2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No445/2002
of26February2002
laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on
support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
(EAGGF)
(OJ L 74, 15.3.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 567/2003 of 28 March 2003 L 82 11 29.3.2003
►M2Commission Regulation (EC) No 963/2003 of 4 June 2003 L 138 32 5.6.2003
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COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No445/2002
of26February2002
laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regula-
tion (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development fromthe European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
(EAGGF)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May
1999 on support for rural development from the European AgriculturalGuidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealingcertain Regulations(
1), and in particular Articles34, 45 and 50 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Commission Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999 of 23 July 1999
laying down detailed rulesfor the application of Council Regula-
tion (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development fromthe European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund(EAGGF) (
2), aslas t amended by Regulation (EC) No 1763/
2001 (3), has been substantially amended a number of times.
Moreover, experience gained during the first two years of
programming shows that further clarifications are needed, in
particular asconcernsthe procedure for amending programmingdocumentsand the indicative overall financial table. In the inter-ests of clarity and rationalisation, therefore, Regulation (EC)No 1750/1999 should be recast.
(2)Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 established a single legal frame-work for EAGGF support for rural development. In particular,Title II thereof specifies the measures eligible for support, their
objectivesand the criteria for eligibility. Thislegal framework
appliesto s upport for rural development throughout the Commu-nity.
(3)Detailed rules should be adopted to supplement this framework,taking account of experience gained using the instrumentsapplied under the variousCouncil Regulationsrepealed byArticle 55(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999. Those rulesshould follow the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,and should therefore be restricted to what is necessary for the
attainment of the aimsbeing purs ued.
(4)With respect to the eligibility criteria, Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 lays down three basic conditions for support for investment
in agricultural holdings and processing plants and support foryoung farmers. The time at which those conditions must befulfilled should be specified, including, in the case of investmentaid, the condition regarding demonstration of the economicviability of an agricultural holding, on the basis of an adequate
assessment of the prospects of that holding. It can be very diffi-
cult for farms in rural areas facing very serious structuraldifficulties to meet these requirements. In the case of smallinvestments, Member States should be allowed to grant farms aperiod of grace in which to meet these requirements.
(5)Community support for investments in holdings and processingplantsiss ubject to the condition that normal market outletscanbe found for the productsconcerned. Detailed ruless hould be
laid down for assessing such market outlets.
(6)Support for vocational training should not cover normal agricul-
tural and forestry education.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(2) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999, p. 31.
(3) OJ L 239, 7.9.2001, p. 10.
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(7)As regards the conditions for early retirement support, specific
problems arising where a holding is transferred by several trans-
ferors or by a tenant farmer should be solved.
(8)Compensatory allowances payable in less-favoured areas for landused jointly by several farmers should be paid to each farmerconcerned in proportion to the degree to which the farmer is
entitled to itsus e.
(9)Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 providesthat
farmers may receive support to offset additional costs and lossof income if they farm in areaswhere environmental cons traints
mean that they are subject to environmental protection restric-
tions based on Community provisions. Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection ofwaters against pollution caused by nitrates from agriculturalsources (
1) isintended to reduce the pollution of watersby
nitratesfrom agriculture and to prevent it from s preading. In
line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle in Article 174(2) of theTreaty, there should be no compensation for the costs andincome losses resulting from application of the restrictionsimposed by that Directive, which should therefore be excludedfrom the scope of Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
(10)Asregardsagri-environment s upport, the minimum requirementsto be met by farmersin connection with the variousagri-envir-onment commitments should ensure a balanced application ofagri-environment support that takes account of its objectives
and will thus contribute to sustainable rural development.
(11)The selection criteria for investments to improve the processing
and marketing of agricultural productss hould be fixed. Theexperience gained shows that these selection criteria should be
based on broad principles rather than sectoral rules.
(12)The outermost regions of the Community should be exempt,
subject to certain conditions, from the second indent ofArticle 28(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, under which
no support may be granted for investments intended for the
processing or marketing of products from third countries.
(13)The forests not eligible for support under Article 29(3) of Regu-lation (EC) No 1257/1999 should be defined in greater detail.
(14)Detailed conditions should be laid down for support for affores-tation of agricultural land and paymentsfor activitiesto maintainand improve the ecological stability of forests.
(15)Under Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, support isgranted for other measures relating to farming activities and theirconversion and to rural activities that are not covered by anyother rural development measure. Given the wide variety ofmeasures which could be covered by this Article, it should beleft primarily to the Member Statesto lay down the conditions
for support as part of their programming.
(16)Rules common to several measures should be laid down to
ensure, in particular, that common standards of good farmingpractice are applied where measures refer to that criterion, and
to guarantee the flexibility needed for long-term commitments
to take account of eventswhich might affect thos e commitmentswithout jeopardising the effective implementation of the varioussupport measures.
(17)A clear dividing line should be drawn between financing ruraldevelopment support and financing support under the commonmarket organisations. Any exceptions to the principle thatmeasures covered by support schemes under common marketorganisations should not be eligible for rural developmentsupport should be proposed by Member States in their rural2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1.
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development programming, according to their specific needs and
following a transparent procedure.
(18)Rural development support payments should be made in full tothe beneficiaries.
(19)Commission Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000 (1) laysdown
detailed rulesfor implementing Council Regulation (EC) 1260/
1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on theStructural Funds(
2), asamended by Regulation (EC) No 1447/
2001 (3), asregardseligibility of expenditure under operations
part-financed by the Structural Funds, and hence by the EAGGFGuidance Section. In the interests of consistency, Regulation
(EC) No 1685/2000 should also apply to measures part-financed
by the EAGGF Guarantee Section, except where otherwiseprovided in Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, in Council Regula-tion (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of thecommon agricultural policy (
4) or in thisRegulation.
(20)Commission Decision 1999/659/EC of 8 September 1999 fixingan indicative allocation by Member Statesof the allocationsunder the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee FundGuarantee Section for rural development measures for the period2000 to 2006 (
5), asamended by Decis ion 2000/426/EC (6),
specifies the type of expenditure covered by the allocations
made to the Member States. Moreover, under Commission Regu-lation (EC) No 2603/1999 of 9 December 1999 laying downrules for the transition to the rural development support providedfor by Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (
7), aslas t
amended by Regulation (EC) No 2055/2001 (8), paymentsaris ing
from certain commitmentsmade before 1 January 2000 may beincluded in the rural development programming for 2000-2006,subject to certain conditions. It is therefore necessary to specifywhat isincluded in the overall amount of Community s upportfixed for each rural development plan under the single program-
ming document approved by the Commission.
(21)Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 of 17 May
1999 establishing common rules for direct support schemesunder the common agricultural policy (
9), asamended by Regula-
tion (EC) No 1244/2001 (10), stipulates that the amounts accruing
from penaltiesfor infringement of environmental protectionrequirementsor from modulation remain available to theMember Statesasadditional Community s upport for certain ruraldevelopment measures. Exactly what the Commission's approvalcovers in the case of such measures should be specified.
(22)Detailed rules should be laid down for the presentation of ruraldevelopment plansand their revis ion.
(23)In order to facilitate the establishment of rural development
plans and their examination and approval by the Commission,
common rules should be laid down for the structure and contentof those plans, based on the requirements set out in particular inArticle 43 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
(24)Requirements should be set for amendments to rural develop-ment programming documents so as to enable the Commissionto examine them quickly and efficiently.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 39.
(2) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 198, 21.7.2001, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103.
(5) OJ L 259, 6.10.1999, p. 27.
(6) OJ L 165, 6.7.2000, p. 33.
(7) OJ L 316, 10.12.1999, p. 26.
(8) OJ L 277, 20.10.2001, p. 12.
(9) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 113.
(10) OJ L 173, 27.6.2001, p. 1.
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(25)Only those amendments which involve important changes to
rural development programming documents should be subject to
the management committee procedure. Other amendmentsshould be decided by the Member States and communicated tothe Commission.
