Commission Regulation (EC) No 1121/2009 of 29 October 2009 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 as regards the support schemes for farmers provided for in Titles IV and V thereof

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 of 19 January 2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 247/2006, (EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003⁽¹⁾, and in particular Article 29(4)(a), Article 87(4), Article 89(2), Article 91(2), the second subparagraph of Article 101(2), Article 103(1), Article 142(c), (e), (q) and (s) and Article 147 thereof,

Whereas:

1. Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 repeals and replaces Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No 2019/93, (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001, (EC) No 1454/2001, (EC) No 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001⁽²⁾. The implementing rules for the application of the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 were laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 of 29 October 2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as regards the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of that Regulation and the use of land set aside for the production of raw materials⁽³⁾. Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 needs to be adapted to the changes introduced by Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, notably those provided for in Title IV and in Chapters 2 and 4 of Title V thereof. In the interest of clarity and simplification Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 should be repealed and replaced by a new Regulation.

2. In order to ensure the efficient administration of the schemes provided for in Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the payments to be granted under some of those schemes should be restricted to minimum size of the areas (area payment). The minimum area size should be fixed taking into account the particular size of farms in some Member States or the specific conditions for some productions.

3. The sowing of land for the sole purpose of qualifying for area payments should be prevented. Certain conditions relating to the sowing and cultivation of crops should be specified, in particular as regards protein plants and rice and fruit and vegetables. Local standards should be respected in order to reflect the diversity of agricultural practice within the Community.

4. Only one application for an area payment should be permitted in respect of any parcel cultivated in a given year except in cases where the aid concerns the production of seeds. Area payments may be granted on crops subsidised under a scheme falling within the Community’s structural or environmental policies.

5. Supports schemes provide that where the area, the quantity or the number of animals for which aid is claimed exceeds maximum limits, the area or quantity or number for which aid is claimed is to be reduced proportionately in that year. It is therefore appropriate to establish the modalities and deadlines for the exchange of information between the Commission and the Member States in order to inform the Commission of the areas or quantities or numbers for which the aid has been paid.

6. The terms of payment as well as the crop-specific payment for rice calculation depend not only on the base area or areas fixed for each producing Member State in Article 75 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, but also on the possible subdivision of those base areas into sub-base areas and on the objective criteria chosen by each Member State to perform this subdivision, on conditions in which the cultivated parcels are put into cultivation and on the minimum size of the areas. As a consequence, detailed rules should be laid down for the establishment, the management and the cultivation modalities applicable to base areas and sub-base areas.

7. The observation of a possible overrun of the base area referred to in Article 76 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 implies a reduction of the crop-specific payment for rice. In order to set the calculation modalities for such a reduction, the criteria to be taken into consideration as well as applicable coefficients should be defined.

8. The follow-up of the payments of the crop-specific payment for rice presumes that the Commission has been forwarded certain information related to the cultivation of base areas and sub-base areas. For that purpose, the detailed information that the Member States should communicate to the Commission as well as the deadlines for such communications should be determined.

9. Articles 77 and 78 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provide for an aid to farmers producing potatoes intended for the manufacture of potato starch subject to a cultivation contract and within the quota limit established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (the single CMO Regulation)⁽⁴⁾. The conditions for the granting of the aid should therefore be established and, where applicable, cross references should be made to the existing provisions concerning the quota system provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

10. Standards for sweet lupins and tests to determine whether or not a sample of lupins is sweet should be laid down.

11. In some regions, the protein crops are traditionally sown in a mixture with cereals for agronomical reasons. The resulting crop principally consists of protein crops. For the purpose of granting the protein crop premium, the areas thus sown should therefore be considered as areas of protein crops.

12. In the interest of efficiency and good management of the aid scheme for nuts, the area aid granted should not be used to finance marginal plantations or isolated trees. A minimum plot size and a minimum tree density of a specialised orchard should therefore be defined.

13. Article 87 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides for the possibility of direct aid being granted for the production of one or more seed species. That aid may be granted only for the production of basic seed or certified seed and these products should be clearly defined by reference to the Directives on certification and marketing of seeds: Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed⁽⁵⁾, Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed⁽⁶⁾, and Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants⁽⁷⁾.

14. To make checks possible, basic seed and certified seed should be produced under growing contracts or growing declarations which will be joined to the single application and seed establishments and breeders should be officially approved or registered.

15. Under Annex XIII to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, production aid is payable for basic and certified seed of varieties of Cannabis sativa L. with a tetrahydrocannabinol content not exceeding 0,2 %. In order to ensure uniform application throughout the Community of the rules for granting the aid, the eligible varieties of Cannabis sativa L. should be those defined as eligible for direct payments in accordance with Article 39 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009.

16. Section 6 of Chapter 1 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides for a crop-specific payment for cotton. Detailed rules should be laid down for the application of this scheme. These rules should cover the authorisation of land suitable for cotton production and the approval of varieties. Furthermore a criterion defining ‘sowing’ should be established. The Member States’ fixing of the minimum planting density on these lands based on soil and climate conditions and specific regional features must be an objective criterion for establishing whether sowing has been conducted properly or not.

17. The Member States should approve inter-branch cotton producing organisations on the basis of objective criteria relating to their scale and internal organisation. The scale of an inter-branch organisation should be fixed, taking into account the requirement on the member ginning undertaking to be able to take delivery of sufficient quantities of unginned cotton.

18. In order to avoid complications in managing the aid scheme, a producer may not be a member of more than one inter-branch organisation. For that same reason, where a producer belonging to an inter-branch organisation undertakes to supply the cotton he has produced, he should supply it only to a ginning undertaking belonging to that same organisation.

19. The cotton aid scheme requires Member States to send their producers certain information on cotton growing, such as approved varieties, the objective criteria for authorising land and the minimum plant density. In order to inform the farmers in good time, the Member State should send them this information by a specific date.

20. Sections 8 and 9 of Chapter 1 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides that the aids for fruit and vegetable are granted on the condition that a processing contract is concluded. For that purpose, it is appropriate to require that a contract must be concluded with respect to the agricultural raw materials concerned, between, on the one hand, an approved first processor, and, on the other hand, a producer or a recognised producer organisation representing him or, in the case of the transitional fruit and vegetables payments and the transitional soft fruit payment, an approved collector representing the producer.

21. To ensure that the raw material benefiting from the transitional fruit and vegetable payments and the transitional soft fruit payment is finally processed, it appears appropriate to set up a system of approval of first processors and collectors. Such authorised operators would have to comply with minimum requirements and would be sanctioned in case of non-compliance with their obligations, according to detailed rules to be set up at national level by the competent authorities.

22. In order to be able to manage the financial envelope for transitional fruit and vegetable payments appropriately, Member States should fix early in the year an indicative aid amount per hectare and, before the time period for payments, a final aid amount per hectare.

23. The criteria for eligibility for sheep and goat premiums provided for in Section 10 of Chapter 1 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, and in particular the conditions required, need to be laid down.

24. Article 101(2) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides for the granting of a premium to goat meat farmers in certain areas of the Community. The areas in question should therefore be determined in accordance with the criteria laid down in that provision.

25. Under Article 102(1) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 farmers whose holdings have at least 50 % of their area used for agriculture situated in less-favoured areas may qualify for a supplementary premium. Article 101(2) makes reference to the specific geographical zones where goat meat farmers meet the necessary conditions to qualify for the goat premium. Provisions should be made for a declaration to be provided by farmers meeting those criteria to prove that at least half of the land they are using for agricultural production is located in less-favoured areas or in areas which qualify for the goat premium.

26. For the purpose of control on eligibility for the correct level of ewe premium, Member States should draw up an inventory of farmers marketing sheep’s milk or sheep’s milk products.

27. With a view to implementing the system of individual limits as introduced by Articles 104, 105 and 106 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the existing administrative rules may continue to be applied as regards, in particular, the use of rights granted free of charge, the use of normal rights including minimum use, the temporary leasing and transfer of rights, the notification of changes on individual ceiling and the transfer of rights through the national reserve. Some of those rules are specific provisions for exceptional and duly justified circumstances such as, regarding the use of rights, the small farmers and farmers participating in extensification programmes and early retirement schemes, and, for the transfer purpose, the inheritance of premiums rights and the case of farmers using only publicly or collectively owned land for grazing.

28. The Commission is to monitor the new arrangements and as a result it needs to be properly provided by the Member States with the essential information regarding the implementation of the premium rules.

