Judgment_paragraph 2. · Giacomo Cattaneo Adorno v Commission of the European Communities (107/80)

2.Mr Cattaneo Adorno runs a farm in Gabiano Monferrato in the Piedmont area. The farm comprises two holdings of a total area of 176 hectares. Because of the inherent quality of the soil and its geographical location it is economically most suited to the growing of grapes. Mr Cattaneo Adorno is the tenant of the land and the buildings and runs them as a farmer. He produces mainly wine and grows in addition wheat and maize.On 30 April 1979 Mr Cattaneo Adorno submitted through the Italian Government in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation No 355/77 an application for aid from the Fund made in accordance with the rules laid down in Commission Regulation No 219/78 of 13 January 1978 on applications for aid from the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund for projects to improve the conditions under which agricultural products are processed and marketed (Official Journal 1975, L 35, p. 10). The application concerns an investment project for the creation of a new wine-making centre designed to improve the processing into wine of the grapes produced on the farm, to rationalize the storage and preservation of the wine, to improve transport between the various terrains and to shorten the marketing channels for the wine. In his application Mr Cattaneo Adorno stated that he intended by means of this new venture to rationalize the process of making wine from the grapes produced on his farm and to improve marketing channels for the wine, at the same time improving the quality, presentation and market preparation of his product.In a letter of 24 January 1979 from the Director-General for Agriculture the Commission rejected the application on the ground that it fell within the scope of Council Directive 72/159/EEC of 17 April 1972 on the modernization of farms. Under the terms of Article 15 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 355/77 the project in question was therefore not eligible for aid from the Fund within the scope of that regulation.