(26)In order to cover all the measures needed for the implementationof the Community initiative programme for rural development,the scope of the measures eligible for aid from the EAGGFGuidance Section should be extended beyond what is provided
under Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
(27)Detailed ruless hould be laid down on the financial planning and
contributionsto financing of the meas uresfinanced by the
EAGGF Guarantee Section under Article 35(1) and (2) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1257/1999.
(28)In thisconnection, Member Statess hould report regularly to the
Commission on the state of financing of rural development
measures.
(29)Steps should be taken to ensure that appropriations earmarkedfor rural development support are efficiently used, in particularby providing for the Commission to grant an initial advancepayment to paying agenciesand for allocationsto be adjus tedaccording to needsand in the light of pas t performance. It wouldalso be advisable to provide for the possibility of granting
advancesto certain categoriesof beneficiaries , under certain
conditions, in order to facilitate the implementation of invest-ment measures.
(30)The general rules on budgetary discipline, in particular thoserelating to incomplete or incorrect declarationsby MemberStates, should apply in addition to the specific rules laid downin thisRegulation.
(31)The detailed financial administration of rural developmentmeasures should be governed by the regulations implementingRegulation (EC) No 1258/1999.
(32)Proceduresand requirementsfor monitoring and evaluationshould be laid down following the principles applicable to otherCommunity support measures, in particular those laid down by
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.
(33)The administrative rules should permit better administration,monitoring and control of rural development support. In the
interests of simplicity, Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated administrationand control system for certain Community aid schemes (
1), as
last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 495/2001 (2),
and the detailed rulesfor applying it aslaid down by Commis -
sion Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001 (3), asamended by
Regulation (EC) No 2550/2001 (4), should be applied wherever
possible.
(34)Provision should be made for a system of penalties at bothCommunity and Member State level.
(35)The Committee on Agricultural Structuresand Rural Develop-ment hasnot delivered an opinion within the time limit s et byitschairman,2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 72, 14.3.2001, p. 6.
(3) OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 11.
(4) OJ L 341, 22.12.2001, p. 105.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTERI
RURAL DEVELOPMENT MEASURES
SECTION 1
Investmentinagricultural holdings
Article 1
1. The conditions for support for investment laid down in Article 5
of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 must be fulfilled at the time when
the individual decision to grant support is taken.
2. Where investments are made in order to comply with newly intro-
duced minimum standards relating to the environment, hygiene, andanimal welfare, support may be granted in order to reach these newstandards. In such cases, a period of grace may be provided to meetthese minimum standards where time is needed to solve the specific
problems involved in reaching such standards and provided this is in
accordance with the specific legislation concerned.
3. In the case of farms in rural areas where the structural difficulties
caused by the very small size of farms make it particularly difficult tomeet the requirementsof Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999,Member States may grant such farms support for investments totallingless than EUR 25 000 to enable them to comply with those require-
mentswithin a period of not more than three yearsfrom the date of
the decision to grant the support.
The provisions of the first subparagraph shall apply until 31 December
2002 and without prejudice to paragraph 2 of thisArticle.
Article 2
1. For the purposes of Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999,
the existence of normal market outlets shall be assessed at the appro-priate level in termsof:
(a) the productsconcerned;
(b) the typesof inves tment;
(c) existing and planned capacity.
2. Any restrictions on production or limitations on Community
support under common market organisations shall be taken intoaccount.
3. Where a common market organisation places restrictions on
production or limitationson Community s upport at the level of indivi-dual farmers, holdings or processing plants, no investment shall besupported which would increase production beyond those restrictions
or limitations.
Article 3
1. Where investments are made by young farmers, the maximum
percentagesof the volume of eligible inves tment referred to in the
second sentence of the second paragraph of Article 7 of Regulation(EC) No 1257/1999 may be applied for up to five yearsafter s etting-up.
2. Article 4(2) shall also apply to investments made by young
farmerswithin five yearsof s etting-up.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 6
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SECTION 2
Setting-upofyoungfarmers
Article 4
1. The conditions for start-up assistance for young farmers laid
down in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 must be metat the time when the individual decision to grant support is taken.Farmers starting up under the conditions described in Article 5(3) of
thisRegulation who apply for aid no later than 31 December 2001
must meet the age condition laid down in the first indent ofArticle 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 at the time of start-up.
2. A period not exceeding three yearsmay be allowed after s tarting
up in order to meet the requirementsrelating to occupational s kill and
competence, economic viability and minimum standards regarding the
environment, hygiene and animal welfare, if the young farmer needsaperiod of adaptation in which to start up or to restructure the holding.
Article 5
1. The individual decision to grant the aid provided for in Article 8
of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall be taken no later than
12 months after start-up as defined by the provisions in force in theMember States.
2. Where young farmerswho s tart up before 1 January 2002 would
be able to receive support more than 12 months after starting up under
the arrangementsin the programming document approved by theCommission, Member States may take the individual decision to grantsupport no later than 31 December 2002.
3. Where young farmershave s tarted up in 1999, 2000 or 2001 and
have not yet received support for budget or administrative reasons,
Member States may take the individual decision to grant support nolater than 31 December 2001 or within not more than 12 monthsafterstart-up.
SECTION 3
Training
Article 6
Support for vocational training shall not include courses of instruction
or training which form part of normal programmes or systems of agri-
cultural and forestry education at secondary or higher levels.
SECTION 4
Earlyretirement
Article 7
Where a farm is transferred by several transferors, overall support shall
be limited to the amount provided for one transferor.
Article 8
Non-commercial farming activity continued by the transferor in accor-
dance with the first indent of Article 11(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall not be eligible for support under the common agriculturalpolicy.
Article 9
A tenant farmer may transfer the released land to the owner provided
that the lease is terminated and the requirements relating to the trans-feree laid down in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 arecomplied with.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 7
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Article 10
Released land may be included in a re-parcelling operation or in a
simple exchange of parcels.
In such cases, the conditions applicable to released land shall be
applied to areasagronomically equivalent to the releas ed land.
Member States may make provision for released land to be taken in
charge by a body which undertakes to reassign it at a later date to atransferee who satisfies the conditions laid down for early retirement.
SECTION 5
Less-favouredareasandareaswithenvironmentalrestrictions
Article 11
Compensatory allowances for areas used jointly by several farmers for
the purpose of grazing animals may be granted to each farmer
concerned in proportion to that farmer's use or, right of use, of theland.
Article 12
The support provided for in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/
1999 may not offset the costs and loss of income resulting from theimplementation of restrictions based on Directive 91/676/EEC.
SECTION 6
Agri-environment
Article 13
Any commitment to extensify livestock farming or manage livestock
farming differently shall comply with at least the following conditions:
(a) grassland management shall continue;
(b) the livestock shall be distributed across the farm in such a way that
the whole of the grazed area ismaintained, thusavoiding bothover-grazing and under-utilisation;
(c) livestock density shall be defined taking into account all grazing
livestock kept on the farm or, in the case of a commitment to limitnutrient leaching, all animalskept on the farm which are relevant
to the commitment in question.
Article 14
1. Support may relate to the following commitments:
(a) to rear farm animalsof local breedsindigenousto the area and in
danger of being lost to farming;
(b) to preserve plant genetic resources naturally adapted to the local
and regional conditionsand under threat of genetic eros ion.
2. The local breeds and plant genetic resources must play a role in
maintaining the environment on the area to which the measureprovided for in paragraph 1 applies.
The eligible species of farm animals and the criteria for determining
the threshold of loss to farming of local breeds are defined in the tablein Annex I to thisRegulation.
Article 15
For the purposes of the second subparagraph of Article 24(1) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1257/1999, capital works shall be considered to be non-remunerative provided that they do not normally lead to any significantnet increase in the value or profitability of the farm.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 8
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Article 16
Agri-environment commitmentsbeyond the minimum period of five
yearsreferred to in Article 23(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999shall not run for a longer period than is reasonably necessary for the
achievement of their environmental effects. They shall normally be
for no longer than 10 years, except in the case of specific commitmentswhere a longer period isfound to be indis pens able.
