Commission Decision

of 14 December 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) 5993)

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

(2006/932/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) Under 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 24 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 judgments of the Court of Justice in cases pending on 15 October 2006 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 Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Portuguese Republic and the Republic of Finland.

Done at Brussels, 14 December 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 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 ‘�Budget item 6701

MS | Measure | FY | Reason | Type | % | Currency | Amount | Deductions already made | Financial impact |

DE | Financial audit ‘�Late payments | 2004 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�50191,69 | ‘�50191,69 | 0,00 |

DE | Financial audit ‘�Clearance of accounts | 2002 | Clearance of EAGGF Guarantee accounts for financial year 2002 | one-off | | EUR | ‘�61269,60 | 0,00 | ‘�61269,60 |

DE | Financial audit ‘�Overshooting | 2003 | Overshooting of the financial ceilings | one-off | | EUR | ‘�963,37 | 0,00 | ‘�963,37 |

Total DE | | | | | | ‘�015424,66 | ‘�50191,69 | ‘�65232,97 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Fig & Prune Processing | 2003 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�53697,96 | 0,00 | ‘�53697,96 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Peach & Pear Processing | 2003 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�71734,80 | 0,00 | ‘�71734,80 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Tomato Processing | 2003 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�31420,25 | 0,00 | ‘�31420,25 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2001 | Control does not cover the final use of distributed product | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�3757,94 | 0,00 | ‘�3757,94 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2001 | Failure to meet environmental conditions | one-off | | EUR | ‘�858447,88 | 0,00 | ‘�858447,88 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2001 | Unsatisfactory quality of controls carried out on withdrawn product | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�9254,89 | 0,00 | ‘�9254,89 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2002 | Control does not cover the final use of distributed product | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�9729,38 | 0,00 | ‘�9729,38 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2002 | Failure to meet environmental conditions | one-off | | EUR | ‘�357238,89 | 0,00 | ‘�357238,89 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2002 | Unsatisfactory quality of controls carried out on withdrawn product | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�06215,94 | 0,00 | ‘�06215,94 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2003 | Control does not cover the final use of distributed product | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�7920,18 | 0,00 | ‘�7920,18 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2003 | Failure to meet environmental conditions | one-off | | EUR | ‘�679878,76 | 0,00 | ‘�679878,76 |

ES | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2003 | Unsatisfactory quality of controls carried out on withdrawn product | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�2025,34 | 0,00 | ‘�2025,34 |

Total ES | | | | | | ‘�2261322,21 | 0,00 | ‘�2261322,21 |

FI | Arable Crops | 2003 | Undue application of a tolerance for administrative cross-checks, shortcoming in controls on eligibility criteria | one-off | | EUR | ‘�32222,76 | 0,00 | ‘�32222,76 |

FI | Arable Crops | 2004 | Undue application of a tolerance for administrative cross-checks, shortcoming in controls on eligibility criteria | one-off | | EUR | ‘�46393,43 | 0,00 | ‘�46393,43 |

FI | Arable Crops | 2005 | Undue application of a tolerance for administrative cross-checks, shortcoming in controls on eligibility criteria | one-off | | EUR | ‘�31999,21 | 0,00 | ‘�31999,21 |

FI | Butterfats in Food Processing | 2002 | Reimbursement following erroneous calculation of financial correction (Commission Decision 2006/334/EC) | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | 15073,27 | 0,00 | 15073,27 |

Total FI | | | | | | ‘�95542,13 | 0,00 | ‘�95542,13 |

FR | Financial audit ‘�Late payments | 2004 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�219078,83 | ‘�219078,83 | 0,00 |

FR | Financial audit ‘�Overshooting | 2003 | Overshooting of the financial ceilings | one-off | | EUR | ‘�7441,60 | ‘�7441,60 | 0,00 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Fig & Prune Processing | 2003 | Weaknesses in controls on producer organisations and processors | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�631436,97 | 0,00 | ‘�631436,97 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Fig & Prune Processing | 2004 | Weaknesses in controls on producer organisations and processors | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�363125,84 | 0,00 | ‘�363125,84 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2002 | Weaknesses in quality controls | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�53591,97 | 0,00 | ‘�53591,97 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2002 | Non-eligible payments | one-off | | EUR | ‘�90167,12 | 0,00 | ‘�90167,12 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2003 | Weaknesses in quality controls | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�67514,07 | 0,00 | ‘�67514,07 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2003 | Non-eligible payments | one-off | | EUR | ‘�29251,70 | 0,00 | ‘�29251,70 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2004 | Weaknesses in quality controls | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�3418,08 | 0,00 | ‘�3418,08 |

FR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Withdrawals | 2004 | Non-eligible payments | one-off | | EUR | ‘�1662,44 | 0,00 | ‘�1662,44 |

Total FR | | | | | | ‘�5106688,62 | ‘�246520,43 | ‘�860168,19 |

GR | Cotton | 1999 | Shortcomings in controls of areas sown and failure to ensure compatibility with IACS | flat-rate | 2 % | EUR | ‘�3809328,47 | 0,00 | ‘�3809328,47 |

