Spanish stonefruit cooperative Fruits de Ponent is taking action against the European Commission to defend the interests of its members for losses caused by the 'Russian veto' on agricultural products and the subsequent fall in prices during the 2014 campaign.
This week, at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, a hearing was held regarding an appeal by Fruits de Ponent against the Commission, regarding the 'inefficient and delayed reaction' to deal with the crisis in the sector.
The cooperative group claims that the Commission did not act diligently and effectively at the time, and that this had a negative effect on its members.
Appeal
In the appeal filed, Fruits de Ponent alleges that the European Commission was 'acting belatedly' when it came to dealing with serious market disruptions, and used correction mechanisms that, months before, the Commission itself had recognised as being inadequate and ineffective.
In addition, the group claims that the Commission did not adopt the pertinent measures and, through its actions and omissions, committed a violation of rules, including the principle of duty of care, the principles of assistance and protection, the principle of good administration, and the principle of interdiction of arbitrariness.
With this appeal, Fruits de Ponent says that it intends to defend the interests and rights of its producer partners, and to highlight at European level the serious crisis affecting the sector, which has led to millions of euros in losses and the disappearance of many farms.
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