Case C-252/18 P: Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 13 February 2020 — Hellenic Republic v European Commission, Kingdom of Spain (Appeal — Guarantee Section of European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) — Expenditure excluded from EU funding — Expenditure incurred by the Hellenic Republic — Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 — Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 — Area-related aid scheme — Definition of ‘permanent pasture’ — Flat-rate financial corrections)
Date: 2020-02-13
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EAFRD, EAGF, EAGGF, agricultural expenditure, aid per hectare, aid to agriculture, eligibility criteria, grassland, single payment scheme








C_2020103EN.01000201.xml










30.3.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 103/2






Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 13 February 2020 — Hellenic Republic v European Commission, Kingdom of Spain
(Case C-252/18 P) (1)

(Appeal - Guarantee Section of European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - Expenditure excluded from EU funding - Expenditure incurred by the Hellenic Republic - Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 - Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 - Area-related aid scheme - Definition of ‘permanent pasture’ - Flat-rate financial corrections)
(2020/C 103/02)
Language of the case: Greek

Parties


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

Other parties to the proceedings: European Commission (represented by: D. Triantafyllou and A. Sauka, acting as Agents), Kingdom of Spain (represented by: S. Jiménez García, acting as Agent)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Sets aside points 1 and 2 of the operative part of the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 1 February 2018, Greece v Commission (T 506/15, not published, EU:T:2018:53), in that, first, the General Court dismissed the action brought by the Hellenic Republic against the flat-rate correction of 25 % imposed by Commission Implementing Decision 2015/1119/EU of 22 June 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), for the claim years 2009 to 2011, on the ground of deficiencies in the definition and control of permanent pasture; and, second, the General Court ruled on costs;










2.


Dismisses the appeal as to the remainder;










3.


Annuls Implementing Decision 2015/1119 in so far as it imposes on the Hellenic Republic a flat-rate financial correction of 25 % applied to area-related aid for the claim years 2009 to 2011, on the ground of deficiencies in the definition and control of permanent pasture;










4.


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










5.


Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs relating to the proceedings at first instance and on appeal.






(1)  OJ C 190, 4.6.2018.