Hilmar Kellinghusen v Amt für Land- und Wasserwirtschaft Kiel and Ernst-Detlef Ketelsen v Amt für Land- und Wasserwirtschaft Husum.
Date: 1998-10-22
16 It should first be borne in mind that the provisions of Community regulations must be uniformly applied in all the Member States and have, so far as possible, the same effect throughout the territory of the Community (see Case 819/79 Germany v Commission [1981] ECR 21, paragraph 10).
18 Furthermore, as the Court noted in Case C-132/95 Jensen and Korn- og Foderstofkompagniet v Landbrugsministeriet - EF-Direktoratet [1998] ECR I-2975, paragraph 59, it is expressly stated in the second recital in the preamble to Regulation No 1765/92 that the object of the compensatory payments is to compensate the loss of income caused by the reduction of the institutional prices as part of a new support system for the producers of certain arable crops as a result of reform of the common agricultural policy. According to the third recital of Regulation No 2066/92, the object of the system of premiums envisaged is to grant substantial compensation for the consequences for producers of the reduction of the intervention price in the beef and veal sector.
19 As the Commission has correctly pointed out, the objective of compensating the loss of income caused by the reduction of the institutional prices can be achieved only if the compensatory aid is paid in full to the farmers affected by the consequences of the reform of the common agricultural policy.
20 In fact, to allow Member States the freedom to reduce the levels of compensatory aid by making a deduction of or charging fees for administrative expenses would lead to different compensation for the loss of income of the farmers in one Member State and between the farmers of different Member States, which could interfere with the uniform application of Community law, which is necessary in order to avoid unequal treatment of producers and traders (Jensen and Korn- og Foderstofkompagniet, paragraph 49).
21 Accordingly, Article 15(3) of Regulation No 1765/92, and Article 30a of Regulation No 805/68, as inserted by Regulation No 2066/92, prohibit the authorities in the Member States from making a deduction from the payments made or from demanding the payment of administrative fees charged for processing applications and having the effect of reducing the amount of the aid.
23 In that respect, it should be pointed out that, whereas Regulations No 1765/92 and No 805/68, as amended, provide for the payment in full of the aid, Regulation No 1725/79 made no provision as to the costs of the inspections to be carried out by the Member States (see Denkavit Futtermittel, paragraph 7). Since the wording of Regulation No 1725/79 did not prevent Member States either from carrying out such inspections free of charge or from requiring the undertakings in question to reimburse the expenditure which such inspections entail, the Court therefore concluded, at paragraphs 8 and 9 of the judgment in Denkavit Futtermittel, that the rules in question left Member States free to resolve the problem of financing the controls.
27 It should be pointed out that Article 15(3) of Regulation No 1765/92, and Article 30a of Regulation No 805/68, as inserted by Regulation No 2066/92, cannot be interpreted in the light of regulations not containing a provision requiring the full payment of aid to beneficiaries.
33 As to the alleged breach of the principle of proportionality, it must be pointed out that, according to the case-law of the Court, in order to establish whether a provision of Community law complies with that principle, it must be ascertained whether the means which it employs are suitable for the purpose of achieving the desired objective and whether they do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve it (see, in particular, Case C-233/94 Germany v Parliament and Council [1997] ECR I-2405, paragraph 54).