Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2006
of 19 December 2006
amending and correcting Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 36 and the third subparagraph of Article 37(2) thereof,
Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, and in particular Article 4(3) thereof,
Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania (hereinafter referred to as ‘the 2005 Act of Accession’), and in particular Article 56 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament,
Whereas:
(1)
Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 established common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and certain support schemes for farmers.
(2)
Articles 42(8) and 71d(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 prohibit the transfer of entitlements established using the national reserve except in cases of inheritance. In cases of mergers and scissions it is also appropriate to allow farmers to bring payment entitlements allocated from the national reserve into the resulting new holding or holdings.
(3)
Experience shows that for a decoupled income support the rules governing the eligibility of agricultural areas may be simple. In particular, it is appropriate to simplify the rules applicable to the single payment scheme for agricultural areas planted with olive trees.
(4)
In Malta, a majority of farmers in the beef and veal sector do not have any land at their disposal. Under these specific circumstances, the application of the special conditions laid down in Article 71m of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 could create serious difficulties for the sustainable development of the beef and veal sector and an excessive administrative workload. It is appropriate to provide for simplified conditions for the single payment scheme payments to the farmers concerned in Malta.
(5)
Currently, those Member States among the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (hereinafter referred to as ‘the new Member States’) that apply the single area payment scheme are excluded from the Community aid for energy crops. The review of the energy crops scheme pursuant to Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 has shown that it is appropriate to extend the aid for energy crops to all Member States as from 2007 and under the same conditions. Therefore the maximum guaranteed area should be increased proportionally, the schedule of increments provided for the introduction of support schemes in the new Member States should not apply to the energy crops scheme and the rules governing the single area payment scheme should be amended.
(6)
In order to strengthen the role of permanent energy crops and to provide an incentive to increase the production of these crops, Member States should be entitled to grant national aid up to 50 % of the costs associated with establishing permanent crops for the areas which have been subject to an application for the aid for energy crops.
(7)
Sugar beet and cane producers in the new Member States have benefited since accession from price support under Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector . Therefore, the Community aid for sugar beet and cane producers established in Chapter 10f of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 should not be subject to the application of the schedule of increments provided for in Article 143a of that Regulation, with effect from the day of application of the aid for sugar beet and cane producers. It is also appropriate to clarify the conditions for the application of this aid and the calculation of the payment to be granted to the farmers concerned.
(8)
Experience shows that the single area payment scheme is an efficient and simple system of granting decoupled income support to farmers. For the sake of simplification it is appropriate to allow the new Member States to continue applying it until the end of year 2010. Nevertheless, it is not deemed appropriate to extend beyond 2008 the exemption, granted to Member States applying the single area payment scheme, from the obligation to introduce into cross-compliance statutory management requirements. To ensure coherence of certain rural development measures with this non-extension, Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 should take account thereof.
(9)
Under normal circumstances, farmers may agree between themselves the conditions under which the holding (or part of the holding) having beneficiated from the separate sugar payment is transferred. However, in the case of inheritance, it is appropriate to provide that the inheritor be granted the separate sugar payment.
(10)
The 2005 Act of Accession and this Regulation both amend Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and those amendments should come into force on the same day. In the interest of legal certainty, the order in which those amendments are to be applied should be specified.
(11)
Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 and (EC) No 1698/2005 should be amended accordingly.
(12)
Council Regulation (EC) No 247/2006 of 30 January 2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union amended Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. Due to an error, the entries for olive oil and hops did not take into account the amendments to that Annex introduced by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2183/2005 of 22 December 2005 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 should therefore be corrected accordingly, with effect from the date of application of Regulation (EC) No 2183/2005,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006 (OJ L 265, 26.9.2006, p. 1).
OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as repealed by Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 (OJ L 58, 28.2.2006 p. 1).
OJ L 277, 21.10.2005, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1463/2006 (OJ L 277, 9.10.2006, p. 1).
OJ L 42, 14.2.2006, p. 1.