COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2020/715

of 25 May 2020

on the clearance of the accounts of the paying agencies of Member States concerning expenditure financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) for financial year 2019

(notified under document C(2020) 3260)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (1), and in particular Article 51 thereof,

After consulting the Committee on the Agricultural Funds,

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, the Commission, on the basis of the annual accounts submitted by the Member States, accompanied by the information required for the clearance of accounts and an audit opinion regarding the completeness, accuracy and veracity of the accounts and the reports established by the certification bodies, has to clear the accounts of the paying agencies referred to in Article 7 of that Regulation prior to 31 May of the year following the budget year in question.

(2) In accordance with Article 39 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 the agricultural financial year begins on 16 October of year N-1 and ends on 15 October of year N. When clearing the accounts for financial year 2019, account should be taken of expenditure incurred by the Member States between 16 October 2018 and 15 October 2019, as provided for in Article 11(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 (2).

(3) The first subparagraph of Article 33(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 provides that the amounts that are recoverable from, or payable to, each Member State, in accordance with the accounts clearance decision referred to in Article 33(1) of that Regulation, are to be established by deducting the monthly payments for the financial year concerned from expenditure recognised for that year in accordance with Article 33(1). The Commission is to deduct that amount from or add it to the monthly payment relating to the expenditure effected in the second month following the clearance of accounts decision.

(4) The Commission has checked the information submitted by the Member States and has communicated the results of its checks to the Member States, along with the necessary amendments.

(5) For all paying agencies concerned, the annual accounts and the accompanying documents permit the Commission to take a decision on the completeness, accuracy and veracity of the annual accounts submitted.

(6) In accordance with Article 5(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 (3), any overrun of deadlines during August, September and October is to be taken into account in the clearance of accounts decision. Some of the expenditure declared by certain Member States during those months in 2019 was effected after the applicable deadlines. This Decision should therefore fix the relevant reductions.

(7) Pursuant to Article 41 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, the Commission has already reduced or suspended a number of monthly payments for financial year 2019 due to failure to comply with financial ceilings or payment deadlines, or due to control system deficiencies. In this Decision, the Commission should take into account such reduced or suspended amounts in order to avoid making any inappropriate, or untimely, payments or reimbursements which could later be subject to financial correction. The amounts in question may be examined, where appropriate, under conformity clearance proceedings pursuant to Article 52 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.

(8) Pursuant to Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, 50 % of the financial consequences of non-recovery of irregularities should be borne by the Member State concerned, if recovery has not taken place within four years from the date of the recovery request, or within eight years where the recovery is taken before the national courts. Article 54(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 requires Member States to attach to the annual accounts that they have to submit to the Commission pursuant to Article 29 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 a certified table reflecting the amounts to be borne by them under Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013. Rules on the application of the Member States' obligation to report the amounts to be recovered are laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014. Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 sets out the model of the table that Member States have to use to provide information about amounts to be recovered. On the basis of the tables completed by the Member States, the Commission should decide on the financial consequences of non-recovery of irregularities older than four or eight years respectively.

(9) Pursuant to Article 54(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, on duly justified grounds, Member States may decide not to pursue recovery. Such a decision may be taken only if the costs already, and likely to be, incurred total more than the amount to be recovered, or if the recovery proves impossible owing to the insolvency, recorded and recognised under national law, of the debtor or the persons legally responsible for the irregularity. If the decision has been taken within four years from the date of the recovery request or within eight years where the recovery is taken to the national courts, 100 % of the financial consequences of the non-recovery should be borne by the Union budget. The amounts for which the Member State decided not to pursue recovery and the grounds for the decision are shown in the summary report referred to in Article 54(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 in conjunction with point (c)(iv) of the first subparagraph of Article 102(1) of that Regulation. Therefore, such amounts should not be charged to the Member States concerned and are consequently borne by the Union budget.

(10) Reductions according to Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 presented in Annex I (column e) relate to the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF). The amounts to be charged to the Member States, as a result of the application of Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 in relation to the Temporary Rural Development Instrument (TRDI) funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (4) are presented in Annex II.

