Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 15 July 2014 — Italy v Commission

(Case T‑463/07)

‛EAGGF — Guarantee Section — Expenditure excluded from financing — Premiums for bovines — Olive oil and fats — Dried fodder — Effectiveness of controls — System for penalties’

Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenses arising from irregularities in applying EU rules — Challenge by the Member State concerned — Burden of proof — Allocation between the Commission and the Member State (Council Regulation No 1290/2005, Art. 31) (see paras 12-15, 136, 141, 196, 203)

2.	Agriculture — EAGGF — Grant of aids and premiums — Obligation of Member States to organise an effective system of administrative controls and on-the-spot checks — Unreliable controls — Disallowance by the Fund (Commission Regulation No 2419/2001, Art. 15) (see paras 44-46, 187, 188)

3.	Actions for annulment — Contested act — Assessment of legality in the light of the information available at the time of adoption of the measure (Art. 263 TFEU) (see para. 108)

Re:

Partial annulment of Commission Decision 2007/647/EC of 3 October 2007 excluding from Community financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (OJ 2007 L 261, p. 28), in so far as that decision excludes certain expenditure incurred by the Italian Republic.

Operative part

The Court:

1.	Dismisses the action;

2.	Orders the Italian Republic to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission.