector and in the sector of public storage, with the result that it
is not recognised as legitimate Community expenditure and is
chargeable to the Hellenic Republic.

More specifically, certain of that expenditure relates to the
public storage of rice for the financial years 1999-2001. The
Commission cited as the reason for non-recognition the late
bringing into intervention of part of the quantity of rice. In
support of its action against the part of the decision concerning
that expenditure, the Hellenic Republic claims that the principle
of proportionality was infringed by the Commission's refusal to
recognise force majeure owing to a lorry-drivers' strike. It also
claims that the principle of protection of legitimate expecta-
tions is infringed by reason of the failure of the Commission's
services to state the Commission's position on the notification
that it was envisaged that the bringing into intervention would
be late for reasons of force majeure. The Hellenic Republic also
alleges inadequate reasoning on the particular question of
failure to keep within guidelines VI/5330/97 which provide for
application of flat rate corrections when the actual level of the
irregular payments cannot be determined.

As regards the correction made to the three-year restructuring
programme for fruit and vegetables, Greece alleges misinterpre-
tation of Article 2 of Regulation No 3816/92 (2), mistaken
assessment of the circumstances in the particular sense that
what was achieved within the three-year period had to be paid
just as restructuring
for rather than what was functioning,
action had to be paid for; this took place six months after the
end of the three-year period and was paid for in the first six-
month period of 2000.

Lastly, the Hellenic Republic puts forward a general plea in
support of annulment concerning all parts of the contested
decision, asserting that the Commission did not have the power
at the time to impose corrections for the periods at issue in
accordance with the provisions of Article 7(4) of Regulation
No 1258/99 (3), in conjunction with Article 8 of Regulation No
1663/1995 (4). These require that an evaluation of the expendi-
ture to be corrected must be contained in the communication
under Article 8 of Regulation No 1663/95 with a view to
calculating the 24-months preceding that communication in
order for corrections to be imposed.

(1) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3149/92 of 29 October 1992
laying down detailed rules for the supply of food from intervention
stocks for the benefit of the most deprived persons in the Com-
munity (OJ L 313 of 30.10.1992, p. 50).

(2) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3816/92 of 28 December 1992
providing for, in the fruit and vegetables sector, the abolition of the
compensation mechanism in trade between Spain and the other
Member States and allied measures (OJ L 387 of 31.12.1992, p.
10).

(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the
the common agricultural policy (OJ L 160 of

financing of
26.06.1999, p. 103).

(4) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 of 7 July 1995 laying
down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 729/70 regarding the procedure for the clearance of
the
accounts of the EAGGF Guarantee Section (OJ L 158 of 8.7.1995,
p. 6).