Commission Decision

of 28 April 2006

excluding from Community financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)

(notified under document number C(2006) 1702)

(Only the Spanish, German, Greek, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish and Swedish texts are authentic)

(2006/334/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy [1], and in particular Article 5(2)(c) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy [2], and in particular Article 7(4) thereof,

Having consulted the Fund Committee,

Whereas:

(1) Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999, and Article 8(1) and (2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 of 7 July 1995 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 regarding the procedure for the clearance of the accounts of the EAGGF Guarantee Section [3] provide that the Commission is to make the necessary verifications, inform the Member States of its findings, take account of the Member States' comments, initiate bilateral discussions with a view to reaching agreement with the Member States concerned and then formally communicate its conclusions to them, referring to Commission Decision 94/442/EC of 1 July 1994 setting up a conciliation procedure in the context of the clearance of the accounts of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guarantee Section [4].

(2) The Member States have had an opportunity to request that a conciliation procedure be initiated. That opportunity has been used in some cases and the report issued on the outcome has been examined by the Commission.

(3) Pursuant to Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 and Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999, only refunds on exports to third countries and intervention to stabilise agricultural markets, granted and undertaken respectively according to Community rules within the framework of the common organisation of the agricultural markets, may be financed.

(4) In the light of the checks carried out, the outcome of the bilateral discussions and the conciliation procedures, part of the expenditure declared by the Member States does not fulfil these requirements and cannot, therefore, be financed under the EAGGF Guarantee Section.

(5) The amounts that are not recognised as being chargeable to the EAGGF Guarantee Section should be indicated. Those amounts do not relate to expenditure incurred more than twenty-four months before the Commission's written notification of the results of the checks to the Member States.

(6) As regards the cases covered by this Decision, the assessment of the amounts to be excluded on grounds of non-compliance with Community rules was notified by the Commission to the Member States in a summary report on the subject.

(7) This Decision is without prejudice to any financial conclusions that the Commission may draw from the judgements of the Court of Justice in cases pending on 25 November 2005 and relating to its content,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The expenditure itemised in the Annex hereto that has been incurred by the Member States' accredited paying agencies and declared under the EAGGF Guarantee Section shall be excluded from Community financing because it does not comply with Community rules.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Hellenic Republic, the Italian Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Done at Brussels, 28 April 2006.

For the Commission

Mariann Fischer Boel

Member of the Commission

[1] OJ L 94, 28.4.1970, p. 13. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 (OJ L 125, 8.6.1995, p. 1).

[2] OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103.

[3] OJ L 158, 8.7.1995, p. 6. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 465/2005 (OJ L 77, 23.3.2005, p. 6).

[4] OJ L 182, 16.7.1994, p. 45. Decision as last amended by Decision 2001/535/EC (OJ L 193, 17.7.2001, p. 25).

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ANNEX

Total corrections

Sector | Member State | Budget item | Reason | Nat. Currency | Expenditure to exclude from financing | Deductions already made | Financial impact of this decision | Financial year |

Milk and milk products | BE | 2040 | Control deficiencies: 5 % flat-rate correction. Incorrect treatment of result of physical checks: one-off correction | EUR | ‘�851253,86 | 0,00 | ‘�851253,86 | 2001-2003 |

| Total BE | | | | ‘�851253,86 | 0,00 | ‘�851253,86 | |

Milk and milk products | DE | 2040 | Non-compliance with the requirement to perform unannounced checks. 10 % flat-rate correction (1 operator) | EUR | ‘�96063,56 | 0,00 | ‘�96063,56 | 2002-2004 |

| Total DE | | | | ‘�96063,56 | 0,00 | ‘�96063,56 | |

Fruit and vegetables | GR | 1515 | Partial annulment of Commission Decision 2002/881/EC, amount to be reimbursed to Greece. | EUR | 623385,74 | 0,00 | 623385,74 | 1998-2000 |

Public storage | GR | 3231 | Partial annulment of Commission Decision 2003/102/EC, amount to be reimbursed to Greece. | EUR | 9926005,21 | 0,00 | 9926005,21 | 1999-2001 |

Irregularities | GR | Miscellaneous | Partial annulment of Commission Decision 2003/481/EC, amount to be reimbursed to Greece. | EUR | 41884,90 | 0,00 | 41884,90 | |

| Total GR | | | | 10591275,85 | 0,00 | 10591275,85 | |

Public storage | ES | 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114 | Control deficiencies: 5 % flat-rate correction | EUR | ‘�763696,91 | 0,00 | ‘�763696,91 | 2001-2003 |

Animal premiums | ES | 2220, 2221, 2222 | Premium paid to farmers not having the minimum quota rights. One-off correction | EUR | ‘�8720,15 | 0,00 | ‘�8720,15 | 2003-2004 |

Rural development | ES | 4000, 4010 | Various shortcomings in the management and control system. 5 % flat-rate correction | EUR | ‘�35394,00 | 0,00 | ‘�35394,00 | 2002-2003 |