29. If applicable, detailed information on the national rules on, and the implementation of, the additional payments should be forwarded to the Commission.

30. Section 11 of Chapter 1 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides for beef and veal payments. The criteria for eligibility, and in particular the conditions required for those payments, need to be laid down.

31. Provision should be made for the administrative document laid down in Article 110(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 to be drawn up and issued at national level. In order to take account of particular administrative and control conditions in the Member States, different forms of administrative document should be allowed.

32. Article 110(3)(a) and Article 116(1) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 lay down a retention period as a condition for granting the special premium and the slaughter premium. It is therefore necessary to define and quantify that period.

33. The arrangements for granting the special premium at the time of slaughter should be consistent with the arrangements for granting the slaughter premium. The types of documents which are to accompany the animal until slaughter, dispatch or export should be specified. In order to take account of the specific features of the form of granting at the time of slaughter, the age conditions for steers and the method of presentation of the carcase for adult bovine animals should be laid down.

34. The concept of suckler cow laid down in Article 111 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 should be defined. In that respect, the same breeds should be kept as those under Commission Regulation (EC) No 2342/1999 of 28 October 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal as regards premium schemes⁽⁸⁾. Moreover, the existing essential requirements may continue to be applied, in particular as regards the average milk yield and the additional national premium.

35. The existing administrative rules may continue to be applied as regards in particular the individual ceilings, the notifications on the individual ceilings and the national reserve, the rights obtained free of charge, the use of rights, the transfer and temporary leasing of rights, the transfers through the national reserve.

36. The Commission should determine, on the basis of available information, which Member States meet the conditions for applying the special scheme laid down in Article 115 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009. The special arrangements for granting the premium should be specified.

37. Specific provisions should be laid down as regards the application of the rules on periods, dates and time limits to the retention period.

38. In the interests of simplification, the ‘livestock’ aid application provided for in the integrated system should be taken to represent application for the slaughter premium, provided that it contains all the elements needed to justify payment of the premium and that the animal is slaughtered in the same Member State or in another Member State, or exported.

39. It should be possible to use the computerised database referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97⁽⁹⁾ to facilitate the management of the slaughter premium, on condition that the Member State concerned considers that the database offers adequate assurances as to the accuracy of the data it contains for the purposes of the payment of premiums.

40. The slaughter premium for calves is conditional on a maximum weight limit. A standard type of carcase presentation should therefore be laid down, to which this maximum weight applies.

41. To ensure that farmers receive payments as quickly as possible, provision should be made for granting advances. However, in view of the application of the national or regional ceilings, steps should be taken to ensure that the advance does not exceed the definitive payment. Provision should therefore be made to allow Member States to reduce the percentage of the advance for the premium schemes subject to those ceilings.

42. It is necessary to fix the date determining the elements to be taken into consideration for the application of the special premium and suckler cow premium schemes. In order to ensure sound and consistent administration, that date should, as a general rule, be the date of the submission of applications. However, with respect to the special premium paid on slaughter, special rules should be laid down in order to avoid carry-overs from one year to the next with a view to obtaining a higher premium. As regards the slaughter premium, the date of slaughter or of export is a better indication of whether the operations concerned have actually been carried out.

43. In accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 124(2) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 and in order to avoid managing numerous applications that would entail very low payments per holding, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have requested the authorisation to set the minimum size of eligible area par holding at levels higher than 0,3 ha.

44. The new Member States, within the meaning of Article 2(g) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, applying the Single Area payment Scheme have estimated the part of their utilised agricultural area which has been maintained in good agricultural condition on 30 June 2003 and have proposed to adjust it in accordance with the minimum size of eligible area per holding.

45. Article 132 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides for the possibility in the new Member States of complementing direct aid paid to a farmer, subject to authorisation by the Commission. The general modalities for implementing this possibility should be established.

46. Taking into account specific provisions of the aid for energy crops provided for in Chapter 5 and set-aside scheme provided for in Chapter 10 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, notably for multiannual crops, and in order to relieve farmers and processors from unnecessary administrative burden after abolition of this aid, it is appropriate to define certain transitional rules for its smooth abolition and release of the securities lodged by the collectors and processors.

47. The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Direct Payments,

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