Commission Regulation (EC) No 1034/2008 of 21 October 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards the accreditation of paying agencies and other bodies and the clearance of the accounts of the EAGF and the EAFRD
Date: 2008-10-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, closing of accounts, common agricultural policy, fund (EU)

22.10.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 279/13

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1034/2008

of 21 October 2008

amending Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards the accreditation of paying agencies and other bodies and
the clearance of the accounts of the EAGF and the EAFRD

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 of
21 June 2005 on the financing of the common agricultural
policy (1), and in particular Article 42 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Pursuant
to Article 9(1)(a)(iii) of Regulation (EC) No
1290/2005, Member States are obliged to recover sums
lost as a result of irregularities and negligence. However,
Article 32(6) and Article 33(7) of the same Regulation
allow Member States not to pursue recovery if the costs
already and likely to be incurred total more that the
amount to be recovered. In order to ensure an effective
and proper application of these provisions, it is appro­
priate to lay down a certain threshold below which
Member States are not
required to pursue recovery.
This threshold should be set at EUR 100, not including
interests, since the recovery cases involving amounts
below this threshold represent significantly less than
0,1 % of the total amount of undue payments reported
to the Commission by the Member States pursuant to
Article 6(h) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
885/2006 (2). The setting of this threshold should not
prevent Member States from applying the provisions
if
referred to above to cases exceeding EUR 100,
properly justified.

The de minimis rule laid down in this Regulation should
not apply to reductions and exclusions imposed on bene­
ficiaries by the Member States in the area of cross-
compliance on the basis of Article 6(1) of Council Regu­
lation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 estab­
lishing common rules for direct support schemes under
the common agricultural policy and establishing certain
support schemes for farmers (3) because Article 6(3) of
that Regulation provides for a specific regime for the
non-application of reductions and exclusions amounting
to EUR 100 or less.

(3)

The obligation for the Member States to recover undue
amounts above EUR 100 can be executed in different
ways. Without prejudice to any other enforcement

action provided for in national
law, an effective and
cost-efficient way to do so is to deduct any outstanding
amounts from future payments to the debtor, once the
debt has been established in conformity with national
legislation. This method should therefore be made
compulsory for Member States to apply.

(4)

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee on the
Agricultural Funds,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

In Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 the following Chapter 1a is
inserted:

‘CHAPTER 1a

RECOVERY OF DEBTS

Article 5a

De minimis

Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of Article 6(3) of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (*), the conditions of
Articles 32(6)(a)
and 33(7) of Regulation (EC) No
1290/2005 are considered to be fulfilled if the amount to
be recovered from the beneficiary in relation to an individual
payment for an aid scheme, not including interests, does not
exceed EUR 100.

Article 5b

Method of recovery

Without prejudice to any other enforcement action provided
for in national
law, Member States shall off-set any still
outstanding debt of a beneficiary which has been established
in accordance with national law against any future payment
the
to be made by the paying agency responsible for
recovery of the debt to the same beneficiary.

(1) OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 171, 23.6.2006, p. 90.
(3) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1.

___________
(*) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1.’

L 279/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

22.10.2008

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of
the European Union.

Article 2

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 21 October 2008.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission