1999/186/EC: Commission Decision of 3 February 1999 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(1999) 208)
L 61/34 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 3. 1999 II (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 3 February 1999 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(1999) 208) (1999/186/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 agricul- tural policy (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 (2), and in particular Article 5(2)(c) thereof, After consulting the Fund Committee, Whereas, under Article 5(2)(c) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, the Commission, after consulting the Fund Committee, decides on the expenditure to be excluded from Community financing where it establishes that it has not been effected according to Community rules; Whereas, under Article 5(2)(c) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 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 the EAGGF Guarantee Section (3), as last accounts of amended by Regulation (EC) No 896/97 (4), the Commis- sion has made the necessary inspections, notified its find- ings to the Member States, taken note of the latter’s (1) OJ L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13. (2) OJ L 125, 8. 6. 1995, p. 1. (3) OJ L 158, 8. 7. 1995, p. 6. (4) OJ L 128, 21. 5. 1997, p. 8. comments, initiated bilateral discussions in an effort to come to an agreement with the Member States concerned and formally communicated its findings to them, refer- ring to Commission Decision 94/442/EC 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 (5); Whereas the Member States were able to make a request for conciliation; whereas they did so in a number of cases and the report delivered on completion of the concilia- tion procedure was examined by the Commission; Whereas, under Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, financing may be provided only for export refunds on products exported to third countries and action designed to stabilise the agricultural markets, granted or undertaken respectively in accordance with the Community rules on the common organisation of the agricultural markets; Whereas, in the light of the inspections 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 be financed under the EAGGF Guarantee Section; (5) OJ L 182, 16. 7. 1994, p. 145. 10. 3. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 61/35 Whereas the amounts found not to be chargeable to the EAGGF Guarantee Section are shown in the Annex to this Decision; whereas they do not concern expenditure incurred prior to the 24-month period preceding the Commission’s written notification to the Member States of the findings of the inspections; Whereas, in the cases covered by this Decision, the evalu- ation of the amounts to be excluded from Community financing on grounds of non-compliance with the Community rules was communicated by the Commission to the Member States in the context of the summary reports for 1994 and 1995; Whereas this Decision is without prejudice to any finan- cial consequences drawn by the Commission from judg- ments of the Court of Justice in cases pending on the date of this Decision and relating to matters covered by this Decision, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The expenditure of the paying agencies accredited by the Member States declared under the EAGGF Guarantee Section, shown in the Annex hereto, is excluded by this Decision from Community financing, failure to comply with the Community rules. for Article 2 This Decision is addressed to the Member States. Done at Brussels, 3 February 1999. For the Commission Franz FISCHLER Member of the Commission Sector Member State Budget item Arable crops Tobacco Germany Germany Oils and fats Milk Milk Beef/Veal Beef/Veal Arable crops Spain Spain France France France France France 1060 1710 1210 1211 2065 2065 2120 2125 5011 ANNEX Grounds Final product ineligible (set-aside for industrial purposes) Inadequate checks — 1995 harvest Shortcomings in scrutiny of expenditure Olive tree register 1996: buy-back programme — non-fulfilment of requirement 1997: buy-back programme — non-fulfilment of requirement Inadequate checks Inadequate checks Shortcomings in system of management for agri-environmental measures Oils and fats Greece 1210 Shortcomings in scrutiny of expenditure Fruit and vegetables Fruit and vegetables Fruit and vegetables Italy Italy Italy 1511 1511 1511 Liquid added to preserved tomatoes Ineligible finished products Liquid added to preserved tomatoes Beef/Veal Beef/Veal United Kingdom United Kingdom 2220 Inadequate checks 3805 Inadequate checks Amount in national currency Financial year Total DEM Total ESP Total FRF Total GRD Total ITL –1 992 915,00 –1 379 220,00 –3 372 135,00 –5 478 058 789,00 –276 691 426,00 –5 754 750 215,00 –21 634 680,00 –21 634 680,00 –171 835,00 –70 835,00 –16 023 981,00 –59 536 011,00 –7 815 108 329,00 –7 815 108 329,00 –4 533 168 771,00 –9 671 715,00 –7 421 939 820,00 –11 964 780 306,00 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996 1997 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996 1997 –8 741 304,00 1996 –938 603,00 1996 Total GBP –9 679 907,00 L 6 1 / 3 6 E N O f f i c i a l J o u r n a l o f t h e E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s 1 0. 3. 1 9 9 9