Case C-708/22, Asoprovac: Judgment of the Court (Eight Chamber) of 4 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo – Spain) – Asociación Española de Productores de Vacuno de Carne (Asoprovac) v Administración General del Estado (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy – Financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy – Permanent public grassland – Conditions for access to direct payments for farmers – Animals must belong to the farmers’ own agricultural holding)
Date: 2024-07-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU direct payments, agricultural holding, aid to agriculture, eligibility criteria, farmer, grassland, pasture fattening, public property, single payment scheme








C_202404930EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/4930


19.8.2024






Judgment of the Court (Eight Chamber) of 4 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo – Spain) – Asociación Española de Productores de Vacuno de Carne (Asoprovac) v Administración General del Estado


(Case C-708/22,
                (1)
Asoprovac)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy - Financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy - Permanent public grassland - Conditions for access to direct payments for farmers - Animals must belong to the farmers’ own agricultural holding)
(C/2024/4930)
Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Tribunal Supremo

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Asociación Española de Productores de Vacuno de Carne (Asoprovac)

Defendant: Administración General del Estado

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 4 and Article 32(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009
must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which, in order to avoid artificially creating conditions for obtaining aid in relation to the grant of a concession on permanent public common pasture to farmers who do not use that pasture, requires that the activity of grazing on that pasture be carried out by animals belonging to the holding of the farmer who applies for the aid.










2.


Article 60 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008
must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which, in order to avoid artificially creating conditions for obtaining aid in relation to the grant of a concession on permanent public common pasture to farmers who do not use that pasture, requires that the activity of grazing on that pasture be carried out by animals belonging to the holding of the farmer who applies for the aid.










3.


Article 4(1)(c)(ii) of Regulation No 1307/2013
must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which excludes the activity of grazing on permanent public common pasture from being classified as an activity of maintaining those areas in a state suitable for grazing.










4.


Article 4(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation No 1307/2013
must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation under which a person who merely holds a non-exclusive grazing right over permanent public common pasture and who assigns that right to a third-party breeder in order for that breeder to carry out the activity of grazing by means of his or her own animals does not carry out an agricultural activity within the meaning of Article 4(1)(c)(i) of that regulation and cannot be regarded as managing that grassland for the purpose of carrying out an activity of maintaining that area in a state suitable for grazing, within the meaning of Article 4(1)(c)(ii) of that regulation.






(1)  
            OJ C 112, 27.3.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/4930/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)