Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 9 October 2012 — Italy v Commission

(Case T-426/08)

EAGGF — Guarantee Section — EAGF — Expenditure excluded from financing — Fruit and vegetables — Sugar — Processing of citrus fruits — Milk — Arable crops — Flat-rate financial correction — Proportionality — Duty to state reasons — No error of assessment

1.                     Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Plea based on lack or inadequacy of reasoning — Plea based on inaccuracy of the reasoning — Distinction (Art. 253 EC) (see paras 17, 90)

2.                     Proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Conditions — New plea — Meaning (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 48(2)) (see para. 37)

3.                     European Union law — Principles — Proportionality — Scope — Pleas capable of achieving the legitimate aims pursued (Art. 5(4) TEU) (see paras 39, 157)

4.                     Acts of the institutions — Rules of administrative conduct of general scope — Measure designed to produce external effects — Exercise by the Commission of its discretion — Obligation to comply with higher rules of the Union (see para. 41)

5.                     Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Milk and milk products — Additional levy on milk — Controls by the Member States — Time-limits for controls — Imperative time-limit — Completion of the control — Report of the control available — Availability interpreted by reference to the purpose of the report (Council Regulation No 3950/92, Art. 1; Commission Regulation No 1392/2001, Art. 12(2)) (see paras 75, 85)

6.                     Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenditure arising from irregularities in the application of the Community rules — Challenge by the Member State concerned — Burden of proof — Allocation between the Commission and the Member State (Council Regulation No 1258/1999) (see paras 125, 126, 145)

7.                     Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenditure arising from irregularities in the application of the Community rules — Not possible precisely to assess the losses suffered by the Union — Blanket correction — Duty to comply with the principle of proportionality (see paras 131, 132, 174)

8.                     Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Definitive refusal to accept responsibility for certain expenses — Need for prior inter partes procedure (see para. 141)

9.                     Agriculture — EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — Disallowance of expenditure arising from irregularities in the application of the Community rules — Introduction of an adjustment of the disallowance by reference to the risk created for the EAGGF by the seriousness of the failure to act attributable to the national control authorities — Challenge by the Member State concerned — Burden of proof (see para. 158)

10.                     Actions for annulment — Grounds — Misuse of powers — Concept (Art. 230 EC) (see para. 184)

Re:

Operative part

The Court: