Council Regulation (EC) No 378/2007
of 27 March 2007
laying down rules for voluntary modulation of direct payments provided for in 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 1290/2005
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Whereas:
In order to facilitate its administrative implementation, the rules applicable to voluntary modulation should be aligned to those applicable to compulsory modulation under Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, including the calculation basis.
In order to take account of the particular situation of small farmers, an additional amount of aid should be granted in case of application of voluntary modulation as is the case for compulsory modulation. That additional amount should be equal to the amount resulting from the application of voluntary modulation to the first EUR 5 000 of direct payments, within ceilings to be fixed by the Commission.
With regard to Member States where voluntary modulation is already used, the new voluntary modulation arrangements laid down in this Regulation should, to the extent possible, refrain from deviating from the existing mechanism so as to avoid triggering unnecessary administrative burden, interfering with implementing arrangements that have been in place for several years and that farmers have adapted to in practice and in economic terms. Therefore, it appears to be appropriate that Member States applying voluntary modulation upon the entry into force of this Regulation be given the right to maintain certain well-established patterns of their current system, whilst avoiding unjustified unequal treatment between farmers. Moreover, to ensure the new arrangements to be consistent with the implementation patterns of the single payment scheme, the application of regionally differentiated voluntary modulation rates should only be available to Member States which apply the single payment scheme at regional level as foreseen in Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.
In order to take informed decisions on the application of voluntary modulation, Member States should carry out thorough assessments of the potential impact of such modulation, in particular as regards the economic situation of the farmers subject to such modulation and the effect on their comparative position in the agricultural sector. The impact of the implementation of voluntary modulation should be closely monitored by the Member States applying voluntary modulation. The Commission should be informed about the impact assessment and the monitoring results with a view to any further policy developments.
Voluntary modulation should be considered in the broader context of Community funding for rural development. Its contribution should be analysed among others in the light of Member States' impact assessments. Based on this analysis, the Commission will submit before the end of 2008 a report to the European Parliament and to the Council presenting the experience gained so far with its implementation.
The amounts resulting from the application of voluntary modulation should be taken into consideration when defining the annual ceiling for the expenditure financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the possibility to adopt detailed rules concerning in particular voluntary modulation should be included in Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005.
Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER IVOLUNTARY MODULATION
Article 1
1.
Without prejudice to Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, Member States:
(a)
where at the entry into force of this Regulation the system of additional reductions of direct payments referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1655/2004 is applied; or
(b)
which were granted a derogation by virtue of Article 70(4a) of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 from the requirement to co-finance Community support,
may apply a reduction, hereinafter referred to as ‘voluntary modulation’, to all the amounts of direct payments within the meaning of Article 2(d) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 to be granted in their territory in a given calendar year within the meaning of Article 2(e) of that Regulation, during the period 2007 to 2012.
2.
The net amounts resulting from the application of voluntary modulation shall be available in the Member State where they were generated as Community support for measures under rural development programming financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005.
F13.
4.
Each Member State shall apply a single rate of voluntary modulation per calendar year. The rate may be subject to progressive modifications according to pre-established steps. The maximum rate of reduction shall be 20 %.
F25.
The modulation rates applicable to a farmer resulting from the application of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 reduced by 5 percentage points shall be deducted from the rate of voluntary modulation applied by Member States pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article. Both the percentage to be deducted and the final voluntary modulation rate shall be equal to or higher than 0.
Article 2
1.
Within two months of the entry into force of this Regulation, Member States shall decide on and communicate to the Commission the annual rate of voluntary modulation that will apply for the period 2007 to 2012.
2.
Member States intending to apply voluntary modulation shall conduct an assessment in order to gauge the impact of the application of voluntary modulation, in particular on the economic situation of the farmers concerned, taking into account the need to avoid unjustified unequal treatment between farmers.
Member States intending to apply rates that are regionally differentiated according to Article 3(1) shall also gauge the impact of such differentiated rates, taking into account the need to avoid unjustified unequal treatment between farmers.
The Member States concerned shall transmit their impact assessments to the Commission together with the communication referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 3
1.
Any Member State where at the entry into force of this Regulation the system of additional reductions of direct payments referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1655/2004 is applied and the single payment scheme is applied at regional level as foreseen in Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 may, for the period 2007 to 2012 choose:
F1(a)
by derogation from Article 1(3) of this Regulation, to apply the reductions under modulation on the basis of calculation applicable to modulation pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, without taking into account the exclusion of EUR 5 000 provided for in paragraph 1 of that Article; and/or
(b)
by derogation from Article 1(4), to apply rates that are regionally differentiated according to objective criteria. The maximum rate for any of the regions of each Member State concerned shall be 20 %.
2.
By derogation from Article 2(1), any Member State applying regionally differentiated rates of voluntary modulation as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall submit to the Commission, within two months of the entry into force of this Regulation, for the period 2007 to 2012, the following information subject to examination by the Commission:
(a)
the annual rates of voluntary modulation for each region and for the whole territory;
(b)
the annual total amounts to be reduced under voluntary modulation;
(c)
where appropriate, the annual total additional amounts needed to cover the additional amount of aid referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 1(3);
(d)
statistical and other supportive data used to establish the amounts referred to in points (b) and (c).
3.
If necessary, Member States shall submit to the Commission an update of the amounts referred to in paragraphs 2(b) and (c). That updated data shall be sent to the Commission before 31 December of the year preceding the calendar year to which the amounts refer to within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.
4.
If clarifications concerning the data submitted in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 are requested by the Commission, Member States shall reply to this request within one month.
Article 4
F31.
The net amounts resulting from the application of voluntary modulation shall be fixed by the Commission, by means of implementing acts without the application of Article 6a, based on:
(a)
a calculation in case of a single national rate of voluntary modulation;
(b)
in the case of Member States applying regionally differentiated rates, the amounts communicated by the Member States in their application as provided for in Article 3(2) or the updated amounts as provided for in Article 3(3).
Those net amounts shall be added to the annual breakdown by Member State referred to in Article 69(4) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005.
2.
Member States may decide not to apply the ceilings referred to in Article 70(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 to the net amounts added to the annual breakdown by Member State pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 shall not apply to the net amounts added to the annual breakdown by Member State pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 5
The Member States applying voluntary modulation and the Commission shall monitor closely the impact of the implementation of voluntary modulation, in particular as regards the economic situation of the farms, taking into account the need to avoid unjustified unequal treatment between farmers. To this end, those Member States shall submit a report to the Commission by 30 September 2008.
F3Article 6
1.
The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt specific provisions for the integration of voluntary modulation in the rural development programming. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 6a(1).
2.
The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt specific provisions for the financial management of voluntary modulation. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 6a(2).
F4Article 6a
1.
Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
2.
The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on the agricultural funds established by Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005. That committee is a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 7
Before 31 December 2008, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the application of voluntary modulation, accompanied, if needed, by appropriate proposals.
CHAPTER IIAMENDMENT OF REGULATION (EC) No 1290/2005 AND FINAL PROVISION
Article 8
Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 is amended as follows:
- 1.
in Article 12, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2.
The Commission shall set the amounts which, pursuant to Articles 10(2), 143d and 143e of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and Article 4(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 378/20078, are made available to the EAFRD.’; - 2.
in the introductory terms of Article 42 the second sentence is replaced by the following:
‘Those rules shall include in particular:’
Article 9
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.