The European General Court rejected, on Wednesday 21 September, France’s appeal challenging a €46 million financial correction proposed by the European Commission in respect of coupled support under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
In 2016, the French authorities notified the Commission of a coupled support measure for the protein crop sector. The areas eligible for this support were those cultivated with pure fodder legumes, mixed with each other or with other species.
After investigation, the Commission found that the eligibility conditions for the said support were not in line with EU law. According to the Commission, as grasses are not mentioned in the list of eligible sectors established in Article 52(2) of Regulation 1307/2013 (on direct payments), mixtures of legumes with grasses were not eligible for coupled support. The Commission excluded €45.8 million from EU funding (under the optional coupled support for fodder legumes). The General Court dismissed the action for annulment brought by France against the contested decision.
The General Court noted (Case T-475/21) that Article 52 of the regulation establishes a restrictive list of sectors and productions eligible for coupled support and does not mention mixtures between products belonging to the sectors or productions expressly referred to in that list.
It also says that the legislator wanted to restrict the Member States’ option to grant coupled support by introducing cumulative conditions which considerably limit the circle of eligible beneficiaries and its material scope. Moreover, coupled support is a derogatory aid scheme compared to other aid schemes governed by Regulation 1307/2013, so that “its conditions of application must be interpreted strictly”.
Link to the judgment (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/37g (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)