Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 of 22 March 2004 amending Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, (EC) No 1786/2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder and (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union

• Published date: 30 March 2004
• Subject Matter: economic, social and territorial cohesion,European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF),Agricultural structures
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 91, 30 March 2004

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32004R0583

Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 of 22 March 2004 amending Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, (EC) No 1786/2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder and (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union

Official Journal L 091 , 30/03/2004 P. 0001 - 0014

Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004

of 22 March 2004

amending Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, (EC) No 1786/2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder and (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the Treaty concerning the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union(1), signed in Athens on 16 April 2003, and in particular Article 2(3) thereof,

Having regard to the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded (hereinafter "the Act of Accession")(2), and in particular Article 57(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003(3) introduced common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and established certain support schemes for farmers.

(2) The said common rules and support schemes should be amended to allow their implementation in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (hereinafter "the new Member States").

(3) With a view to the introduction of modulation in the new Member States, the Commission should establish national ceilings for the additional amount of aid for the new Member States.

(4) The farmers in the new Member States will receive direct payments, following a phasing-in mechanism. In order to achieve the proper balance between policy tools designed to promote sustainable agriculture and those designed to promote rural development, the system of modulation should not be applied in the new Member States until the level of direct payments applicable in the new Member States is at least equal to the level applicable in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004.

(5) Taking into account the levels of direct payments for farmers in the new Member States as a result of phasing-in, it should be foreseen that in the framework of the application of the schedule of increments provided for in Article 143a to all direct payments granted in the new Member States, the instrument of financial discipline should not apply in the new Member States until the level of direct payments applicable in the new Member States is at least equal to the level applicable in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004.

(6) Direct payments under the single payment scheme are based on reference amounts of direct payments that were received in the past or on regionalised per hectare payments. Farmers in the new Member States did not receive Community direct payments and have no historical references for the calendar years 2000, 2001 and 2002. Therefore, the single payment scheme in the new Member States should be based on regionalised per hectare payments, subdivided between regions according to objective criteria and divided by the farmers whose holdings are located in the region concerned and that meet the eligibility criteria.

(7) The amount of direct payments, described in national ceilings, under the single payment scheme for the new Member States should be based on the quota, ceilings and quantities that were agreed in the accession negotiations multiplied by the relevant aid amounts per hectare, head or tonne.

(8) As of 1 April 2005 the market measure benefiting the production of dried fodder, as provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1786/2003 of 29 September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder(4), is amended. From that date the market support is partially turned into a direct payment which will benefit farmers. In order to avoid a decrease in overall support in 2005 for the new Member States, it is appropriate to derogate from the general principle of phasing-in of direct payments. Therefore, the dried-fodder-related component in the single payment scheme national ceiling should be calculated at the 100 % aid level instead of at the phasing-in aid level.

(9) Under the regionalised option for the single payment scheme the new Member States should have the possibility of adjusting the premium per hectare on the basis of objective criteria in order to ensure equal treatment between farmers and to avoid market distortions.

(10) The new Member States should have the possibility of partially implementing and/or to exclude certain sectors from the single payment scheme.

(11) The sectoral ceilings for partial implementation and/or the exclusion of certain sectors of the single payment scheme should be based on the quota, ceilings and quantities that were agreed in the accession negotiations.

(12) The transition from the single area payment scheme to the single payment scheme and other aid schemes may give rise to difficulties of adaptation which are not dealt with in this Regulation. In order to deal with this eventuality, a general provision should be included in Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 enabling the Commission to adopt the transitional measures necessary for a certain period.

(13) In view of the short programming period, the Act of Accession introduced the possibility of integrating a "LEADER + (Community initiative for rural development) type measure" in the mainstream programmes, instead of having separate LEADER + programming. Therefore the measure "management of integrated rural development strategies by local partnerships" introduced in Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)(5) is not needed for the new Member States, as it is covered by the LEADER + type measure.

(14) Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003, (EC) No 1786/2003 and (EC) No 1257/1999 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 is amended as follows:

1. In Article 5(2) the following sentence is added at the end of the first subparagraph:

"The new Member States shall ensure that land which was under permanent pasture on 1 May 2004 is maintained under permanent pasture."

2. In Article 12 the following paragraph is added:

"5. For the new Member States, the ceilings referred to in paragraph 2 shall be fixed by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2)."

3. After Article 12 the following Article is added:

"Article 12a

Application to new Member States

1. Articles 10 and 12 shall not apply to the new Member States until the beginning of the calendar year, in respect of which the level of direct payments applicable in the new Member States is at least equal to the then applicable level of such payments in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004.

2. In the framework of the application of the schedule of increments provided for in Article 143a to all direct payments granted in the new Member States, Article 11 shall not apply to the new Member States until the beginning of the calendar year, in respect of which the level of direct payments applicable in the new Member States is at least equal to the then applicable level of such payments in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004."

4. In Article 54(2) the following sentence is added at the end of the first subparagraph:

"For the new Member States...