Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Agriculture - Common agricultural policy - Support for producers of certain arable crops - Common organisation of the markets - Beef and veal - Payments aimed at compensating the loss of income caused by the reform of the common agricultural policy - Obligation to pay the sums at issue in full to the beneficiaries - Levying of administrative fees - Prohibition - Infringement of Article 5 of the Treaty and breach of the principle of proportionality - Absence

(EC Treaty, Art. 5; Council Regulations No 805/68, Art. 30a, and No 1765/92, Art. 15(3))

Summary

Article 15(3) of Regulation No 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops, and Article 30a of Regulation No 805/68 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal, as inserted by Regulation No 2066/92, which provide that the compensatory payments and premiums laid down in the regulations at issue, whose object is to grant compensation to the farmers affected by the consequences of the reform of the common agricultural policy, are paid in full to the beneficiaries, prohibit the authorities in the Member States from charging applicants administrative fees for processing their applications for aid even if the administrative fees fixed by those authorities correspond to the rates which are otherwise usual in national law and those fees are so low that they are not capable of deterring applicants from applying for aid.

In fact, to allow Member States the freedom to reduce the levels of compensatory aid by making a deduction of or charging fees for administrative expenses would lead to different compensation for the loss of income of the farmers in one Member State and between the farmers of different Member States, which could interfere with the uniform application of Community law, which is necessary in order to avoid unequal treatment of producers and traders.

In adopting the said regulations, the Council did not, moreover, infringe Article 5 of the Treaty or breach the principle of proportionality, since the objective pursued can be achieved only by the obligation to pay the compensatory aid in full to the farmers concerned.