The CJEU dismisses Spain’s appeal against the withdrawal of funds due to irregularities in aid to the beef sector
Brussels – The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has dismissed this Thursday Spain’s appeal against the European Commission’s decision to exclude 5.01 million euros due to the illegal application of a voluntary associated aid scheme for the beef sector under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF).
The case dates back to a 2018 community investigation that detected irregularities in compliance with Union rules regarding the management and control of associated aid measures in the beef sector for the two previous years. Specifically, it found deficiencies in the accuracy of the aid calculation, the quality of on-the-ground controls, and the required number of controls, and therefore proposed to exclude a net amount of 5.01 million euros from Union funding from the EAGF.
After a litigation against the European Commission that ended in European Justice and which was initially dismissed by the General Court, this Thursday the CJEU has once again sided with Brussels in the appeal, definitively dismissing Spain’s arguments without addressing any of its claims.
In response to Spain’s arguments that late notification should not be penalized, the CJEU considers that the General Court’s ruling is sufficiently reasoned and did not find that such late notification justified the application of an administrative sanction in all cases.
Other errors that Spain alleged in the ruling are not considered by European Justice, which points out that the claimant does not precisely identify the errors of the General Court or does not accurately present the legal grounds that specifically support the contested elements. (November 27)
