Brussels, 10/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 10 July, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) confirmed in a decision (C-391/13P) that Greece would have to pay back almost €260 million demanded by the European Commission in 2011 (see EUROPE 10360), because of recurrent deficiencies in the sectors of aid for olive oil and arable land.
The CJEU rejected the appeal made by Greece and upheld the ruling made by the EU General Court of May 2013 (T-294/11), which deemed that the Commission was right, in accordance with the financial rules for common agricultural policy (CAP), to claim back such an amount. The Commission found significant deficiencies in the geographical information system (GIS) for olive cultivation used in Greece during the 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 marketing years, as well as in the geographical information system and the system for identifying plots of farmland in the context of direct aid for arable land (“LPIS/GIS”) in the 2007 returns. The CJEU confirmed that the Commission was right to increase the financial correction rate from 10 to 15%. (JK)