Financial audit | ES | Miscellaneous | Partial annulment of Commission Decision 2002/461/EC, amount to be reimbursed to Spain. | EUR | 451482,55 | 0,00 | 451482,55 | 2001 |

| Total ES | | | | ‘�526328,51 | 0,00 | ‘�526328,51 | |

Milk and milk products | FI | 2040 | Control w eakness. 5 % flat-rate correction (1 operator) | EUR | ‘�5903,93 | 0,00 | ‘�5903,93 | 2002-2003 |

Ceiling overshoot | FI | 2128 | Overshoot of financial ceilings | EUR | ‘�820,82 | ‘�820,82 | 0,00 | 2003 |

| Total FI | | | | ‘�2724,75 | ‘�820,82 | ‘�5903,93 | |

Fruit and vegetables | FR | 1508 | Aid over-estimated (calculated on the basis of quantities loaded rather quantities marketed), non-application of sanction in respect of claim submitted after the deadline: one-off correction. Non-performance of several key controls: 10 % flat-rate correction | EUR | ‘�2072056,72 | 0,00 | ‘�2072056,72 | 2002-2004 |

Public storage | FR | 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114 | Control deficiencies: 5% flat-rate correction. Payment delays: one-off correction | EUR | ‘�135187,50 | 0,00 | ‘�135187,50 | 2001-2003 |

Rural development | FR | 4040 | Incorrect application of a procedure for verifying one of the conditions of eligibility. One-off correction | EUR | ‘�70374,00 | 0,00 | ‘�70374,00 | 2002 |

| Total FR | | | | ‘�0077618,22 | 0,00 | ‘�0077618,22 | |

Fruit and vegetables | IT | 1501, 1502, 1515 | Non-application of sanctions, deficiencies in controls on composting and bio-degradation. 10 % flat-rate correction and one-off correction | EUR | ‘�0021060,00 | 0,00 | ‘�0021060,00 | 1999-2002 |

Fruit and vegetables | IT | 1512 | Non-compliance with payment deadlines. One-off correction | EUR | ‘�414265,04 | 0,00 | ‘�414265,04 | 2002 |

Fruit and vegetables | IT | 1502 | Key controls are not applied in the number, frequency, or depth required by the regulations. 5 % flat-rate correction | EUR | ‘�708059,40 | 0,00 | ‘�708059,40 | 2000-2003 |

Milk and milk products | IT | 2040 | Non-compliance with the regulations: one-off correction. Control deficiencies: 5 % flat-rate correction. Non-compliance with minimum rate of control: 10 % flat-rate | EUR | ‘�97002,44 | 0,00 | ‘�97002,44 | 2002-2004 |

Arable crops | IT | 1040-1062, 1310, 1858 | Failure to apply sanctions. 3 % flat-rate correction | EUR | ‘�975231,00 | 0,00 | ‘�975231,00 | 2002 |

Arable crops | IT | 1040-1060, 1310, 1858 | Poor quality of classical field inspections. 5 % flat-rate correction | EUR | ‘�03692,00 | ‘�6829,00 | ‘�66863,00 | 2001-2003 |

Rural development | IT | 4000, 4010, 4040 | Weaknesses in the management, control and sanctions system. 2 % flat-rate correction | EUR | ‘�748761,00 | 0,00 | ‘�748761,00 | 2001-2002 |

Payment deadline | IT | Miscellaneous | Failure to meet payment deadlines | EUR | ‘�0938245,66 | ‘�1631666,68 | 693421,02 | 2003 |

| Total IT | | | | ‘�5706316,54 | ‘�1668495,68 | ‘�4037820,86 | |

Milk and milk products | NL | 2040 | Unsatisfactory sampling procedure: 10 % flat-rate correction (1 operator). Incorrect treatment of result of physical checks: one-off correction | EUR | ‘�58235,60 | 0,00 | ‘�58235,60 | 2002-2003 |

| Total NL | | | | ‘�58235,60 | 0,00 | ‘�58235,60 | |

Fat | PT | 1400, 1402 | The control system put in place w as not adequate to prevent irregular practices on the part of all the actors concerned in the flax sector. 100 % financial correction | EUR | ‘�135348,71 | 0,00 | ‘�135348,71 | 2001 |

| Total PT | | | | ‘�135348,71 | 0,00 | ‘�135348,71 | |

Arable crops | SE | 1040, 1062, 1310 | Shortcomings in the application of the rules regarding set-aside, incorrect application of technical tolerances, obvious errors applied over-generously. One-off correction. | SEK | ‘�308192,00 | 0,00 | ‘�308192,00 | 2001-2002 |

| Total SE | | | | ‘�308192,00 | 0,00 | ‘�308192,00 | |

Financial audit | UK | Miscellaneous | Unidentified corrections to be credited to EAGGF. One-off correction | GBP | ‘�97130,69 | 0,00 | ‘�97130,69 | 2004 |

| Total UK | | | | ‘�97130,69 | 0,00 | ‘�97130,69 | |

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