Case C-386/18: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 19 December 2019 (request for a preliminary ruling from the College van Beroep voor het Bedrijfsleven — Netherlands) — Coöperatieve Producentenorganisatie en Beheersgroep Texel UA v Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Common fisheries policy — Regulations (EU) Nos 1303/2013, 1379/2013 and 508/2014 — Fishery and aquaculture producer organisations — Production and marketing plans — Financial support for the preparation and implementation of those plans — Conditions of eligibility of costs — Discretion of the Member States — No possibility under national law to apply for financial support)
Date: 2019-12-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: State aid, common fisheries policy, discretionary power, eligibility criteria, financial aid, fishing industry, market planning, marketing, producer organisation, production planning








C_2020061EN.01000601.xml










24.2.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 61/6






Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 19 December 2019 (request for a preliminary ruling from the College van Beroep voor het Bedrijfsleven — Netherlands) — Coöperatieve Producentenorganisatie en Beheersgroep Texel UA v Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit
(Case C-386/18) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common fisheries policy - Regulations (EU) Nos 1303/2013, 1379/2013 and 508/2014 - Fishery and aquaculture producer organisations - Production and marketing plans - Financial support for the preparation and implementation of those plans - Conditions of eligibility of costs - Discretion of the Member States - No possibility under national law to apply for financial support)
(2020/C 61/07)
Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Coöperatieve Producentenorganisatie en Beheersgroep Texel UA

Defendant: Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council must be interpreted as precluding a Member State from refusing to act on a subsidy application from a producer organisation for fishery and aquaculture products in respect of the expenditure it has incurred preparing and implementing a production and marketing plan, on the ground that, at the date on which it submitted its application, that State had not yet provided, in its internal legal order, for the possibility for such an application to be processed;










2.


Article 66(1) of Regulation No 508/2014 must be interpreted as not directly creating for producer organisations for fishery and aquaculture products a right to financial support under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the expenditure they have incurred in preparing and implementing a production and marketing plan;










3.


Article 65(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 must be interpreted as not precluding the issuance of a grant under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the preparation and implementation of a production and marketing plan where the grant application has been submitted after the preparation and implementation of such a plan.






(1)  OJ C 294, 20.8.2018.