Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1 . Member States - Obligations - Federal structure of a Member State - Establishment of supervisory measures ensuring the application of Community law - Review by the Commission - Limits

2 . Agriculture - Common agricultural policy - EAGGF financing - Grant of premiums for the maintenance of the suckler cow herd and of premiums in favour of producers of sheepmeat - Member States' obligation to organize an effective system of administrative checks and on-the-spot inspections - Unreliable inspection procedures - Refusal to charge to the Fund

( EEC Treaty, Art . 5; Council Regulation No 729/70, Arts 8 and 9; Commission Regulation No 1244/82, Art . 4(1 ), and Commission Regulation No 3007/84, Art . 5 )

Summary

1 . It is for all the authorities of the Member States, whether it be the central authorities of the State or the authorities of a federated State, or other territorial authorities, to ensure observance of the rules of Community law within the sphere of their competence . However, it is not for the Commission to rule on the division of competences by the institutional rules proper to each Member State, or on the obligations which, in a State having a federal structure, may be imposed on the federal authorities and on the authorities of the federated States respectively . It may only verify whether the supervisory and inspection procedures established according to the arrangements within the national legal system are in their entirety sufficiently effective to enable the Community requirements to be correctly applied .

2 . It is clear from Articles 8 and 9 of Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy, in conjunction with Article 5 of Regulation No 3007/84 laying down detailed rules for the application of the premium for producers of sheepmeat and Article 4(1 ) of Regulation No 1244/82 laying down detailed rules implementing the system of premiums for maintaining suckler cows, viewed in the light of the obligation of faithful cooperation with the Commission laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty, and with particular regard to the correct utilization of Community resources, that Member States are required to set up comprehensive administrative checks and on-the-spot inspections guaranteeing the proper observance of the substantive and formal conditions for the grant of the premiums in question .

Where the Commission establishes that in a Member State no such comprehensive system of checks exists or if the system established is defective to the point of giving rise to doubts as to compliance with the conditions imposed on the grant of the premiums in question, the Commission is entitled to disallow certain expenditure incurred by that State .