Article 17
Variousagri-environment commitmentsmay be combined provided
that they are complementary and compatible.
Where agri-environment measures are thus combined, the level of
support shall take account of income forgone and specific additionalcosts arising from the combination.
Article 18
1. The reference level for calculating income forgone and additional
costs resulting from the commitments given shall be the usual goodfarming practice in the area where the measure is applied.
The economic consequences of abandoning land or ceasing certain
farming practicesmay be taken into account where thisisjus tified bythe agronomic or environmental circumstances.
2. Paymentsmay not be made per unit of production, except in the
case of support for rearing farm animals of breeds which are in danger
of being lost, which may be paid per livestock unit or per animalreared. Where commitments are normally expressed in units otherthan area, Member States may calculate payments on the basis of thoseunits.
3. In the specific cases referred to in paragraph 2, Member States
shall ensure that the maximum amounts per year eligible for Commu-
nity support as set out in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999
are complied with.
To thisend the Member State may:
(a) set a limit on the number of units per hectare of the farm to which
the agri-environment commitmentsapplies ; or
(b) determine the overall maximum amount for each participating farm
and ensure that the payments for each farm are compatible withthislimit.
4. Payments may be based on limitations on the use of fertilisers,
plant protection productsor other inputsonly if s uch limitationsare
technically and economically measurable.
Article 19
Member Statess hall determine the need to provide an incentive as
provided for in the third indent of the first subparagraph of
Article 24(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on the basis of objec-tive criteria.
Incentivesmay not exceed 20 % of the income forgone and additional
costs due to the commitment given, except in the case of specificcommitments where a higher rate is deemed to be indispensable foreffective implementation of the measure.
Article 20
A farmer who givesan agri-environment commitment relating to one
part of a farm shall adhere to at least the standard of usual goodfarming practice throughout the farm.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 9
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Article 21
1. Member Statesmay authoris e one commitment to be converted
into another during the period of itsoperation, on condition that:
(a) any such conversion is of unquestionable benefit to the environ-
ment;
(b) the existing commitment is significantly reinforced; and
(c) the approved programme includesthe commitmentsconcerned.
An agri-environment commitment may be converted into a commit-
ment for afforestation of agricultural land under Article 31 of
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 subject to the conditions set out in
points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph. Theagri-environment commitment shall cease without reimbursement beingrequired.
2. Member Statesmay allow agri-environment commitmentsto be
adjusted during the period for which they apply, provided that theapproved programme includes scope for such adjustment and that the
adjustment is duly justified having regard to the objectives of the
commitment.
SECTION 7
Improvingtheprocessingandmarketingofagriculturalproducts
Article 22
Eligible expenditure may include:
(a) the construction and acquisition of immovable property, with the
exception of land purchase;
(b) new machinery and equipment including computer software;
(c) general costs, such as architects', engineers' and consultants' fees,
feasibility studies, acquisition of patents and licences.
The costs referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph are in addi-
tion to the costs referred to in (a) and (b) and shall be consideredeligible expenditure up to a ceiling of 12 % of those costs.
Article 23
1. For the purposes of Article 26(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/
1999, the existence of normal market outlets shall be assessed at theappropriate level in relation to:
(a) the productsconcerned;
(b) the typesof inves tment;
(c) existing and planned capacity.
2. Any restrictions on production or limitations on Community
support under common market organisations shall be taken into
account.
Article 24
In the outermost regions, support may be granted for investment in the
processing or marketing of products from third countries, provided that
the processed products are intended for the market of the region inquestion.
For the purpose of compliance with the condition laid down in the first
subparagraph, support shall be limited to processing capacity corre-sponding to regional needs, provided that such processing capacitydoes not exceed such needs.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 10
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SECTION 8
Forestry
Article 25
The forests excluded from forestry support under Article 29(3) of
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall be:
(a) forest or other wooded land owned by central or regional govern-
ments, or by government-owned corporations;
(b) Crown forest and other wooded land;
(c) forests owned by legal persons at least 50 % of whose capital is
held by one of the institutions referred to in points (a) and (b).
Article 26
Agricultural land eligible for support for afforestation under Article 31
of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall be specified by the MemberState and shall include in particular arable land, grassland, permanentpastures and land used for perennial crops, where farming takes placeon a regular basis.
Article 27
1. For the purposes of the second indent of the second subparagraph
of Article 31(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, ‘farmer’ meansaperson who devotes an essential part of his or her working time to agri-cultural activitiesand derivesfrom them a s ignificant part of hisor her
income according to detailed criteria to be determined by the Member
State.
2. For the purposes of the second subparagraph of Article 31(3) of
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, ‘fast-growing species cultivated in the
short term’ means species with a rotation time, namely the period
between two harvest cuts on the same parcel, of less than 15 years.
Article 28
1. Support under Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 may
not be granted for areasfor which s upport under Article 31 of that
Regulation hasbeen granted.
2. Paymentsfor maintaining fire-breaksthrough agricultural
measures under the second indent of Article 32(1) of Regulation (EC)No 1257/1999 may not be granted for areaswhich are the s ubject ofagri-environment support.
Such payments shall be consistent with any restrictions on production
or limitations on Community support under common market organisa-tions and shall take account of payments made under those commonmarket organisations.
SECTION 9
Rulescommontoseveral measures
Article 29
For the purposes of the third indent of Article 14(2) and the first
subparagraph of Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, ‘usualgood farming practice’ means the standard of farming which a reason-able farmer would follow in the region concerned.
Member States shall set out verifiable standards in their rural develop-
ment plans. These standards shall at least entail compliance with
general mandatory environmental requirements.
Article 30
Where a beneficiary transfers all or part of a holding to another person
during the period for which a commitment given asa condition for the2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 11
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grant of support runs, the transferee may take over the commitment for
the remainder of the period. If the commitment isnot trans ferred, thebeneficiary shall reimburse the support granted.
Member States may choose not to require such reimbursement if a
beneficiary who hasalready honoured a s ignificant part of the commit-ment concerned definitively ceases agricultural activities and it is notfeasible for a successor to take over the commitment.
In the event of minor changesto the s ituation of a holding, Member
States may take specific measures to ensure that application of the firstsubparagraph does not lead to inappropriate results in terms of thecommitment entered into.
Article 31
1. When a beneficiary increases the area of the holding during the
period for which a commitment given asa condition for the grant of
support runs, Member States may provide for the commitment to beextended to cover the additional area for the remainder of the periodof the commitment in accordance with paragraph 2, or for the originalcommitment to be replaced by a new one in accordance withparagraph 3.
Provision may also be made for such replacement in cases where the
area covered by a commitment within a holding isextended.
2. The extension referred to in paragraph 1 may be granted only
under the following conditions:
(a) it is of unquestionable benefit to the measure concerned;
(b) it isjus tified in termsof the nature of the commitment, the length
of the remaining period and the size of the additional area;
(c) it does not impede the effectiveness of checks to ensure compliance
with the conditionsfor the grant of s upport.
The size of the additional area referred to in (b) must be significantly
less than the original area or not more than two hectares.
3. The new commitment referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover the
whole area concerned under terms at least as strict as those of theoriginal commitment.
Article 32
Where a beneficiary isunable to continue to comply with commitments
given becaus e the holding isreparcelled or isthe s ubject of other
similar public land-consolidation measures, Member States shall takethe measures necessary to allow the commitments to be adapted to thenew situation of the holding. If such adaptation proves impossible, thecommitment shall expire and reimbursement shall not be required in
respect of the period in which the commitment was effective.