(11) In accordance with Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, this Decision should be without prejudice to the decisions the Commission may take subsequently to exclude from Union financing expenditure not effected in accordance with Union rules,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The accounts of the Member States' paying agencies are hereby cleared as regards expenditure financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in respect of financial year 2019.

The amounts recoverable from, or payable to, each Member State pursuant to this Decision, including those resulting from the application of Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, are set out in Annexes I and II to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision is without prejudice to future conformity clearance decisions that the Commission may take pursuant to Article 52 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 to exclude from Union financing expenditure not effected in accordance with Union rules.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 25 May 2020.

For the Commission

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI

Member of the Commission

(1)

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 549

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 of 6 August 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts , rules on checks, securities and transparency (

OJ L 255, 28.8.2014, p. 59

(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 of 11 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, securities and use of euro (

OJ L 255, 28.8.2014, p. 18

(4) Commission Regulation (EC) No 27/2004 of 5 January 2004 laying down transitional detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 as regards the financing by the EAGGF Guarantee Section of rural development measures in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (

OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 36

ANNEX I

CLEARANCE OF THE PAYING AGENCIES' ACCOUNTS

FINANCIAL YEAR 2019

Amount to be recovered from or paid to the Member State

MS		2019 – Expenditure / Assigned Revenue for the Paying Agencies for which the accounts are		Total a + b	Reductions and suspensions for the whole financial year(1)	Amount to be charged according to Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) 1306/2013	Total including reductions and suspensions	Payments made to the Member State for the financial year	Amount to be recovered from (–) or paid to (+) the Member State (2)
		cleared	disjoined
		= expenditure / assigned revenue declared in the annual declaration	= total of the expenditure / assigned revenue in the monthly declarations
		a	b	c=a+b	d	e	f=c+d+e	g	h=f–g
AT	EUR	703 966 737,95	0,00	703 966 737,95	–560 013,80	0,00	703 406 724,15	703 403 903,13	2 821,02
BE	EUR	550 009 050,96	0,00	550 009 050,96	0,00	–16 750,13	549 992 300,83	550 202 650,44	–210 349,61
BG	BGN	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–1 387,75	–1 387,75	0,00	–1 387,75
BG	EUR	799 089 404,74	0,00	799 089 404,74	–9 273,42	0,00	799 080 131,32	799 083 546,78	–3 415,46
CY	EUR	54 512 614,60	0,00	54 512 614,60	–1 098,70	–8 340,56	54 503 175,34	54 511 524,83	–8 349,49
