Conclusions
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natural resources according to the national and regional legislation. Thus, we can see that this case study implements a method of effective transparency and participation by clearly laying out their process and methodology concerning such a contentious area. This shows a vast cross section of administration and society working together and negotiating to achieve a common aim. The last example is a case10 on good governance and economic policy in Denmark. For a number of years, exporting companies have purchased large quantities of ground beef from a slaughter house and exported it to Arab countries. Pursuant to Community regulations, the exporter received approximately DKR 100 million by way of refunds. According to the relevant legislation, the amount of funds depended on the proportion of beef included in the composition of the product, namely 60 per cent in the present case. Subsequent investigations revealed that the beef content was in fact only 28 per cent. The Ministry sought to recover the refunds, but the exporters contended that they could not be held liable for the reprehensible conduct of the slaughter house, and it was in fact the responsibility of the Ministry and the customs to check the quality of the goods. The Eastern Regional Court upheld the exporters’ point of view. The Ministry decided to refer several questions to the European Court of Justice. The findings of the ECJ were respected and followed by the Danish domestic court. The ECJ found that it would not be proportionate to make the exporter surrender his right to plead his good faith as regards the conformity of the goods with the description that was given in the declaration submitted. The Court upheld its decision that Community law does not preclude grounds for excluding repayment from being taken into account where these are related to the administration’s own conduct. Therefore, the negligence of the state authorities with respect to the quality checks should be taken into account and this should preclude the repayment of the funds. Finally, the Court held that Community law does not preclude the national courts from taking into account the period of time that has elapsed since the payment of the aid. The principles of good governance developed in this case are proportionality and legitimate expectation. These concrete examples illustrate the application and the importance of the principles of good governance for both governments and citizens in different policy fields.
7. Conclusions Here we will come to some conclusions by answering the general research question and the six specified sub-questions. The sub-questions are drawn from the general research question, and their answers come in the form of conclusions and recommendations. The general research question is: what interpretations and applications of good governance exist in the member states, taking into account different functions of the governmental bodies? The issue of good governance receives the attention of the EU member states, as supported by the fact that elements of history and culture relating to good governance can be traced back for decades. In the literature, it is said that the cultural dynamics led to several shared philosophical principles and that these principles should be the foundation of a European-wide dialogue on good governance. The results of this study contain the instruments for this dialogue.
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Case C-366/95 Landbrugsministeriet v Steff-Houlberg Export and Others.
