Subsidies do not end up going to farmers, according to the words of the Ombudsman

Subject: Subsidies do not end up going to farmers, according to the words of the Ombudsman

In its special report entitled ‘Seizure of bank accounts for debts to the public’, presented on 29 October 2018, the Greek Ombudsman states in brief that agricultural subsidies to public debtors do not end up going to producers.

This report, inter alia, states: ‘Rural subsidies, despite the unequivocal assurance of EU law that they are paid in full to the beneficiaries, in most cases do not end up going to the farmers who are debtors of the State’. It also states that ‘Excessive use of prosecution measures, particularly at the expense of the most economically and socially vulnerable groups, i.e. wage-earners, pensioners, farmers, disabled people, students and small and medium-sized enterprises whose financial resilience is exhausted from the long-running economic crisis, will not effectively solve the low collection of public revenue’.

Can the Commission say:

1. Whether it is aware of the high rates of non-payment of agricultural subsidies to beneficiaries?

2. Whether it will investigate and address solutions to these problems, while at the same time allowing the Greek people to demand that the government punish those who are abusing EU funds?

Answer given by Mr Hogan on behalf of the European Commission

(10 January 2019)

The Commission regularly follows the execution of payments in each Member State, as it is on that basis that expenditure is reimbursed to them (1).

The Commission controls Member States’ respect of the payment deadlines for direct payments and can apply reductions to the EU reimbursements to Member States for payments made after the payment deadline (2). The same payment deadlines will also apply for rural development payments relating to certain measures (3), as from claim year 2019.

In line with the principles of shared management, Member States have to take all the measures necessary to satisfy themselves that payments are granted correctly and on time. As a matter of principle, Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 (4) establishes that EU grants and subsidies shall be made in full to the beneficiaries.

On the other hand, as the Commission recalled in its reply to the Written Question P-0000680/2017, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in Case C-132/95 (Bent Jensen) that deducting debts towards the national budget from payments to be received by the same person under the common agricultural policy is allowed, unless it would undermine the effectiveness of EU law or create unequal treatment of economic operators.

At this stage, the Commission is not in a position to further comment on the Greek legislation at stake.

⋅1∙ Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013)

⋅2∙ Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 (OJ L 255, 28.8.2014)

⋅3∙ Article 75(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013).

⋅4∙ OJ L 347, 20.12.2013.