Case T-135/15: Judgment of the General Court of 12 March 2019 — Italy v Commission (EAGF — Expenses excluded from financing — Expenditure incurred by Italy — Temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry — Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 — Regulation(EC) No 968/2006 — Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 — Time limit of 24 months — Concept of ‘multiannual measure’ — Conditions for granting restructuring aid — Concept of ‘production facility’ — Classification of silos — Concept of‘complete dismantling’ — Annex 2 to Document VI/5330/97 — Problems in interpreting EU legislation — Cooperation in good faith — Legitimate expectations — Ne bis in idem — Slaughter premiums — Information and promotion campaigns for agricultural products — Late payments — Evidence of the existence of specific management conditions — Equal treatment — Mistranslation in one of the language versions of an EU regulation — Whether the Member State is answerable for the financial correction)
Date: 2019-03-12
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: EAGF, agricultural expenditure, aid for restructuring, eligibility criteria, equal treatment, industrial restructuring, sugar industry








C_2019148EN.01004101.xml










29.4.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 148/41






Judgment of the General Court of 12 March 2019 — Italy v Commission
(Case T-135/15) (1)

(EAGF - Expenses excluded from financing - Expenditure incurred by Italy - Temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry - Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 - Regulation(EC) No 968/2006 - Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 - Time limit of 24 months - Concept of ‘multiannual measure’ - Conditions for granting restructuring aid - Concept of ‘production facility’ - Classification of silos - Concept of‘complete dismantling’ - Annex 2 to Document VI/5330/97 - Problems in interpreting EU legislation - Cooperation in good faith - Legitimate expectations - Ne bis in idem - Slaughter premiums - Information and promotion campaigns for agricultural products - Late payments - Evidence of the existence of specific management conditions - Equal treatment - Mistranslation in one of the language versions of an EU regulation - Whether the Member State is answerable for the financial correction)
(2019/C 148/37)
Language of the case: Italian

Parties


Applicant: Italian Republic (represented by: G. Palmieri, acting as Agent, and C. Colelli, avvocato dello Stato)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: initially, D. Bianchi, P Ondrůšek and I. Galindo Martín, acting as Agents, and subsequently, D. Bianchi and P Ondrůšek, acting as Agents)

Interveners in support of the applicant: French Republic (represented by: D. Colas and S Horrenberger, acting as Agents) and Hungary (represented by: M.Z. Fehér and G. Koós, acting as Agents)

Re:

Application under Article 263 TFEU for the partial annulment of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/103 of 16 January 2015 excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (OJ 2015 L 16, p.33), in so far as it relates to certain expenditure incurred by the Italian Republic.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.



Dismisses the action;











2.



Orders the Italian Republic to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission;











3.



Orders the French Republic and Hungary to bear their own costs.







(1)  OJ C 155, 11.5.2015.