Case C-341/1 P: Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 15 May 2019 — Hellenic Republic v European Commission (Appeal — Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) — Expenditure excluded from EU financing — Expenditure incurred by the Hellenic Republic — Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 — Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 — Area-related aid scheme — Concept of ‘permanent pasture’ — Flat-rate financial corrections — Deduction of earlier correction)
Date: 2019-05-15
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EAFRD, EAGF, EAGGF, agricultural expenditure, aid per hectare, aid to agriculture, financial aid, grassland, rural development








C_2019255EN.01000302.xml










29.7.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 255/3






Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 15 May 2019 — Hellenic Republic v European Commission
(Case C-341/1 P) (1)

(Appeal - Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - Expenditure excluded from EU financing - Expenditure incurred by the Hellenic Republic - Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 - Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 - Area-related aid scheme - Concept of ‘permanent pasture’ - Flat-rate financial corrections - Deduction of earlier correction)
(2019/C 255/04)
Language of the case: Greek

Parties


Appellant: Hellenic Republic (represented by: G. Kanellopoulos, A. Vasilopoulou and E. Leftheriotou, Agents)

Other party to the proceedings: European Commission (represented by: D. Triantafyllou and A. Sauka, Agents)

Intervener in support of the applicant: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: M.A. Sampol Pucurull, Agent)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Sets aside points 2 and 3 of the operative part of the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 30 March 2017, Greece v Commission (T-112/15, EU:T:2017:239) in so far as, first, the General Court dismissed the Hellenic Republic’s action while limiting its examination to the correction for claim year 2008 that was imputed to the 2009 financial year as regards the financial correction of 5 % applied to aid under the second pillar of the common agricultural policy (CAP), which is dedicated to rural development, and not examining the correction for claim year 2008 that was imputed to the 2010 financial year in the sum of EUR 5 496 524,54 as regards the financial correction of 5 % applied to aid under the CAP’s second pillar, dedicated to rural development, and, second, it made a decision as to costs;










2.


Dismisses the appeal as to the remainder;










3.


Annuls Commission Implementing Decision 2014/950/EU of 19 December 2014 on excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) in so far as it concerns the taking into account of Commission Implementing Decision 2013/214/EU of 2 May 2013 on excluding from European Union financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) when calculating the amount of the correction of EUR 5 496 524,54, of the deduction of EUR 270 175,45 and of the financial impact of EUR 5 226 349,09, which related to expenditure incurred by the Hellenic Republic in the sector of Rural Development EAFRD Axis 2 (2007-2013, area-related measures) and were imposed in respect of the 2010 financial year, on account of weaknesses in the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) and the on-the-spot checks (second pillar, claim year 2008);










4.


Orders the Hellenic Republic and the European Commission to bear their own costs at first instance and on appeal;










5.


Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs.






(1)  OJ C 249, 31.7.2017.