Federal Republic of Germany v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1999-10-21
18 Finally, pursuant to Article 1(2)(a) of Decision 94/442/EC, the Commission, as it has rightly maintained, and without being contradicted on this point by the German Government, is not bound by the conclusions of the Conciliation Body when adopting its decision.
21 In that connection, it should be pointed out that, according to settled case-law, in the specific context of the preparation of decisions on the clearance of accounts, the reasons for a decision must be considered to be adequate if the Member State to which the decision is addressed was closely involved in the process by which the decision came about and is therefore aware of the reasons for which the Commission considered that it was not required to charge the sum in dispute to the EAGGF (see Case C-22/89 Netherlands v Commission [1990] ECR I-4799, paragraph 18 and Case C-27/94 Netherlands v Commission [1998] ECR I-5581, paragraph 36).
28 When the Commission refuses to charge certain expenditure to the EAGGF on the ground that it was incurred as a result of breaches of Community rules for which a Member State can be held responsible, it is for that State to demonstrate that the conditions for obtaining the funding refused by the Commission are met (see Case 347/85 United Kingdom v Commission [1988] ECR 1749, paragraph 14 and Case C-48/91 Netherlands v Commission [1993] ECR I-5611, paragraph 16). The Commission is required not to demonstrate exhaustively that there are irregularities in the data submitted by the Member States but to adduce evidence of serious and reasonable doubt on its part regarding the figures submitted by the national authorities. The reason for this mitigation of the burden of proof on the Commission is that it is the State which is best placed to collect and verify the data required for the clearance of EAGGF accounts; consequently, it is for the State to adduce the most detailed and comprehensive evidence that its figures are accurate and, if appropriate, that the Commission's calculations are incorrect (see Case C-48/91, cited above, paragraph 17). In the event of a dispute it is for the Commission to prove that the rules of the common organisation of the agricultural markets have been infringed and, once it establishes such infringement, it falls to the Member State to show, as the case may be, that the Commission committed an error as to the financial consequences to be drawn from it (see Case C-281/89 Italy v Commission [1991] ECR I-347, paragraph 19; Case C-48/91, cited above, paragraph 18 and Case C-59/97 Italy v Commission [1999] ECR I-1683, paragraphs 54 and 55).
55 In that regard it should be pointed out that even though Article 8(1) of Regulation No 729/70 did not include provisions as specific as those of Article 17(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2456/93, the fact remains that, according to settled case-law of the Court, that provision, which constitutes an expression, in the sphere of agriculture, of the obligations imposed on Member States by Article 5 of the EC Treaty (now Article 10 EC), defines the principles according to which the Community and the Member States must ensure the implementation of Community decisions on agricultural intervention financed by the EAGGF and combat fraud and irregularities in relation to those operations (see Joined Cases 146/81, 192/81 and 193/81 BayWa and Others v Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaftliche Marktordnung [1982] ECR 1503, paragraph 13). It imposes on the Member States the general obligation to take the measures necessary to satisfy themselves that the transactions financed by the EAGGF are actually carried out and are executed correctly, even if the specific Community act does not expressly provide for the adoption of particular supervisory measures (see Case C-8/88 Germany v Commission [1990] ECR I-2321, paragraphs 16 and 17 and Case C-209/96 United Kingdom v Commission [1998] ECR I-5655, paragraph 43).