Case C-466/24, Venshova: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Varna (Bulgaria) lodged on 2 July 2024 – LQ v Zamestnik izpalnitelen direktor na Darzhaven fond Zemedelie
Date: 2024-07-02
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Bulgaria, EU direct payments, administrative sanction, aid per hectare, aid to agriculture, single payment scheme








C_202405405EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5405


16.9.2024






Request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Varna (Bulgaria) lodged on 2 July 2024 – LQ v Zamestnik izpalnitelen direktor na Darzhaven fond ‘Zemedelie’
               


(Case C-466/24, Venshova
                (1)
)

(C/2024/5405)
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Administrativen sad Varna

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: LQ

Defendant: Zamestnik izpalnitelen direktor na Darzhaven fond ‘Zemedelie’
         

Questions referred







1.


Under Article 4(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 (2) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021, Article 28 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 (3) of 6 August 2014 and Articles 18 and 19 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014 (4) of 11 March 2014, is national legislation and practice on the part of the paying agency of the Republic of Bulgaria in respect of the application of national provisions – in particular, Article 41(3) and (4) of the Zakon za podpomagane na zemedelskite proizvoditeli (Law on support for farmers; ‘the ZPZP’) – permissible whereby a farmer is denied entitlement to financial assistance for areas in respect of which he or she has concluded a land-use agreement for the same year without that legal basis being registered in the system of the Ministry of Agriculture within the statutory timeframe for doing so?










2.


Having regard to the third sentence of Article 49(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, is a penalty under Article 19a of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014 of 11 March 2014 (repealed by Commission Delegated Regulation [EU] 2022/1172 of 4 May 2022 supplementing Regulation [EU] 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system in the common agricultural policy and the application and calculation of administrative penalties for conditionality [OJ 2022 L 183, p. 12], recital 16 of which reads, ‘In the interest of clarity and legal certainty, Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014 should be repealed. However, that Regulation should continue to apply to aid applications for direct payments lodged before 1 January 2023, to payment claims made in relation to support measures implemented under Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and to the control system and administrative penalties as regards rules on cross-compliance.’), which was in force for the 2021 marketing year, to be imposed on a farmer if, on the date of the letter imposing the penalty, that is to say, on 13 January 2023, Article 19a of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014 of 11 March 2014 did not exist in the version applicable from 1 January 2023?






(1)  The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any party to the proceedings.

(2)  Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013 (OJ 2021 L 435, p. 1).

(3)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 of 6 August 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, rules on checks, securities and transparency (OJ 2014 L 255, p. 59).

(4)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014 of 11 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system and conditions for refusal or withdrawal of payments and administrative penalties applicable to direct payments, rural development support and cross compliance (OJ 2014 L 181, p. 48).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5405/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)