Article 33
1. Without prejudice to the actual circumstances to be taken into
consideration in individual cases, Member States may recognise, inparticular, the following categoriesof force majeure :
(a) death of the farmer;
(b) long-term professional incapacity of the farmer;
(c) expropriation of a large part of the holding if thiscould not have
been anticipated on the day on which the commitment wasgiven;
(d) a severe natural disaster seriously affecting the agricultural land on
the holding;
(e) the accidental destruction of livestock buildings on the holding;
(f) an epizootic disease affecting all or part of the farmer's livestock.
Member States shall notify the Commission of categories which they
recognise as force majeure .2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 12
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2. Cases of force majeure shall be notified in writing to the compe-
tent authority, together with relevant evidence to the satisfaction of thatauthority, within 10 working daysof the date on which the farmer isin
a position to do so. ►
M2That deadline may be extended by 20
working days so long as that possibility is provided for in the program-ming document. ◄
CHAPTERII
GENERAL RULES AND ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 1
General rules
Article 34
For the purposes of the second subparagraph of Article 37(3) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1257/1999, Articles35, 36 and 37 of thisRegulationshall apply.
Article 35
1. Environmental measures implemented under common market
organisations, agricultural quality and health measures, or rural devel-opment measures other than agri-environment support, shall notpreclude agri-environment support for the same production, providedthat such support is additional and consistent with the measures
concerned.
2. In the event of a combination asenvis aged in paragraph 1, the
following provisions shall apply:
(a) agri-environment measures on land set aside under Article 6 of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 (
1) shall qualify for support
only if the commitmentsgo beyond the appropriate environmental
measures referred to in Article 6(2) of that Regulation;
(b) in the case of extensification of beef production, support shall take
account of the extensification payment under Article 13 of CouncilRegulation (EC) No 1254/1999 (
2);
(c) in the case of support for less-favoured areas and areas with envir-
onmental restrictions, agri-environment commitments shall take
account of the conditionslaid down for s upport in the areasconcerned.
3. For the purposes of applying paragraphs 1 and 2, the level of
support shall take account of income forgone and specific additionalcosts arising from the combination.
Article 36
Under no circumstances may the same commitment be the subject of
payments simultaneously under agri-environment support and another
Community aid scheme.
Article 37
Member States shall propose any exceptions under the first indent of
the second subparagraph of Article 37(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 in their rural development plansor programming documents
presented for Objectives 1 and 2 as provided for in Article 18(1)
and (2) and Article 19(1), (2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 13
(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21.
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Article 38
Payments under rural development measures shall be made in full to
the beneficiaries.
Article 39
Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000 shall apply to measures included in the
programming referred to in Article 40(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999, except where otherwise provided in Regulations (EC)No 1257/1999 and No 1258/1999 and thisRegulation.
Article 39a
1. Member States applying standard unit costs for establishing the
cost of certain forestry investments under the first, second and sixthindentsof Article 30(1) and under Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No
1257/1999 may exempt beneficiariesfrom the requirement to pres ent
receipted invoicesor accounting documentsof equivalent probativevalue for the investments concerned as provided for in point 2 of Rule1 of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000.
2. The costs referred to in paragraph 1 may be applied provided the
following conditionsare fulfilled:
(a) the costs are calculated by the competent public authorities on the
basis of objective criteria permitting determination of the cost of
individual activities, taking account of specific local conditionsand avoiding any overcompensation;
(b) the part-financed investments are made between the date the aid
application iss ubmitted and the date final payment of that aid is
made.
SECTION 2
Programming
Article 40
The rural development plansunder Title III, Chapter II, of Regulation
(EC) No 1257/1999 shall be submitted in accordance with Annex II to
thisRegulation.
Article 41
1. The approval of the programming documentsreferred to in
Article 44(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall determine theoverall amount of Community support.
That amount shall include:
(a) expenditure on measures presented under the new rural develop-
ment programming, including expenditure on evaluation underArticle 49(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999;
(b) expenditure incurred under earlier accompanying measures covered
by Council Regulations(EEC) No 2078/92 (
1), (EEC) No 2079/
92 (2) and (EEC) No 2080/92 (3) aswell asexpenditure incurred
under the measures covered by the earlier Regulations repealed by
the above Regulations;
(c) expenditure incurred on measures under Article 4 of Regulation
(EC) No 2603/1999.
2. Besides the provisions of paragraph 1, the approval shall also
cover the allocation and use of amounts remaining available to the2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 14
(1) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 85.
(2) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 91.
(3) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 96.▼M2
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Member Statesasadditional Community s upport under Article 5 of
Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999.
However, those amounts shall not be included in the overall amount of
Community support referred to in paragraph 1.
3. The approval may cover State aid intended to provide additional
financing to rural development measures only if the State aid is identi-fied in accordance with point 16 of Annex II.
Article 42
Member Statess hall make rural development programming documents
available to the public.
Article 43
Where rural development measures are submitted in the form of
general framework regulations, rural development plans shall makeappropriate reference to such regulations.
Articles 40, 41 and 42 shall also apply in the case referred to in the
first paragraph.
Article 44
1. Amendmentsto rural development programming documentsand
single programming documents under Objective 2 in the case of rural
development measures financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section
shall be duly substantiated, in particular giving the following informa-tion:
(a) the reasons and any implementation problems justifying adjustment
of the programming document;
(b) the expected effectsof the amendment;
(c) the implicationsfor financing and verification of commitments .
2. Acting in accordance with the proceduresreferred to in Articles
50(2) and 48(3), respectively, of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, the
Commission shall approve any amendments to rural development
programming documentsand to s ingle programming documentsunderObjective 2 in the case of rural development measures financed by theEAGGF Guarantee Section whenever they have a bearing on:
(a) priorities;
(b) the main features of the support measures as referred to in Annex
II;
(c) the overall amount of Community support and the overall total
eligible cost or eligible public expenditure fixed in the decision
approving the programming document;
(d) the distribution of the financial allocation made for the measures
contained in the programming document, where it exceeds:
— 15 % of the total eligible cost of the programme concerned for
the entire programming period, if the Community contributionis based on the total eligible cost,
— 20 % of the total eligible public expenditure for the programme
concerned for the entire programming period, if the Community
contribution isbas ed on the eligible public expenditure,
calculated on the basis of the financial table annexed to the
Commission Decision approving the programming document, as
last amended.
3. The amendments referred to in paragraph 2 shall be submitted to
the Commission in a single proposal per programme no more than onceper calendar year.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 15
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The first subparagraph shall not apply where amendments are required
as a result of a natural disaster or other exceptional occurrence with amajor impact on the Member State'sprogramming.
4. Amendmentsof a financial nature which are not covered by para-
graph 2(d) and amendmentsto the Community contribution rate asreferred to in the first indent of point 9(2) B of Annex II shall be
communicated to the Commission together with the financial table
amended in accordance with point 8 of Annex II. They shall enterinto force on the date on which they are received by the Commission.
The amendments of a financial nature referred to in the first subpara-
graph when totalled over a calendar year may not exceed the ceilings
provided for in paragraph 2(d).
5. Amendments other than those covered in paragraphs 2 and 4 shall
be communicated to the Commission ►
M2at least three months ◄
before their entry into force.
Article 45
Where Community legislation is subsequently amended, rural develop-
ment programming documentsand s ingle programming documents
under Objective 2 shall be revised in line with subsequent changes inCommunity legislation.
Article 44(3) shall not apply to such revisions.
If the amendment of rural development programming documentsor
single programming documents under Objective 2 is limited to bringingthe document into line with new Community legislation, such amend-
ments shall be sent to the Commission for information.
Article 45a
Member States shall make available to the Commission a consolidated
electronic version of their programming documents, updated following
each amendment. They shall provide the Commission with the elec-
tronic address at which the consolidated versions of programmingdocuments can be consulted and shall inform it each time they areupdated.
Furthermore, Member States shall keep an electronic version of all the
previous versions of their programming documents.
SECTION 3
AdditionalmeasuresandCommunityinitiatives
Article 46
The scope of assistance from the EAGGF Guidance Section for
measures in the Community initiative for rural development shall beextended to the whole Community and itsfinancing extended tomeasures eligible under European Parliament and Council Regulations(EC) No 1783/1999 (
1) and (EC) No 1784/1999 (2).
