Press Release: European Commission refers Italy to the Court of Justice for failure to recover milk levies due from Italian producers

On 26 February 2015 the Commission decided to refer Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to meet its responsibilities adequately with regard to managing the recovery of the levy for overproduction of milk. This levy should be paid by individual producers having exceeded their individual dairy quotas.

Despite repeated requests by the Commission, the Italian authorities have clearly not taken appropriate measures to effectively recover the levy payable from the individual producers/dairies.

The EU introduced a dairy quota regime in 1984 aimed at limiting production and passing responsibility for overproduction to individual producers and/or domestic dairies. Under the dairy quota rules, if a country exceeds its annual quota, then a surplus levy ["superlevy"] must be paid by all individual producers that exceed their individual quota linked to their volume of overproduction.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background Information: Press Release: Commission requests Italy to recover surplus levies due from Italian milk producers http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-commission-requests-italy-to-recover-surplus-levies-due-from-italian-milk-producers/

ESO: Background Information: State aid: aid linked to the deferral of repayments of Italian dairy superlevy turned down by the Commission http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-state-aid-aid-linked-to-the-deferral-of-repayments-of-italian-dairy-superlevy-turned-down-by-the-commission/

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