Case C-175/23, Obshtina Svishtov: Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 4 October 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Veliko Tarnovo – Bulgaria) – Obshtina Svishtov v Rakovoditel na Upravlyavashtia organ na Operativna programa Regioni v rastezh 2014-2020 (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Own resources of the European Union – Protection of the financial interests of the European Union – Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 – Article 2(36) – Concept of irregularity – Article 143(2) – Prejudice caused to the budget of the European Union by charging an unjustified item of expenditure – Determination of the applicable financial correction rate – Scale of flat-rate correction rates – Principle of proportionality)
Date: 2024-10-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Structural and Investment Funds, distribution of EU funding, financial aid, financial audit, principle of proportionality, public contract, public procurement








C_202406893EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/6893


25.11.2024






Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 4 October 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Veliko Tarnovo – Bulgaria) – Obshtina Svishtov v Rakovoditel na Upravlyavashtia organ na Operativna programa ‘Regioni v rastezh’ 2014-2020


(Case C-175/23,
                (1)
Obshtina Svishtov)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Own resources of the European Union - Protection of the financial interests of the European Union - Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 - Article 2(36) - Concept of ‘irregularity’ - Article 143(2) - Prejudice caused to the budget of the European Union by charging an unjustified item of expenditure - Determination of the applicable financial correction rate - Scale of flat-rate correction rates - Principle of proportionality)
(C/2024/6893)
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Administrativen sad Veliko Tarnovo

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Obshtina Svishtov

Defendant: Rakovoditel na Upravlyavashtia organ na Operativna programa ‘Regioni v rastezh’ 2014-2020

Operative part of the judgment

Article 143(2) 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 precluding national legislation under which any breach of the public procurement rules constitutes an ‘irregularity’, within the meaning of Article 2(36) of that regulation, which automatically triggers the application of a financial correction, the amount of which is determined on the basis of a pre-established scale of flat-rate correction rates.


(1)  
            OJ C 216, 19.6.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6893/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)