SECTION 4
Financial provisions
Article 47
1. No later than 30 September each year, the Member Statess hall
forward the following information to the Commission, for each rural2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 16
(1) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999, p. 5.▼B
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development programming document and each single programming
document under Objective 2 in the case of rural development measuresfinanced by the EAGGF Guarantee Section:
(a) a statement of expenditure incurred in the current financial year
and expenditure remaining to be disbursed by the end of that yearand covered by Community support as defined in Article 41(1);and
(b) revised forecasts of such expenditure for subsequent financial years
until the end of the programming period concerned, keeping within
the allocation for each Member State.
This information shall be transmitted in table format using a compu-
terised model supplied by the Commission.
2. Without prejudice to the general ruleson budgetary dis cipline,
where the information which Member Statesare required to trans mit
to the Commission under paragraph 1 is incomplete or the time limithas not been met, the Commission shall reduce advances on entry inthe accountsof agricultural expenditure on a temporary and flat-ratebasis.
Article 48
1. For the month during which the decision is adopted approving a
rural development programming document or a single programmingdocument under Objective 2 in the case of rural development measures
financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section, the paying agenciesmay
enter in the accountsasexpenditure an advance not exceeding 12,5 %of the average annual EAGGF contribution provided for in theprogramming document, covering the expenditure referred to inArticle 41(1).
This advance shall represent working capital which, in principle, may
be recovered only at the end of the programming period for eachprogramming document, or once the aggregate sum of the expenditurepaid out by the EAGGF and the amount of the advance isequal to thetotal EAGGF contribution provided for in the programming document.
2. The advance under paragraph 1 shall be entered in the accounts,
for those countries whose currency is not the euro on the date of suchentry, using the rate of exchange prevailing on the penultimateCommission working day of the month preceding that in which thepaying agenciesenter the advance in the accounts .
Article 49
1. For each Member State, expenditure declared for any given finan-
cial year shall be financed up to the limit of the amounts notified to theCommission under point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 47(1)
which are covered by the appropriationsentered in the budget for the
financial year concerned.
2. Where the total amount of the forecasts notified under point (b)
of the first subparagraph of Article 47(1) exceeds the total appropria-tionsentered in the budget for the financial year concerned, the
maximum amount of expenditure to be financed for each Member State
shall be limited using the formula used to establish the correspondingannual allocation asdefined in Decis ion 1999/659/EC.
If, after this reduction, appropriations remain available because some
Member Stateshave made forecas tswhich are below their annual allo-
cation, the surplus amount shall be distributed in proportion to theMember States' respective annual allocations while ensuring that theamount forecast for each Member State as referred to in the firstsubparagraph is not exceeded. The Commission shall notify the fore-casts thus adjusted to the Member States in the month following the
adoption of the budget for the financial year concerned.
3. Where expenditure actually incurred by a Member State in any
given financial year exceedsthe amountsnotified under point (b) ofthe first subparagraph of Article 47(1) or the amounts resulting from2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 17
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the application of paragraph 2 of thisArticle, the overrunson expendi-
ture in the current financial year shall be taken into account on a pro
ratabasis, up to the limit of the appropriations remaining available
after reimbursing to the other Member States the expenditure incurred.
4. Where expenditure actually incurred by a Member State in a
given financial year isles sthan 75 % of the amountsreferred to inparagraph 1, the expenditure to be recognised for the following finan-cial year shall be reduced by a third of the difference between this
threshold, or the amounts resulting from the application of paragraph
2 if they are below it, and the actual expenditure incurred during thefinancial year concerned.
This reduction shall not be taken into account when establishing actual
expenditure in the financial year following that in which the reductionwasmade.
5. Paragraph 4 shall not apply to the first statement of expenditure
incurred during the 2000 financial year under the rural developmentprogramming document or the single programming document underObjective 2 in the case of rural development measures financed by theEAGGF Guarantee Section.
Article 50
Articles47, 48 and 49 of thisRegulation s hall not apply to expenditure
incurred under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999.
Article 51
The Community shall contribute to financing evaluations in the
Member Statesunder Article 49(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999where such evaluations actually contribute to evaluation at Communitylevel by virtue of their scope, particularly through their replies tocommon evaluation questions and their quality.
The Community contribution shall not exceed 50 % of a ceiling which,
except in duly justified cases, shall be 1 % of the total costs of therural development programme. ►
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Article 52
1. Beneficiaries of investment support measures under Title II,
ChaptersI, VII, VIII and IX, of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 mayrequest the payment of an advance from the competent paying agencies
if thisoption isincluded in the programming document. Asregards
public beneficiaries, this advance may only be granted to municipalitiesand associations thereof and to public law bodies.
2. The amount of the advance shall not exceed 20 % of the total
cost of the investment, and its payment shall be subject to the estab-lishment of a bank guarantee corresponding to 110 % of the amount
of the advance.
However, in the case of the public beneficiaries referred to in para-
graph 1, the paying agency may accept a written guarantee from theirauthority, in accordance with provisions applied in the Member States,covering an amount equal to the percentage specified in the first
subparagraph, provided that the authority undertakes to pay the amount
covered by itsguarantee s hould entitlement to the advance paid not beestablished.
3. The guarantee shall be released once the competent agency notes
that the amount of real expenditure resulting from the investmentexceedsthe amount of the advance.
4. Paying agenciesmay declare to the EAGGF Guarantee Section
the amount corresponding to the Community part-financing:
(a) of the advance paid;2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 18
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(b) of the actual expenditure subsequently paid to beneficiaries, minus
the amount of the advance already paid.
SECTION 5
Monitoringandevaluation
Article 53
1. The annual progress reports provided for in Article 48(2) of
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall be submitted to the Commissionby►
M230 June of each year ◄and shall relate to the previous
calendar year.
Progress reports shall contain the following information:
(a) any change in the general conditionswhich isof relevance to the
implementation of the measure, and in particular any major socio-economic trendsor changesin national, regional or s ectoral poli-cies;
(b) the progress of measures and priorities in relation to their opera-
tional and specific objectives, expressed using quantitative
indicators;
(c) action taken by the management authority and the Monitoring
Committee, if provision has been made for such a committee, toensure high quality and effective implementation, and in particular:
(i) monitoring measures, financial control and evaluation,
including data collection procedures;
(ii) a summary of the major problems encountered in managing the
measure and any steps taken;
(d) measures taken to ensure compatibility with Community policies.
2. The indicators referred to in point (b) of the second subparagraph
of paragraph 1 shall follow, as far as possible, the common indicatorsdefined in the guidelines drawn up by the Commission. Where addi-tional indicatorsare needed to effectively monitor progres stowardsthe objectives in the rural development programming documents, theseshall be included.
Article 54
1. Evaluationss hall be performed by independent evaluatorsin
accordance with recognised practice.
2. Evaluations shall provide answers, in particular, to common
evaluation questions defined by the Commission in consultation withthe Member Statesand s hall, asa general rule, be accompanied byperformance-related criteria and indicators.
3. The authority responsible for managing the rural development
programming document shall assemble the appropriate resources for
evaluations, making use of monitoring results and gathering additional
information where necessary.
Article 55
1.Ex ante evaluation shall analyse the disparities, gaps and poten-
tials of the current situation, assess the consistency of the proposed
strategy with the situation and targets and consider the issues raised in
the common evaluation questions. It shall assess the expected impact ofthe selected priorities for action and quantify their targets wherepossible. It shall also verify the proposed implementing arrangementsand consistency with the common agricultural policy and other poli-cies.
2.Ex ante evaluation shall be the responsibility of the authorities
preparing the rural development plan and shall form part of it.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 19
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Article 56
1. Mid-term and ex post evaluation shall deal with the specific
issues arising in the rural development programming documentconcerned and with common evaluation questions relevant at Commu-nity level. These shall relate to the living conditions and structure of
the rural population, employment and income from farm and off-farm
activities, agricultural structures, agricultural commodities, quality,competitiveness, forest resources and the environment.
If a common evaluation question is not considered relevant to a parti-
cular rural development programming document, thiss hall besubstantiated.
2. Mid-term evaluation shall deal with the evaluation questions and
shall examine in particular the initial achievements, their relevance toand consistency with the rural development programming documentand the extent to which the targets have been attained. It shall also
assess the use made of financial resources and the operation of moni-
toring and implementation.
Ex post evaluation shall answer the evaluation questions, paying parti-
cular attention to the use made of resources and the effectiveness and
efficiency of assistance and its impact and shall draw conclusionsconcerning rural development policy, including itscontribution to thecommon agricultural policy.
3. Mid-term and ex post evaluation shall be performed in consulta-
tion with the Commission under the responsibility of the authority incharge of managing rural development programming.
4. The quality of individual evaluations shall be assessed using
recognised methods by the authority in charge of managing the ruraldevelopment programming document, the Monitoring Committee, if
any, and the Commission. The results of the evaluations shall be
made available to the public.
Article 57
1. A mid-term evaluation report shall be transmitted to the Commis-
sion not later than 31 December 2003. The authority responsible for
managing the rural development programming document shall inform
the Commission on the follow-up to the recommendations in theevaluation report. The Commission shall prepare a Community-levelsummary upon receipt of the individual evaluation reports. Wherenecessary, an update of the mid-term evaluation shall be completed by31 December 2005.
2. An ex post evaluation report shall be transmitted to the Commis-
sion not later than two years after the end of the programming period.
Within three yearsof the end of the programming period and upon
receipt of the individual evaluation reports the Commission shallprepare a Community-level summary.
3. The evaluation reports shall explain the methods used, including
their implicationsfor the quality of the data and the findings . Reportsshall include a description of the context and contents of theprogramme, financial information and the answers — including theindicators used — to the common evaluation questions and the evalua-
tion questions defined at national or regional level, as well as
conclusions and recommendations. Their structure shall follow, as faras possible, a common structure for evaluation reports defined in guide-lines drawn up by the Commission.
SECTION 6
Applications,checksandpenalties
Article 58
1. Applicationsfor rural development s upport for areasor animals
which are lodged separately from aid applications under Article 6 ofRegulation (EC) No 2419/2001 shall indicate all the areas and animals2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 20
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on the holding which are relevant for checking the applicationsunder
the measure in question, including those for which no support isrequested.
2. Where a rural development support measure relates to areas,
parcelss hall be identified individually. During the period covered by
a commitment, parcelsreceiving s upport may not be exchanged except
in cases specifically provided for in the programming document.
3. Where an application for payment isincluded with an application
for an area payment in the context of the integrated administration and
control system, the Member State shall ensure that parcels covered byapplications for rural development support are declared separately.
4. Plotsof land and animalss hall be identified in accordance with
Articles4 and 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92.
5. Where support is multiannual, payments subsequent to that made
in the year an application was submitted shall be made in response toan annual application for payment, except where the Member State hasintroduced an effective annual verification procedure asreferred to inArticle 59(1).
Article 59
1. Initial applications to join a scheme and subsequent applications
for payment shall be checked in a manner which ensures effective veri-fication of compliance with the conditionsfor granting s upport.
The Member States shall define suitable methods and means for veri-
fying each support measure as well as the persons who shall be subjectto checks.
Wherever appropriate, Member States shall make use of the integrated
administration and control system introduced by Regulation (EEC)No 3508/92.
2. Verification shall consist of administrative and on-the-spot
checks.
Article 60
Administrative checks shall be exhaustive and shall include cross-
checkswherever appropriate, inter alia with data from the integrated
administration and control system. They shall relate to parcels and live-stock covered by a support measure in order to avoid all unjustifiedpayments of aid. Compliance with long-term commitments shall alsobe checked.
Article 61
On-the-spot checks shall be made in accordance with Title III of Regu-
lation (EC) No 2419/2001. They shall cover at least 5 % ofbeneficiarieseach year and all the different typesof rural developmentmeasures set out in the programming documents.
On-the-spot checks shall be spread over the year on the basis of an
analysis of the risks presented by each rural development measure.►
M2For investment support measures under Title II, Chapters I,
VII, VIII and IX of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, Member States
may provide that on-the-spot checks concern only those projects in
the process of completion. ◄
Checkss hall cover all the commitmentsand obligationsof a benefi-
ciary which can be checked at the time of the visit.
Article 62
Articles30 and 31 and Article 32(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001
shall apply to area payments. Those provisions shall not apply tosupport under forestry measures other than afforestation of agriculturalland.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 21
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Articles 36, 38 and 40 of that Regulation shall apply to support based
on livestock.
Article 62a
1. Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001 shall apply to
support granted to all rural development measures.
2. In the event of undue payment, the beneficiary under a rural
development measure shall be under an obligation to repay the amount
concerned in accordance with Article 49 of Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001.
Article 63
1. Any beneficiary found to have made a false declaration as a result
of serious negligence shall be excluded from all rural developmentmeasures under the relevant chapter of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999
for the calendar year in question.
Where a false declaration was made intentionally, the beneficiary shall
be excluded for the following year aswell.
2. The penaltiesprovided for in paragraph 1 s hall apply without
prejudice to additional penaltiesprovided for under national rules .
Article 64
Member Statess hall lay down the ruleson penaltiesapplicable to
infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take allmeasures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penaltiesprovided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
CHAPTERIII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 65
1. Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999 isrepealed.References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references
to thisRegulation and s hall be read in accordance with the correlationtable in Annex III.
2. The Regulationsand Decis ionsrepealed by Regulation (EC) No
1750/1999, with the exception of Article 17 of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 746/96 (
1), Articles 1 and 2 of Commission Regulation (EC)
No 1404/94 (2) and Articles1 and 2 of Commis s ion Regulation (EC)
No 1054/94 (3), shall continue to apply to actions approved by the
Commission before 1 January 2000 under the Regulations referred toin Article 55(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
Article 66
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 39a(1) shall apply from 1 January 2000.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 22
(1) OJ L 102, 25.4.1996, p. 19.
(2) OJ L 154, 21.6.1994, p. 8.
(3) OJ L 115, 6.5.1994, p. 6.▼B
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ANNEX I
(Article 14)
Eligible farm animal species Thresholds under which a local breed is
considered as being in danger of being lost
to farming
(number of breeding females) (1)
Cattle 7 500
Sheep 10 000
Goats10 000
Equidae 5 000
Pigs15 000
Avian 25 000
(1) Number, calculated for all EU Member States, of breeding females of the same breed
available for purebred reproduction, included in a register recognised by the Member
State (e.g. herd book or flock book).2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 23
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ANNEX II
RURALDEVELOPMENTPLANS
1.Titleofruraldevelopmentplan
2.Member Stateandadministrativeregion(ifrelevant)
3.1.Geographical area covered by the plan
(Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
3.2.Regions classified as Objectives 1and 2
(Article 40 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
Identify:
— Objective 1 regionsand Objective 1 regionsin trans ition. Thisapplies
only to the accompanying measures (early retirement, compensatory
allowances, agri-environment and afforestation of agricultural land
under Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999),
— Objective 2 regions. This applies to:
(1) accompanying measures,
(2) other measures which do not form part of the Objective 2 program-
ming.
4.Planningattherelevant geographicallevel
(Article 41(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)Where exceptionally more than one rural development plan will apply in
the region, indicate:
— all the relevant plans,
— why it is not possible to integrate measures into a single plan,— the relationship between measures in the different plans and details as
to how compatibility and consistency between plans will be ensured.
5.Quantifieddescriptionofthecurrent situation
(First indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
(1)Description of the current situation
Describe the current situation of the geographical area using quantified
data, highlighting strengths, disparities, gaps and potential for rural
development. This description should concern both agricultureand
forestry (including the type and extent of handicaps affecting farming
in less-favoured areas), the rural economy, the demographic situation,
human resources, employment and the state of the environment.
(2)Impact from the previous programming period
Describe the impact of EAGGF financial resources allocated to rural
development during the previousprogramming period and under
accompanying measures since 1992. Present the results of evaluations.
(3)Other information
Where relevant, also describe any supplementary measures in addition
to Community rural development and accompanying measures which
have had an impact on the programming area concerned.
6.Descriptionofthestrategyproposed,itsquantifiedobjectives,therural
developmentpriorities selectedandthegeographical areacovered
(Second indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
(1)Proposed strategy, quantified objectives and priorities selected
In the light of the strengths, disparities, gaps and development potential
identified in the area concerned, describe in particular:
— the prioritiesfor action,2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 24
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— the appropriate strategy to attain the objectives,
— the operational objectivesand expected impact, quantified where
possible, also in terms of both monitoring and estimates that can
be used for evaluation purposes,
— the extent to which the strategy takes account of the specific
featuresof the areasconcerned,
— how the integrated approach hasbeen applied,— the extent to which the strategy provides for the involvement of
women and men,
— the extent to which the strategy takes account of all relevant inter-
national Community and national obligationsin the field of the
environment, including those relating to sustainable development,
in particular the quality and use of water, conservation of biodiver-
sity including on-farm conservation of crop varieties, and global
warming.
(2)Description and effects of other measures
Where relevant, the description must also include any measures taken
outside the rural development plan (other Community measures or
national measures, such as compulsory rules, codes of practice and
State-aided measures) and the extent to which these measures meet
the needsidentified.
(3)Areas covered by specific territorial measures
Describe the geographical coverage of any measures as defined at
point 8 which do not apply throughout the region indicated at point 3.
In particular, include:
— the list of less-favoured areas adopted for the area concerned,
— any amendments to the list of less-favoured areas, giving the
reasons (Article 55(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999),
— areas with environmental restrictions, giving reasons.
(4)Timetable and uptake
Proposed timetable for implementing the various measures, expected
uptake and duration (see also point 8).
7.Appraisal showing the expected economic, environmental and social
impact
(Third indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
Detailed description in accordance with Article 43 of Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 25
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8.Indicativeoverallfinancialtable(EAGGFfinancialyear)
Article 43(1), fourth indent, of Regulation (EC) No 1257/19992002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 26

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9.Descriptionofthemeasuresdesignedtoimplementtheplans
(Fifth indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
For each point below, provide:
A. the main features of support measures;
B. other information.
(1)General requirements
A. Main features of support measures:
— list of measures in the order presented in Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999,
— identify the specific article (and paragraph) which covers each
rural development payment measure. Where two or more arti-
cles are cited, the payment measure must be divided into its
constituent parts,
— overall objective of each measure.
B. Other information:
None.
(2)Requirements concerning all or several measures (1)
A. Main features:
— exceptions referred to in the first indent of the second subpara-
graph of Article 37(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
B. Other information:
— rate of Community contribution based on either the total cost or
public expenditure,
— aid intensity and/or amount and differentiation applied (Chap-
tersI to VIII),
— detailsof eligibility conditions ,
— criteria to demonstrate economic viability (Chapters I, II, IV
and VII),
— usual good farming practice (Chapters V and VI),2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 28
▼B
▼M2
▼B
▼M2
▼B
▼M2
▼B
▼B
— minimum standards regarding environment, hygiene and animal
welfare (ChaptersI, II and VII),
— level of occupational skill and competence required (Chapters I,
II and IV),
— sufficient assessment of the existence of normal market outlets
for the productsconcerned (ChaptersI and VII) in accordance
with Articles6 and 26 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999,
— description of all ongoing contracts (from the previous period),
including in financial terms, and the procedures/rules which
apply to these.
(3)Information required for specific measures
In addition, the following specific information is required for measures
under the individual chapters:
I. Investment in agricultural holdings
A. Main features:
— primary production sectors and types of investments.
B. Other information:
— maximum limitson total amount of inves tment eligible
for support,
— typesof s upport,— where applicable, a description of the rural areas facing
structural difficulties as referred to in Article 1(3) of this
Regulation.
II. Start-up assistance for young farmers
A. Main features:
None.
B. Other information:
— length of time allowed for young farmersto fulfil the
eligibility criteria within the three-year period authorised
under Article 4(2) of thisRegulation,
— age limit,
— conditions applying to young farmers not established as
sole head of the holding or who start up as members of
associations or cooperatives whose main purpose is to
manage an agricultural holding,
— type of start-up support.
III. Training
A. Main features:
None.
B. Other information:
— eligible measures and beneficiaries,
— assurance that no normal education system or programmes
are proposed for financing.
IV. Early retirement
A. Main features:
None.
B. Other information:
— detailed description of conditions concerning transferor,
transferee, worker and land released, in particular the use
of land to be retained by the transferor for non-commer-
cial purposes and the length of time allowed to improve
viability,
— type of aid, including a description of the method used for
calculating the maximum amount to be part-financed per
holding and a justification for each type of beneficiary,
— description of national retirement and early-retirement
schemes,
— detailson the duration of the aid.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 29
▼B
V. Less-favoured areas and areas with environmental restrictions
A. Main features:
— amount of aid:
2. for compensatory allowances under Article 13(a) of
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999: proposals to exceed
the maximum amount which can be part-financed in
accordance with the second subparagraph of
Article 15(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 must
include the necessary justification. Specify how it will
be assured that the upper limit for compensatory allow-
ances is complied with in these cases and explain the
administrative procedure by which compliance with
the maximum amount that can be part-financed will
be ensured,
3.►M2for compensatory allowances under Articles
13(b) and 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999: the
initial detailed agronomic calculationss howing: ◄
(a) income foregone and costs incurred as a result of
the environmental restrictions, (b) agronomic assump-
tionsus ed asreference point.
B. Other information:
— detailsof eligibility conditions , in particular:
1. definition of the minimum area;
2. description of the appropriate conversion mechanism
used in the case of common pastures,
3. amount of aid for paymentsreferred to in point (a) of
Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999: justifica-
tion of differentiation of the amount of aid using the
criteria set out in Article 15(2) of that Regulation;
4. for compensatory allowances referred to in point (b) of
Article 13 and Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/
1999: changesto the detailed agronomic calculations
fixed in the programming document asapproved.
— amendments to the lists of less-favoured areas adopted or
amended by Council and Commission Directives, and the
list of areas with environmental restrictions.
VI. Agri-environment
A. Main features:
— justification for the commitments, based on their expected
impact,
—►M2the initial detailed agronomic calculations
showing: ◄(a) income foregone and cost incurred in
relation to usual good farming practice; (b) the agronomic
assumptions used as reference point; (c) the level of
incentive and a justification for this based on objective
criteria.
B. Other information:
— the list of local breeds in danger of being lost to farming
and the number of breeding femalesfor the areas
concerned. That number must be certified by a duly
recognised technical body — or breeder's organisation/
association — which must register and keep up-to-date
the herd or flock book for the breed. The body concerned
must possess the necessary skills and knowledge to iden-
tify animalsof the breedsin ques tion,
— for plant genetic resources under threat of genetic erosion,
evidence of genetic erosion based upon scientific results
and indicatorsfor the occurrence of landraces /primitive2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 30
▼M2
▼B
▼M2
▼B
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▼B
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(local) varieties, their population diversity and the
prevailing agricultural practicesat local level,
— detailsof obligationson farmersand any other termsof
the commitment, including scope and procedures for
adjusting of running contracts,
— changes to the level of support up to 120 % of the costs
and income lost indicated in the agronomic calculations
fixed in the programming document asapproved and the
justification for these changes,
— description of the coverage of the measure, showing its
scope in relation to needs and its degree of targeting in
termsof geographical, s ectoral or other coverage,
— for all the agri-environment commitmentstogether, the
possible ways of combining commitments should be
shown and the mutual consistency of commitments should
be ensured.