CZ	CZK	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–2 362,25	–2 362,25	0,00	–2 362,25
CZ	EUR	874 001 034,77	0,00	874 001 034,77	0,00	0,00	874 001 034,77	874 001 035,10	–0,33
DE	EUR	4 898 542 173,55	0,00	4 898 542 173,55	–14 841,47	–38 163,59	4 898 489 168,49	4 898 379 171,81	109 996,68
DK	DKK	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–68 002,84	–68 002,84	0,00	–68 002,84
DK	EUR	832 217 756,71	0,00	832 217 756,71	0,00	0,00	832 217 756,71	832 146 704,57	71 052,14
EE	EUR	133 917 506,66	0,00	133 917 506,66	0,00	–1 405,60	133 916 101,06	133 912 353,58	3 747,48
ES	EUR	5 673 013 576,90	0,00	5 673 013 576,90	–8 340 572,36	–343 010,66	5 664 329 993,88	5 664 530 013,10	–200 019,22
FI	EUR	527 186 750,70	0,00	527 186 750,70	–12 201,75	–33 767,36	527 140 781,59	527 231 991,12	–91 209,53
FR	EUR	7 369 119 413,09	0,00	7 369 119 413,09	–19 469 385,70	–268 610,93	7 349 381 416,46	7 346 614 405,05	2 767 011,41
UK	GBP	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–12 468,97	–12 468,97	0,00	–12 468,97
UK	EUR	3 209 238 643,58	0,00	3 209 238 643,58	–15 416 788,73	0,00	3 193 821 854,85	3 194 823 812,34	–1 001 957,49
EL	EUR	1 911 346 204,25	0,00	1 911 346 204,25	–75 251,36	–844 817,29	1 910 426 135,60	1 911 270 952,89	–844 817,29
HR	HRK	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–13 189,56	–13 189,56	0,00	–13 189,56
HR	EUR	286 512 040,98	0,00	286 512 040,98	–35 322,54	0,00	286 476 718,44	286 505 848,07	–29 129,63
HU	HUF	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–27 162 925,00	–27 162 925,00	0,00	–27 162 925,00
HU	EUR	1 277 767 153,77	0,00	1 277 767 153,77	–2 120 600,36	0,00	1 275 646 553,41	1 275 742 003,22	–95 449,81
IE	EUR	1 194 327 007,55	0,00	1 194 327 007,55	–29 628,85	–24 034,05	1 194 273 344,65	1 193 276 729,51	996 615,14
IT	EUR	4 138 061 977,31	0,00	4 138 061 977,31	–33 531 548,73	–4 915 979,72	4 099 614 448,86	4 100 788 546,81	–1 174 097,95
LT	EUR	466 903 768,33	0,00	466 903 768,33	0,00	–2 426,15	466 901 342,18	466 903 768,33	–2 426,15
LU	EUR	33 252 999,03	0,00	33 252 999,03	0,00	0,00	33 252 999,03	33 183 121,26	69 877,77
LV	EUR	253 721 198,34	0,00	253 721 198,34	0,00	–1 576,85	253 719 621,49	253 721 198,34	–1 576,85
MT	EUR	5 679 142,30	0,00	5 679 142,30	–1 119,63	–315 100,13	5 362 922,54	5 702 837,75	–339 915,21
NL	EUR	701 147 752,79	0,00	701 147 752,79	–40 474,97	–2 647,67	701 104 630,15	701 365 582,90	–260 952,75
PL	PLN	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–795 957,42	–795 957,42	0,00	–795 957,42
PL	EUR	3 363 316 204,66	0,00	3 363 316 204,66	0,00	0,00	3 363 316 204,66	3 363 353 062,60	–36 857,94
PT	EUR	763 736 847,84	0,00	763 736 847,84	–247 441,33	–306 398,99	763 183 007,52	762 343 600,52	839 407,00
RO	RON	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–974 171,99	–974 171,99	0,00	–974 171,99
RO	EUR	1 847 891 384,57	0,00	1 847 891 384,57	–9 493 044,08	0,00	1 838 398 340,49	1 844 530 341,45	–6 132 000,96
SE	SEK	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	–9 866,16	–9 866,16	0,00	–9 866,16
SE	EUR	690 778 215,38	0,00	690 778 215,38	–274 029,79	0,00	690 504 185,59	690 557 292,64	–53 107,05
SI	EUR	141 618 537,51	0,00	141 618 537,51	0,00	0,00	141 618 537,51	141 615 579,48	2 958,03
SK	EUR	451 514 761,88	0,00	451 514 761,88	–188 214,37	–6 073,91	451 320 473,60	451 324 541,41	–4 067,81

MS		Expenditure(3)	Assigned revenue(3)	Article 54(2) (=e)	Total (=h)
		05 07 01 06	6701	6702	Total (=h)
		i	j	k	l = i+j+k
AT	EUR	2 821,02	0,00	0,00	2 821,02
BE	EUR	0,00	–193 599,48	–16 750,13	–210 349,61
BG	BGN	0,00	0,00	–1 387,75	–1 387,75
BG	EUR	0,00	–3 415,46	0,00	–3 415,46
CY	EUR	0,00	–8,93	–8 340,56	–8 349,49
CZ	CZK	0,00	0,00	–2 362,25	–2 362,25
CZ	EUR	0,00	–0,33	0,00	–0,33
DE	EUR	148 160,27	0,00	–38 163,59	109 996,68
DK	DKK	0,00	0,00	–68 002,84	–68 002,84
DK	EUR	71 052,14	0,00	0,00	71 052,14
EE	EUR	5 153,08	0,00	–1 405,60	3 747,48
ES	EUR	330 952,38	–187 960,94	–343 010,66	–200 019,22
FI	EUR	0,00	–57 442,17	–33 767,36	–91 209,53
FR	EUR	3 340 929,12	–305 306,78	–268 610,93	2 767 011,41
UK	GBP	0,00	0,00	–12 468,97	–12 468,97
UK	EUR	0,00	–1 001 957,49	0,00	–1 001 957,49
EL	EUR	0,00	0,00	–844 817,29	–844 817,29
HR	HRK	0,00	0,00	–13 189,56	–13 189,56
HR	EUR	0,00	–29 129,63	0,00	–29 129,63
HU	HUF	0,00	0,00	–27 162 925,00	–27 162 925,00
HU	EUR	0,00	–95 449,81	0,00	–95 449,81
IE	EUR	1 020 649,19	0,00	–24 034,05	996 615,14
IT	EUR	3 741 881,77	0,00	–4 915 979,72	–1 174 097,95
LT	EUR	0,00	0,00	–2 426,15	–2 426,15
LU	EUR	69 877,77	0,00	0,00	69 877,77
LV	EUR	0,00	0,00	–1 576,85	–1 576,85
MT	EUR	0,00	–24 815,08	–315 100,13	–339 915,21
NL	EUR	0,00	–258 305,08	–2 647,67	–260 952,75
PL	PLN	0,00	0,00	–795 957,42	–795 957,42
PL	EUR	0,00	–36 857,94	0,00	–36 857,94
PT	EUR	1 223 391,41	–77 585,42	–306 398,99	839 407,00
RO	RON	0,00	0,00	–974 171,99	–974 171,99
RO	EUR	0,00	–6 132 000,96	0,00	–6 132 000,96
SE	SEK	0,00	0,00	–9 866,16	–9 866,16
SE	EUR	0,00	–53 107,05	0,00	–53 107,05
SI	EUR	2 958,03	0,00	0,00	2 958,03
SK	EUR	2 006,10	0,00	–6 073,91	–4 067,81

(1)

The reductions and suspensions are those taken into account in the payment system, to which are added in particular the corrections for the non respect of payment deadlines established in August, September and October 2019 and other reductions in the context of Article 41 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.

(2)

For the calculation of the amount to be recovered from or paid to the Member State the amount taken into account is, the total of the annual declaration for the expenditure cleared (col.a) or, the total of the monthly declarations for the expenditure disjoined (col.b). Applicable exchange rate: the second sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 11(1) of the Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014.

(3)	BL 05 07 01 06 shall be split between the negative corrections which become assigned revenue in BL 67 01 and the positive ones in favour of MS which shall now be included on the expenditure side 05 07 01 06 as per Article 43 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.

NB: Nomenclature 2020 : 05 07 01 06, 6701, 6702

ANNEX II

CLEARANCE OF THE PAYING AGENCIES' ACCOUNTS

FINANCIAL YEAR 2019 - EAGF

Corrections according to Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) 1306/2013

(

)

Member State	Currency	In National currency	In Euro
AT	EUR
BE	EUR
BG	BGN
CY	EUR	—	—
CZ	CZK	435 235,36	—
DE	EUR
DK	DKK
EE	EUR	—	—
ES	EUR
FI	EUR
FR	EUR
UK	GBP
EL	EUR
HR	HRK
HU	HUF	1 228 549,00	—
IE	EUR
IT	EUR
LT	EUR	—	35 266,50
LU	EUR
LV	EUR	—	6 909,00
MT	EUR	—	—
NL	EUR
PL	PLN	6 158 601,16	—
PT	EUR
RO	RON
SE	SEK
SI	EUR	—	—
SK	EUR	—	80 222,21

(

)

Only the corrections related to TRDI are communicated in this annex