Maatschap Schonewille-Prins v Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit.
Date: 2007-05-24
30. It is settled case-law that, in interpreting a provision of Community law, it is necessary to consider not only its wording, but also the context in which it occurs and the objectives pursued by the rules of which it is part (see, inter alia, Case C‑294/01 Granarolo  [2003] ECR I-13429, paragraph 34, and Case C-306/05 SGAE  [2006] ECR I-0000, paragraph 34).
41. In order to meet those objectives, the system of identification and registration of bovine animals must be fully effective and reliable at all times so as, in particular, to enable the competent authorities, in the event of epizootic disease, to pinpoint as soon as possible the origin of an animal and immediately to take the necessary measures for the purpose of avoiding any risk to public health. That cannot occur where the keeper of animals fails to notify movements of his bovine animals to the computerised database within the period prescribed in Article 7(1), second indent, of Regulation No 1760/2000.
45. In that regard, it should be remembered that the principle of proportionality, which is one of the general principles of Community law, requires that measures adopted by Community institutions do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to attain the objectives legitimately pursued by the legislation in question; when there is a choice between several appropriate measures, recourse must be had to the least onerous, and the disadvantages caused must not be disproportionate to the aims pursued (see, for example, Joined Cases C‑133/93, C‑300/93 and C-362/93 Crispoltoni and Others  [1994] ECR I‑4863, paragraph 41, and Case C-157/96 National Farmers’ Union and Others  [1998] ECR I-2211, paragraph 60).
46. With regard to judicial review of compliance with the abovementioned conditions, in matters concerning the common agricultural policy the Community legislature has a discretionary power which corresponds to the political responsibilities given to it by Articles 34 EC to 37 EC. Consequently, the legality of a measure adopted in that sphere can be affected only if the measure is manifestly inappropriate having regard to the objective which the competent institution is seeking to pursue (see Crispoltoni and Others , paragraph 42, and National Farmers’ Union , paragraph 61).
47. It should also be stated that, when the Community legislature fixes conditions for eligibility in respect of the award of aid, the exclusion entailed by the failure to observe one of those conditions is not a penalty, but merely the consequence of failure to fulfil those conditions laid down by the law (see, to that effect, Case C‑171/03 Toeters and Verberk  [2004] ECR I-10945, paragraph 47).
50. That obligation, which allows the competent authorities to pinpoint rapidly the origin of an animal in the event of epizootic disease and to take the necessary measures for the purpose of avoiding any risk to public health, is part of the objectives of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals set out in those paragraphs, and, inter alia, of the system seeking to ensure efficient tracing in real time of those animals, which is essential for public health reasons. Accordingly, that obligation cannot be regarded as a manifestly inappropriate means of achieving those objectives.
55. However, the Court held, in paragraph 61 of its judgment in Case C‑295/02 Gerken  [2004] ECR I-6369, that Article 2(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests is to be interpreted as meaning that where, in an application for ‘livestock’ aid covered ratione temporis by Regulation No 3887/92, there is an irregularity giving rise to a penalty under Article 10(2)(a) of that regulation (now Article 10b(2), first and second subparagraphs, following the amendments made by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2801/1999 of 21 December 1999 (OJ 1999 L 340, p. 29)), the competent authorities must apply the provisions of Article 44(1) of Regulation No 2419/2001 retroactively on the ground that those provisions are less severe as regards the conduct in question (see also Case C-45/06 Campina  [2007] ECR I-0000, paragraphs 32 and 33).
63. Next, it must be pointed out that the aims of Regulation No 3887/92 are, as set out in the seventh and ninth recitals in its preamble, to monitor effectively compliance with the provisions on Community aid and to adopt provisions which prevent and penalise irregularities and fraud effectively (see Case C-63/00 Schilling and Nehring  [2002] ECR I-4483, paragraph 25, and Gerken , paragraph 41).