The Queen contra Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ex parte J.H. Cooke & Sons.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 61998CC0372
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2000:228
• Date: 11 May 2000
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling
• Docket Number: C-372/98

Important legal notice

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61998C0372

Opinion of Mr Advocate General Léger delivered on 11 May 2000. - The Queen v Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ex parte J.H. Cooke & Sons. - Reference for a preliminary ruling: High Court of Justice (England & Wales), Queen's Bench Division (Divisional Court) - United Kingdom. - Common Agricultural Policy - Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 - Regulation (EC) No 762/94 - Aids linked to the area down to arable crops and set-aside - Meaning of an "area which has been cultivated in the previous year with a view to harvest". - Case C-372/98.

European Court reports 2000 Page I-08683

Opinion of the Advocate-General

1. This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the provisions of Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 762/94 of 6 April 1994 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 with regard to the set-aside scheme. Those provisions define set-aside as the leaving fallow of an area which has been cultivated in the previous year with a view to a harvest. The High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Queen's Bench Division (Divisional Court), asks whether that expression is capable of covering land sown with a type of grass that was cut during the year preceding the set-aside period.

I - The Community law background

2. In 1992, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was subject to a reform which included the creation or amendment of a certain number of aid schemes. That reform pursued essentially two objectives, namely to control the increase in the financial cost of the CAP and to avoid overproduction.

Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92

3. Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92, which came into force as from the 1993/1994 marketing year, established a new support system for producers of certain arable crops. It is designed to avoid overproduction in the sector concerned, ensure better market balances, and compensate for the loss of income caused by the reduction of the institutional prices by a compensatory payment for producers.

4. In order to achieve those aims, the Community legislature altered the principles governing the granting of aid for arable crops. Thus, since 1992, compensatory payments have been fixed on a per hectare basis, by reference to area and the productive capacity of the various regions of the Community. In addition, the legislature made the granting of compensatory payments subject to the obligation on the part of producers to set aside part of the land in their holding.

5. The preamble to Regulation No 1765/92 states that ... in order to benefit from the compensatory payments under the general scheme, producers must set aside a predetermined percentage of their arable area ....

6. Title I of the same regulation deals with compensatory payments.

Article 2(1) provides that Community producers of arable crops may apply for a compensatory payment under the conditions set out in this Title.

Under Article 2(2), The compensatory payment is granted for the area which is down to arable crops or subject to set-aside in accordance with Article 7 of this Regulation ....

Under Article 2(5), Producers applying for the compensatory payment under the general scheme shall be subject to an obligation to set aside part of the land of their holding from production and shall receive a compensation for this obligation.

Article 7 sets out the main provisions applicable to the set-aside of land. Article 7(4) states that The land set aside may be used for the provision of materials for the manufacture within the Community of products not primarily intended for human or animal consumption, provided that effective control systems are applied.

7. Annex I to Regulation No 1765/92 gives an exhaustive list of the agricultural products which fall within the definition of arable crops.

Regulation No 762/94

8. Regulation No 762/94 lays down the detailed rules for applying Regulation No 1765/92 in relation to set-aside.

9. The preamble to that regulation confirms that eligibility for the compensatory payment under the general scheme referred to in Article 2(5) of Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 is subject to an obligation on the part of the producer concerned to set aside part of his land ....

10. Article 2 of Regulation No 762/94 defines set-aside as follows:

Without prejudice to Article 7(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92, "set-aside" means the leaving fallow of an area which has been cultivated in the previous year with a view to a harvest.

Regulations (EEC) Nos 3508/92 and 3887/92

11. Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 establishes an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes and, in particular, the scheme established by Regulation No 1765/92.

12. Article 6 provides that, in order to be eligible under one or more aid schemes, each farmer is required to submit, for each year, an area aid application indicating the agricultural parcels, including areas under forage crops, covered by a set-aside measure for arable land and those laid fallow.

13. Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 lays down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system.

Article 4 specifies the information which must be contained in an area aid application. Article 6 requires administrative and on-the-spot checks to be made in such a way as to ensure effective verification of compliance with the conditions laid down for the granting of aid. Finally, Article 9 sets out the sanctions which apply where the area declared by the person concerned in the area aid application differs from the area actually determined by the competent authorities on inspection.

II - The facts and the procedure in the main action

14. The firm of J.H. Cooke & Sons (Cooke) owns and runs Bates Farm at Maer, in the United Kingdom.

15. On 16 April 1997, it submitted an area aid application to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (the MAFF), the competent authority in England and Wales for managing the payments scheme in the arable crops sector.

16. The application submitted by Cooke sought a compensatory payment for an area of land set aside during 1997. It related to 60.64 hectares of cereal crops, 23.90 hectares of oilseed crops and 5 hectares of land which it had left fallow.

17. In 1996, the year before the set-aside period, the land in question had...