GR | Cotton | 2000 | Shortcomings in controls of areas sown and failure to ensure compatibility with IACS | flat-rate | 2 % | EUR | ‘�2772949,94 | 0,00 | ‘�2772949,94 |

GR | Cotton | 2001 | Shortcomings in controls of areas sown and failure to ensure compatibility with IACS | flat-rate | 2 % | EUR | ‘�0861691,99 | 0,00 | ‘�0861691,99 |

GR | Cotton | 2002 | Shortcomings in controls of areas sown and failure to ensure compatibility with IACS | flat-rate | 2 % | EUR | ‘�386,27 | 0,00 | ‘�386,27 |

GR | Financial audit ‘�Late payments | 2003 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�585958,60 | ‘�1332816,07 | 2746857,47 |

GR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Processed dried grape products (other measures) | 2000 | Overestimated area, lack of geographical location for parcel identification, unsatisfactory control of harvested grape destination | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�0463301,27 | 0,00 | ‘�0463301,27 |

GR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Processed dried grape products (other measures) | 2001 | Overestimated area, lack of geographical location for parcel identification, unsatisfactory control of harvested grape destination | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�0211803,93 | 0,00 | ‘�0211803,93 |

GR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Processed dried grape products (other measures) | 2002 | Overestimated area, lack of geographical location for parcel identification, unsatisfactory control of harvested grape destination | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�0238190,17 | 0,00 | ‘�0238190,17 |

GR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Citrus Processing | 2002 | Weaknesses in accounting controls on producer organisations and processors | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�600595,97 | 0,00 | ‘�600595,97 |

GR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Citrus Processing | 2003 | Weaknesses in accounting controls on producer organisations and processors | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�901064,33 | 0,00 | ‘�901064,33 |

GR | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Citrus Processing | 2004 | Weaknesses in accounting controls on producer organisations and processors | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�6532,29 | 0,00 | ‘�6532,29 |

GR | Olive Oil ‘�Production aid | 2001 | Computer files are not operational, crop declarations controls are ineffective | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�149196,05 | 0,00 | ‘�149196,05 |

GR | Olive Oil ‘�Production aid | 2001 | Computer files are not operational, crop declarations controls are ineffective | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�1690441,26 | 0,00 | ‘�1690441,26 |

GR | Olive Oil ‘�Production aid | 2002 | Computer files are not operational, crop declarations controls are ineffective | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | 777,64 | 0,00 | 777,64 |

GR | Olive Oil ‘�Production aid | 2002 | Computer files are not operational, crop declarations controls are ineffective | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�5525481,37 | 0,00 | ‘�5525481,37 |

GR | Olive Oil ‘�Production aid | 2003 | Computer files are not operational, crop declarations controls are ineffective | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�2364617,95 | 0,00 | ‘�2364617,95 |

GR | Olive Oil ‘�Production aid | 2004 | Computer files are not operational, crop declarations controls are ineffective | flat-rate | 10 % | EUR | ‘�79495,25 | 0,00 | ‘�79495,25 |

Total GR | | | | | | ‘�44229257,47 | ‘�1332816,07 | ‘�32896441,40 |

LU | Financial audit ‘�Overshooting | 2003 | Overshooting of the financial ceilings | one-off | | EUR | ‘�2350,66 | ‘�2350,66 | 0,00 |

Total LU | | | | | | ‘�2350,66 | ‘�2350,66 | 0,00 |

NL | Financial audit ‘�Late payments | 2004 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�13633,90 | ‘�13633,90 | 0,00 |

NL | RD Guarantee new measures | 2002 | Ineligible expenditure claimed under the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF | one-off | | EUR | ‘�670000,00 | 0,00 | ‘�670000,00 |

NL | RD Guarantee new measures | 2003 | Expenditure approved under the Guidance Section, but claimed under the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF | one-off | | EUR | ‘�78520,00 | 0,00 | ‘�78520,00 |

NL | RD Guarantee new measures | 2004 | Expenditure approved under the Guidance Section, but claimed under the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF | one-off | | EUR | ‘�44629,00 | ‘�599,00 | ‘�39030,00 |

Total NL | | | | | | ‘�006782,90 | ‘�19232,90 | ‘�687550,00 |

PT | Arable Crops | 2003 | Inadequate verification of the eligibility of claims paid for durum wheat | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�962129,00 | 0,00 | ‘�962129,00 |

PT | Arable Crops | 2004 | Inadequate verification of the eligibility of claims paid for durum wheat | flat-rate | 5 % | EUR | ‘�983698,00 | 0,00 | ‘�983698,00 |

PT | Financial audit ‘�Late payments | 2004 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�55539,34 | ‘�84529,11 | 28989,77 |

PT | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Operational Funds | 2003 | Failure to meet deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�93,03 | 0,00 | ‘�93,03 |

PT | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Peach & Pear Processing | 2003 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�541,18 | 0,00 | ‘�541,18 |

PT | Fruit and Veg's ‘�Tomato Processing | 2003 | Failure to meet payment deadlines | one-off | | EUR | ‘�82983,67 | 0,00 | ‘�82983,67 |

Total PT | | | | | | ‘�387184,22 | ‘�84529,11 | ‘�502655,11 |

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