Introductory text

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 agricultural policy^f1, and in particular Article 5(2)(c) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy^f2, and in particular Article 7(4) thereof,

Having consulted the Fund Committee,

Whereas:

Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999, 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 accounts of the EAGGF Guarantee Section^f3 provide that the Commission is to make the necessary verifications, inform the Member States of its findings, take account of the Member States' comments, initiate bilateral discussions with a view to reaching agreement with the Member States concerned and then formally communicate its conclusions to them, referring to Commission Decision 94/442/EC of 1 July 1994 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^f4.

The Member States have had an opportunity to request that a conciliation procedure be initiated. That opportunity has been used in some cases and the report issued on the outcome has been examined by the Commission.

Pursuant to Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 and Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999, only refunds on exports to third countries and intervention to stabilise agricultural markets, granted and undertaken respectively according to Community rules within the framework of the common organisation of the agricultural markets, may be financed.

In the light of the checks 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, therefore, be financed under the EAGGF Guarantee Section.

The amounts that are not recognised as being chargeable to the EAGGF Guarantee Section should be indicated. Those amounts do not relate to expenditure incurred more than twenty-four months before the Commission's written notification of the results of the checks to the Member States.

As regards the cases covered by this Decision, the assessment of the amounts to be excluded on grounds of non-compliance with Community rules was notified by the Commission to the Member States in a summary report on the subject.

This Decision is without prejudice to any financial conclusions that the Commission may draw from the judgements of the Court of Justice in cases pending on 25 November 2005 and relating to its content,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: