Conciliation procedure
Article 40
1. A Member State may refer a matter to the Conciliation Body within 30 working days of receipt of the Commission’s formal communication referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 34(3) by sending a reasoned request for conciliation to the secretariat of the Conciliation Body. The procedure to be followed and the address of the secretariat shall be notified to the Member States through the Committee on the Agricultural Funds. 2. A request for conciliation shall only be admissible where the amount envisaged to be excluded from the Union financing according to the Commission’s communication either: (a) exceeds EUR 1 million; or (b) represents at least 25 % of the Member State’s total annual expenditure under the budget items concerned. In addition, if during the preceding discussions the Member State claimed and demonstrated that the matter is one of principle relating to the application of Union rules, the chairperson of the Conciliation Body may declare a request for conciliation to be admissible. However, such a request shall not be admissible if it relates solely to a matter of legal interpretation. 3. The Conciliation Body shall conduct its investigations as informally and promptly as possible, basing itself solely on the evidence available to the Commission at the time when formal conclusions are communicated in accordance with Article 34(3) and giving the Commission and the national authorities concerned a fair hearing. However, if the Member State considers it necessary to present in its request for conciliation information which has not yet been communicated to the Commission, the Conciliation Body may invite the Commission to assess that new information only if the conditions set out in Article 34(6) are met. The information shall be communicated to the Commission at the latest two months after the report referred to in point (c) of Article 36 has been sent. 4. Where, within four months of a case being referred to it, the Conciliation Body is not able to reconcile the positions of the Commission and the Member State, the conciliation procedure shall be deemed to have failed. The report referred to in point (c) of Article 36 shall state the reasons why the positions could not be reconciled. It shall indicate whether any partial agreement was reached during the proceedings and whether the Conciliation Body invites the Commission to assess new information in accordance with the second subparagraph of paragraph 3. The report shall be sent to: (a) the Member State concerned; (b) the Commission, for examination before communicating its conclusions to the Member State; (c) the other Member States in the framework of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.