Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2025/2343

28.4.2025

Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 6 March 2025 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Varhoven administrativen sad – Bulgaria) – Obshtina Veliko Tarnovo (C-471/23), Obshtina Belovo (C-477/23) v Rakovoditel na Upravlyavashtia organ na Operativna programa ‘Regioni v rastezh’ 2014-2020 (C-471/23), Rakovoditel na Upravlyavashtia organ na Operativna programa ‘Okolna sreda’ 2014-2020 (C-477/23)

(Joined Cases C-471/23

Obshtina Veliko Tarnovo and Obshtina Belovo)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Economic, social and territorial cohesion - Own resources of the European Union - Protection of the European Union’s financial interests - Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 - Article 2(10) - Concept of ‘beneficiary’ - Financial correction for breach of national public procurement legislation - Addressee of a financial correction decision - Determination of liability for that correction and contractual apportionment of that liability between the recipient of State aid and the manager of that aid - Participation in administrative and judicial proceedings relating to that decision - Articles 41 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union)

(C/2025/2343)

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Obshtina Veliko Tarnovo (C-471/23), Obshtina Belovo (C-477/23)

Defendants: Rakovoditel na Upravlyavashtia organ na Operativna programa ‘Regioni v rastezh’ 2014-2020 (C-471/23), Rakovoditel na Upravlyavashtia organ na Operativna programa ‘Okolna sreda’ 2014-2020 (C-477/23)

In the presence of: Varhovna administrativna prokuratura

Operative part of the judgment

Article 2(10) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, as amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018,

must be interpreted as meaning that a body which is responsible for initiating or both initiating and implementing the operations concerned, but which does not receive State aid as referred to in that Article 2(10)(a), and a body which has not signed an administrative grant contract as ‘lead partner’ may fall within the concept of ‘beneficiary’, within the meaning of that provision.

Article 2(36) and (37) of Regulation No 1303/2013, as amended by Regulation 2018/1046,

must be interpreted as meaning that it does not preclude either national legislation under which a financial correction decision for breach of the public procurement rules may be addressed to an economic operator other than the one which committed that breach, liability for that financial correction from being joint and several, that liability from being apportioned contractually between that economic operator and the person who committed that breach or the said liability from being assumed by the latter, provided that the financially liable economic operators are in a position to know that, in the event of an irregularity in the implementation of the project at issue, they would thus be liable for the financial correction to the managing authority concerned.

The general principles of EU law of sound administration and respect for the rights of the defence and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

must be interpreted as meaning that they preclude a national practice whereby an economic operator which has committed an irregularity, within the meaning of Article 2(36) of Regulation No 1303/2013, as amended by Regulation 2018/1046, which has given rise to a financial correction, does not have the right to participate either in the procedure determining that financial correction or in the judicial proceedings seeking annulment of it, on the ground that that economic operator has available to it a civil remedy under a partnership agreement, in so far as that economic operator is financially liable, to the managing authority concerned, for the implementation of the project at issue.

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(1) OJ C C/2023/497.

(2) OJ C C/2023/501.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2343/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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