Brussels, 26/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission decided on Thursday 26 February to refer Italy to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to meet its responsibilities adequately with regard to managing the recovery of the levy for overproduction of milk (see EUROPE 11119). This levy should be paid by individual producers having exceeded their individual dairy quotas.
Italy exceeded its national quota every year from 1995 to 2009, and the Italian state paid the Commission the due superlevy amounts over the said period (€2.305 billion). However, despite repeated requests by the Commission, the Italian authorities have clearly not taken appropriate measures to effectively recover the levy payable from the individual producers/dairies. The Commission estimates that, of the total amount of €2.305 billion, some €1.752 billion has still not been recovered. Part of this has been defined as lost or is covered by a 14-year staging plan, but the Commission estimates that penalties worth €1.343 billion remain outstanding. The Commission sent Italy a formal notice on this case in June 2013 and a reasoned opinion in July 2014. (Lionel Changeur)