The General Court of the European Union has rejected Italy's appeal against the EU Commission's decision to apply a flat-rate financial correction of 71 million euros on CAP funds to the country. The Commission had decided to "sanction the inadequacies of the controls relating to the milk quota regime, found in Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche, Puglia, Sardinia, Calabria, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Valle d'Aosta".
In fact, two inspections conducted by the European authority had found irregularities in the milk quota marketing campaigns from 2004-2005 to 2006/2007. According to Brussels, Italy would not have carried out the checks on the buyers within the terms established by European law. Consequently, therefore, the decision to exclude from the financing some expenses relating to the years in question.
Italy's request to reverse the cut due to "misuse of powers, breach of the principle of proportionality and breach of the duty to state reasons" was rejected in its entirety, since the late checks rendered the data in the Commission's possession unreliable. Italy has two months to file an appeal.