VII. Improving the processing and marketing of agricultural products
A. Main features:
— sectors of basic agricultural production.
B. Other information:
— criteria to prove economic benefitsfor primary producers .
VIII. Forestry
B. Other information:
— definition of:
(i) ‘agricultural land’ in relation to Article 26 of this
Regulation;
(ii) ‘farmer’ in relation to Article 27 of thisRegulation;
(iii) provisions ensuring that the planned measures are
suited to local conditions and compatible with the
environment aswell askeeping a balance between
forestry and game populations where applicable;
(iv) contractual arrangementsbetween regionsand poten-
tial beneficiariesconcerning meas uresreferred to in
Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999,
— where the standard costs referred to in Article 39a are
applied:
(i) the standard unit costs;
(ii) the method used to fix those costs;
(iii) compliance with the criterion of avoidance of over-
compensation,
— description of eligible measures and beneficiaries,
— linkage between proposed measures and national/sub-
national forest programmes or equivalent instruments,
— the existence of forest protection plans as laid down in
Community legislation for areas classified as high or
medium risk for forest fires and the conformity of
proposed measures with these protection plans.
IX. Promoting the adaptation and development of rural areas
A. Main features:
— description and justification of the action proposed under
each measure.
B. Other information:
— definition of financial engineering, which must comply
with the general eligibility criteria.
10.Need for any studies, demonstration projects, training or technical
assistanceoperations(whereapplicable)
(Sixth indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 31
▼B
▼M2
▼B
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▼B
▼B
11.Designationofcompetentauthoritiesandbodiesresponsible
(Seventh indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
12.Provisions to ensure the effective and correct implementation of the
plans, including monitoring and evaluation, a definition of quantified
indicators for evaluation, arrangements for controls and sanctionsand
adequatepublicity
(Eighth indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
(1)Detailed information on the implementation of Articles 52 to 57 of this
Regulation
Thiss hould include in particular:
— the possibility to grant advances to certain beneficiaries of invest-
ment measures,
— the description of the financial circuits for the payment of assis-
tance to final beneficiaries,
— the arrangementsfor monitoring and evaluating the programme,
notably systems and procedures for collecting, organising and coor-
dinating data relating to financial, physical and impact indicators,
— the role, composition and rules of procedure of any monitoring
committees,
— codification. Thiscodification s hall be in accordance with the
model provided by the Commission.
(2)Detailed information on the implementation of Articles 58 to 64 of this
Regulation
This should include the specific control measures planned to verify the
substance of claims and compliance with the conditions for support as
well as the specific rules on penalties.
(3)Detailed information on compliance with the general eligibility criteria
laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000
Article 39 of thisRegulation.
(4)Other information
Where appropriate, information that the time limit for notifying cases
offorce majeure hasbeen extended (Article 33(2) of thisRegulation).
13.Results of consultations and designation of associated authorities and
bodiesaswellaseconomic andsocialpartners
(Ninth indent of Article 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
(1) Describe:
— the economic and social partners and other relevant national bodies
to be consulted in accordance with national rules and practice;
— the agricultural and environmental authoritiesand bodiesto be
involved, in particular, in preparing, implementing, monitoring,
evaluating and reviewing agri-environment measures and other
measures targeting the environment, thus ensuring a balance
between these measures and other rural development measures.
(2) Summarise the results of consultations and indicate the extent to which
the viewsand advice received have been taken into account.
14.Balancebetweenthedifferentsupportmeasures
(Second indent of Article 43(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
(1) Describe, with reference to strengths, needs and potential:
— the balance between the different rural development measures,
— the extent to which the agri-environment measures apply throughout
the territory.
(2) This description shall refer, as the case may be, to:
— measures taken outside the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999,
— measures taken or planned under separate rural development plans.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 32
▼M2
▼B
▼B
15.Compatibilityandconsistency
(Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
A. Main features:
(1) Appraisal of compatibility and consistency with:
— other Community policiesand meas uresimplemented under
those policies, in particular competition policy,
— other common agricultural policy instruments, in particular
where exceptionsunder Article 37(3) of Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999 are provided for,
— other support measures included in the rural development plans,
— the general eligibility criteria.
(2) For measures under Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999,
ensure and, where necessary, demonstrate that:
— measures adopted under the sixth, seventh and ninth indents of
that Article are not receiving financial assistance from the
ERDF for rural areascovered by Objective 2 and in areasin
transition,
— measures are not covered by any other measure referred to in
Title II of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
B. Other information:
In particular, appraisal shall cover arrangements to ensure proper coor-
dination with the various authorities responsible for:
— development measures provided for under the market organisations,
— any rural development measures provided for under national legisla-
tion.
16.AdditionalStateaids
(Article 52 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999)
A. Main features:
Identify the measures to which additional financing will be granted in
the form of State aid (Article 52 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/
1999). The amount of additional support to be granted for each of the
measures concerned during each year covered by the plan should be
shown in an indicative table.
B. Other information:
— abolition of a State aid;
— changesto the additional financing in the form of State aid granted
for any of the measures in the programming document as approved;
— rate of aid.2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 33
▼M2
▼B
ANNEX III
CORRELATIONTABLE
ThisRegulation Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999
— Article 1
Article 1 Article 2Article 2 Article 3
Article 3 Article 4
Article 5 Article 5, first, second, and third
indents
Article 4 Article 5, fourth and fifth indents
Article 6 Article 6
Article 7 Article 7Article 8 Article 8Article 9 Article 9
Article 10 Article 10
Article 11 Article 11Article 12 Article 11aArticle 13 Article 12
Article 14 Article 13
Article 15 Article 14Article 16 Article 15Article 17 Article 16
Article 18(1) and (2) Article 17(1) and (2), first indent
Article 18(3) Article 17(2), second indentArticle 18(4) Article 17(3)Article 19 Article 18Article 20 Article 19
Article 21 Article 20
Article 22 Article 21Article 23 Article 22Article 24 Article 23
Article 25 Article 24
Article 26 Article 25Article 27 Article 262002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 34
▼B
ThisRegulation Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999
Article 28 Article 27
Article 29 Article 28Article 30 Article 29(1)
Article 31 Article 29(2)
Article 32 Article 29(3)Article 33 Article 30Article 34 Article 31(1)
Article 35(1) Article 31(2), first indent
Article 35(2) Article 31(2), second indentArticle 35(3) Article 31(2), third indentArticle 36 Article 31(2), fourth indent
Article 37 Article 31(3)
Article 38 Article 32Article 39 Article 32aArticle 40 Article 33(1)Article 41(1) Article 33(2)
Article 41(2) Article 33(2)a)
Article 41(3) Article 33(3)Article 42 Article 33(4)Article 43 Article 34
Article 44(1) Article 35(1)
Article 44(2) Article 35(2) first and second indentsArticle 44(3) Article 35(2) third indentArticle 44(5) Article 35(2) fourth indent
Article 45, first and second indents Article 35(3)
Article 46 Article 36Article 47 Article 37Article 48 Article 38
Article 49(1) Article 39(1)
Article 49(2) Article 39(1)aArticle 49(3) Article 39(2)Article 49(4) Article 39(3)Article 49(5) Article 39(4)2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 35
▼B
ThisRegulation Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999
Article 50 Article 39a
Article 51 Article 40Article 53 Article 41
Article 54 Article 42
Article 55 Article 43Article 56 Article 44Article 57 Article 45
Article 58 Article 46
Article 59 Article 47(1) and (2)Article 60 Article 47(3)Article 61 Article 47(4)
Article 62 Article 48(1)
Article 64 Article 48(2)Article 63 Article 48(3)— Article 49(1)Article 65 Article 49(2)
Annex I —
Annex II AnnexAnnex III —2002R0445 — EN — 12.06.2003 — 001.001 — 36