Commission Regulation (EC) No 552/2007 of 22 May 2007 establishing the maximum Community contribution to financing the work programmes in the olive oil sector and fixing, for 2007, budgetary ceilings for the partial or optional implementation of the Single Payment Scheme and the annual financial envelopes for the Single Area Payment Scheme, provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, and amending that Regulation

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to 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⁽¹⁾, and in particular Articles 64(2), 70(2), 110i(3) and (4), 143b(3) and 145(i) thereof,

Whereas:

1. For the Member State implementing the Single Payment Scheme provided for in Title III of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 in 2007, the budgetary ceilings for each of the payments referred to in Articles 66 to 69 of that Regulation should be fixed for 2007 under the conditions laid down in Section 2 of Chapter 5 of Title III of that Regulation.

2. For the Member States making use, in 2007, of the option provided for in Article 70 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the budgetary ceilings applying to the direct payments excluded from the Single Payment Scheme should be fixed for 2007.

3. The maximum amount of aid for olive groves referred to in Article 110i(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 should be adjusted according to the reduction of the coefficient referred to in the third subparagraph of the same provision and to the amount withheld under Article 110i(4), notified by the Member States concerned. The national ceilings set in Annex VIIIa to that Regulation should be adjusted accordingly.

4. For the sake of clarity, it is appropriate to publish the budgetary ceilings for the Single Payment Scheme for 2007 after deduction, from the ceilings of Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, of the ceilings established for the payments referred to in Articles 66 to 70 of that Regulation.

5. For Member States implementing in 2007 the Single Area Payment Scheme provided for in Title IVa of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the annual financial envelopes for 2007 should be fixed in accordance with Article 143b(3) of that Regulation.

6. For the sake of clarity, it is appropriate to publish the maximum amount of funds available to Member States applying the Single Area Payment Scheme for granting separate sugar payments in 2007 under Article 143ba of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 established on the basis of their notifications.

7. The maximum amount of Community contribution to the financing of work programmes drawn up by certified organisations of operators in the olive oil sector should be set, according to the coefficient applied to the amount withheld under Article 110(i)(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, notified by the Member States concerned.

8. Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 should be amended accordingly.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: