1999R1251 — EN — 28.12.1999 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)No 1251/1999
of 17 May 1999
establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops
(OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Council Regulation (EC) No 2704/1999 of 14 December 1999 L 327 12 21.12.1999
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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)No 1251/1999
of 17 May 1999
establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Articles 36 and 37 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (4),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Court of Auditors (5),
(1) Whereas the common agricultural policy aims to attain the objec-
tives referred to in Article 33 of the Treaty, taking account of themarket situation;
(2) Whereas, in order to ensure better market balance, a new schemeof support was introduced by Council Regulation (EEC)No 1765/92 of 30 June 1992 establishing a support system forproducers of certain arable crops (
6);
(3) Whereas, after the 1992 reform of the common agriculturalpolicy, there has been a particular improvement of marketbalances;
(4) Whereas set-aside under the support system for producers ofcertain arable crops, introduced in 1992 in addition to a loweringof the intervention price, has helped to keep production undercontrol, while increased price competitiveness has allowed signif-icant additional cereals quantities to be used on the domesticmarket, mainly for animal feed;
(5) Whereas the support on the basis of the scheme introduced in1992 should be continued, taking into account, however, marketdevelopments and experience acquired in applying the currentscheme;
(6) Whereas Member States may, under certain conditions, makegrass silage eligible for area payments under this regime;
(7) Whereas the reform of the support scheme has to take intoaccount the international obligations of the Community;
(8) Whereas the best way to achieve market balance is to approxi-mate the Community prices of cereals to the prices on the worldmarket and to provide for non-crop specific area payments;
(9) Whereas area payments should be revised if the market condi-tions differ from those currently foreseen;
(10) Whereas the area eligible should be restricted to the area down toarable crops or publicly funded set aside in the past;
(1) OJ C 170, 4.6.1998, p. 4.
(2) Opinion delivered on 6 May 1999 (notyetpublished in t he Official
Journal).
(3) OJ C 284, 14.9.1998, p. 55.
(4) OJ C 93, 6.4.1999, p. 1.
(5) OJ C 401, 22.12.1998, p. 3.
(6) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 12. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1624/98 (OJ L 210, 28.7.1998, p. 3).
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(11) Whereas, when the sum of the areas for which payment is
claimed under the scheme is in excess of the base area, a reduc-tion of the eligible area per farm should be provided for in orderto ensure market balance;
(12) Whereas Member States may apply one or more national baseareas; whereas it is considered appropriate that the MemberStates which choose this option should be able to divide eachnational base area into sub-base areas; whereas, when a nationalbase area has been exceeded, the Member State concerned shouldbe allowed to concentrate the application of the measures totallyor partially on those areas for which the overshoot has beennoted;
(13) Whereas area payments should reflect the specific structural char-acteristics that influence yield; whereas the drawing up of aregionalisation plan based on objective criteria should be left tothe Member States; whereas uniform average yields should beestablished by the regionalisation plans; whereas these plansshould be consistent with the average yields of each regionachieved in a given period, taking into account any structuraldifferences between production regions; whereas a specificprocedure should be provided in order to examine these plans atCommunity level;
(14) Whereas differentiation of yields may be permitted for irrigatedand non-irrigated areas provided that a separate base area forirrigated crops is established and there is no extension of the totalbase area;
(15) Whereas maize has a differentyield which dist inguishes itfromother cereals and therefore may justify a separate treatment;
(16) Whereas, in order to calculate the area payment, a basic amountper tonne should be multiplied by the ‘average cereals yield'determined for the region concerned; whereas when differentyields for maize and for other cereals are fixed, separate baseareas for maize should be established;
(17) Whereas a single basic amountshould be fixed for arable crops;whereas the basic amounts per tonne should be increased takinginto account the reduction in several steps in the cereals interven-tion price; whereas a specific aid should be established forprotein crops in order to preserve their competitiveness withcereals;
(18) Whereas in the case of a final reduction in intervention price thebasic amount shall be increased applying the same compensationrate as that used in the 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 marketingyears;
(19) Whereas a special scheme for durum wheatshould be est ablishedto ensure a durum wheat production level which is sufficient tosupply user industries while keeping budgetary expenditure incheck; whereas that objective should be achieved by introducinga supplement limited, for each Member State concerned, to amaximum area of durum wheat; whereas any overshoot of thoseareas should lead to an adjustment to the applications submitted;
(20) Whereas, moreover, in some Member States, the production ofdurum wheat is well established in regions outside traditionalzones; whereas it is desirable to safeguard a certain level ofproduction in those regions by the grant of special aid;
(21) Whereas, in order to benefit from the area payments, producersshould set aside a predetermined percentage of their arable area;whereas the land set aside should be cared for so as to meetcertain minimum environmental standards; whereas the areas setaside should also be eligible for use for non-food purposes,provided effective control systems can be applied;
(22) Whereas in the current market situation, the set-aside requirementshould be reduced to 10 % for the period 2000-2006; whereas
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this percentage should be re-examined to take account of produc-
tion and market developments;
(23) Whereas the set-aside obligation should be subject to duecompensation; whereas the compensation should be equivalent tothe area payments for cereals;
(24) Whereas no set-aside requirement should be imposed for smallproducers whose claim for area payments is below a certain level,whereas this level should be fixed;
(25) Whereas for voluntary set-aside, producers may be granted set-aside payment for land additionally set-aside; whereas amaximum area limit should be fixed by Member States;
(26) Whereas area payments should be paid once a year for a givenarea; whereas areas not cultivated immediately before the entryinto force of the scheme established by Regulation (EEC)No 1765/92 should not be eligible for payment; whereas to takeaccount of certain specific situations, where this provision isunduly restrictive, certain derogations should be permitted to bemanaged by the Member States;
(27) Whereas it is necessary to determine certain conditions forapplying for area payments and to specificy when producersshould be paid;
(28) Whereas payment dates should be fixed in order to ensure aneven distribution of arable crops sales during the marketing year;
(29) Whereas sowing dates should be adapted to natural conditions inthe different production areas;
(30) Whereas it is necessary to provide for transitional rules in orderto abolish crop specific payments for oilseeds from the 2002/2003 marketing year onwards; whereas some of the existingprovisions in this sector have to be maintained taking intoaccount the international obligations of the Community;
(31) Whereas expenditure incurred by the Member States as a resultof the obligations arising out of the application of this Regulationshould be financed by the Community in accordance withArticles 1 and 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/99 of17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agriculturalpolicy (
1);
(32) Whereas it is necessary to provide for transitional measures andto enable the Commission to adopt, if necessary, additional trans-itional measures;
(33) Whereas the adaptations to the arable crops support systemshould be introduced as from the marketing year 2000/2001;
(34) Whereas, in view of the present adaptations to the current supportscheme and to previous modifications, it is appropriate, forreasons of clarity, to replace Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 by anew Regulation,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. This Regulation hereby establishes a system of area payments for
producers of arable crops.
(1) See page 103 of this Official Journal.
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2. For the purposes of this Regulation:
— the marketing year shall run from 1 July to 30 June,
— ‘arable crops' are taken to mean those listed in Annex I.
3. Member States where maize is not a traditional crop may make
grass silage eligible for the arable crops area payments, under the sameconditions as those applicable for arable crops.
CHAPTER I
Article 2
1. Community producers of arable crops may apply for an area
payment under the conditions set out in this Regulation.
2. The area paymentshall be fixed on a per hect are basis and
regionally differentiated.
The area payment shall be granted for the area which is down to arable
crops or subject to set-aside in accordance with Article 6 and whichdoes not exceed a regional base area. This is established as the averagenumber of hectares within a region down to arable crops or, whereappropriate, fallow in conformity with a publicly funded scheme during1989, 1990 and 1991. A region in this sense shall be understood tomean a Member State or a region within the Member State, at theoption of the Member State concerned.
3. Producers applying for t he area paymentshall be subjectt o an
obligation to set aside part of the land of their holding from productionand shall receive compensation for this obligation.
4. When the sum of the areas for which payment is claimed under
the arable crops’ scheme, including the set-aside provided for under thatscheme, is in excess of the base area, the eligible area per farmer shallbe reduced proportionately for all the payments granted under thisRegulation in the region in question, during the same marketing year.
Areas which are not the subject of an application for payment under this
Regulation but are used to support an application for aid under CouncilRegulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organ-isation of the market in beef and veal (
1) shall also be taken into account
for the calculation of areas for which payment is claimed.
5. If a Member State makes grass silage eligible for the arable crops
area payments, a separate base area shall be defined. If the base area forarable crops or grass silage is not reached in a given marketing year, thebalance of hectares shall be allocated for the same marketing year to thecorresponding base area.
6. Where a Member State has chosen to establish one or more
national base areas, it may subdivide each national base area intosub-base areas according to objective criteria to be defined by theMember State.
For the purposes of applying this paragraph, the ‘Secano' and ‘Regadío'
base areas shall be considered as national base areas.
Where there is an overshoot of a national base area, the Member State
concerned may, in accordance with objective criteria, concentrate themeasure applicable under paragraph 4 totally or partially on the sub-base areas for which the overshoot has been noted.
Member States which have decided to apply the possibilities provided
for in this paragraph, shall notify producers and the Commission by15 September of their choices and the detailed rules for their applica-tion.
(1) See page 21 of this Official Journal.
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Article 3
1. For the purpose of setting average yields to be used for calculation
of the area payment, each Member State shall establish a regionalisationplan setting out the relevant objective criteria for determination of theseparate production regions in order to arrive at distinct homogeneousareas.
With this in mind, Member States shall take due account of specific
situations in drawing up their regionalisation plans. They may in partic-ular adjust average yields in line with any structural differences betweenproduction regions.
2. Member States may also apply a different yield figure for maize
than for other cereals in their regionalisation plans.
(a) Where the yield for maize is higher than for other cereals, a base
area, as referred to in Article 2(2), shall be established separatelyfor maize, covering one or more maize production regions, at thechoice of the Member State.
Member States may also, in the regions in question, establish sepa-
rate base areas for arable crops other than maize. In such cases, ifthe base area for maize is not reached in a given marketing year, thebalance of hectares shall be allocated for the same marketing yearto the corresponding base area for arable crops other than maize.
(b) Where the yield for maize is equal to or less than that for other
cereals, a base area may also be established separately for maize inaccordance with point (a). In such cases and if the Member Stateschooses to establish a base area for ‘arable crops other than maize':
— if the base area for ‘maize' is not reached in a given marketing
year, the balance of hectares shall be allocated for the samemarketing year to the corresponding base areas for other crops,
— if the base area for ‘arable crops other than maize'is not reached
in a given marketing year, the balance of hectares shall beallocated for the same marketing year to the base area for‘maize' concerned.
Should these base areas be exceeded, Article 2(4) shall apply.3. Member States may in their regionalisation plans set different
yields for irrigated and non-irrigated land. In that case, Member Statesshall establish a separate base area for areas bearing irrigated crops.
The irrigated base area shall be equal to the average area irrigated from
1989 to 1991 with a view to harvesting arable crops including theincreases made pursuant to Article 3(1), fourth subparagraph, lastsentence of Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92. However, the irrigated basearea in Portugal shall be progressively increased by up to 60 000 ha, forthose areas where it has been established that investment in irrigationbegan after 1 August 1992. This increase may be added partially ortotally to the irrigated maize base area as referred to in Article 3(2).
The establishment of the irrigated base area must not lead to any
increase in the total base area of the Member State concerned. Shouldthe irrigated base area be exceeded, Article 2(4) shall apply.
If the irrigated base area is not reached in a given marketing year, the
balance of hectares shall be allocated for the same marketing year to thecorresponding non-irrigated base area.
4. The regionalisation plan shall in all cases ensure that the average
yield of the Member State concerned established for the period and inaccordance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 5 is respected.
5. For each production region, the Member State shall give details of
the areas and yields of arable crops produced in that region during thefive-year period 1986/1987 to 1990/1991. Average cereals yields shallbe separately calculated for each region by excluding the year with thehighest and the year with the lowest yield during that period.
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However, this obligation may be fulfilled in the case of:
— Portuguese cereals by providing data having been supplied pursuant
to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3653/90 of 11 December 1990introducing transitional measures governing the common organ-isation of the market in cereals and rice in Portugal (
1),
— the five new German Länder by providing the average crop yield
applicable in the other German Länder,
— Italy and Spain by fixing the reference yield at 3,9 tonnes/hectare
and 2,9 tonnes/hectare respectively.
If a Member State decides to treat:
— maize separately from other cereals, the average cereals yield, which
shall not be altered, shall be broken down between maize and othercereals,
— irrigated land separately from non-irrigated land, the corresponding
average yield, which shall notbe alt ered, shall be broken downbetween the two types.
6. Member States shall submit their regionalisation plan to the
Commission by 1 August 1999 together with all necessary supportinginformation. In order to fulfil this obligation, they may refer to theirregionalisation plan submitted to the Commission in accordance withRegulation (EEC) No 1765/92.
The Commission shall examine the regionalisation plans submitted by
the Member States and shall ensure that each plan is based on appro-priate, objective criteria and is consistent with available historical infor-mation. The Commission may object to plans that are not compatiblewith the aforementioned relevant criteria in particular with the averageyield of the Member State. In this case the plans shall be subject toadjustment by the Member State concerned after consultation with theCommission.
The regionalisation plan may be revised by the Member State concerned
at the request of the Commission or at the initiative of that MemberState in accordance with the same procedure as outlined in this Article.
7. Should a Member State, pursuant to paragraph 1, choose to estab-
lish production regions the demarcation of which does not correspond tothat of regional base areas, it shall send the Commission a summarystatement of payment applications and the yields pertaining to these. Ifit emerges from this information that, in a Member State, the averageyield resulting from the regionalisation plan applied in 1993 or, in thecase of Austria, Finland and Sweden, the average yield resulting fromthe plan applied in 1995 or, in the case of Italy and Spain the yield asfixed in Article 3(5) is exceeded, all payments to be made in thatMember State for the following marketing year shall be reduced inproportion to the overrun which has been recorded. However, thisprovision shall not apply where the quantity for which applications weremade, expressed in tonnes of cereals, does not exceed that resultingfrom the product of the total base areas of the Member State by theaforementioned average yield.
Member States may decide to ascertain whether there has been any
exceeding of the average yield for each base area. In such cases, theprovisions of this paragraph shall be applied to the payments to be paidin each base area concerned.
Article 4
1. Without prejudice to Article 10, the area payment shall be calcu-
lated by multiplying the basic amount per tonne by the average cerealyield determined in the regionalisation plan for the region concerned.
(1) OJ L 362, 27.12.1990, p. 28. Regulation as amended by Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1664/95 (OJ L 158, 8.7.1995, p. 13).
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2. The calculation mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be made using theaverage cereals yield. However, where maize is treated separately, the‘maize' yield shall be used for maize and the ‘cereals other than maize'yield shall be used for cereals, oilseeds and linseed.
3. The basic amountshall be fixed as follows:for protein crops:
— EUR 72,50/t from the 2000/2001 marketing year onwards;
for cereals, grass silage and set-aside:
— EUR 58,67/t for the 2000/2001 marketing year,
— EUR 63,00/t from the 2001/2002 marketing year onwards;
for linseed:
— EUR 88,26/t for the 2000/2001 marketing year,
— EUR 75,63/t for the 2001/2002 marketing year,— EUR 63,00/t from the 2002/2003 marketing year onwards;
for oilseeds:
— EUR 63,00/t from the 2002/2003 marketing year onwards.
The amountof EUR 63/tmay be increased from t he 2002/2003
marketing year onwards in the light of a final reduction in the interven-tion price for cereals provided for in Article 3(4) of Regulation (EEC)No 1766/92.
This increase in area payments will bear the same proportion to the
intervention price reduction as that applicable in 2000/2001 and 2001/2002.
4. In Finland and in Sweden north of the 62nd Parallel and some
adjacent areas affected by comparable climatic conditions renderingagricultural activity particularly difficult a supplementary amount to thearea payment of EUR 19/t, multiplied by the yield utilised for the areapayments, shall be applied for cereals and oilseeds.
Article 5
A supplement to the area payment of EUR 344,50 per hectare shall be
paid for the area down to durum wheat in the traditional productionzones listed in Annex II, subject to the limits fixed in Annex III.
Should the total of the areas for which a supplement to the area
payment is claimed be greater than the limit referred to above duringthe course of a marketing year, the area per producer for which thesupplement may be paid shall be reduced proportionately.
However, subject to the limits per Member State laid down in
Annex III, Member States may distribute the areas indicated in thatAnnex among the production zones as defined in Annex II, or, ifnecessary, the production regions referred to in Article 3, according tothe extent of the production of durum wheat during the period 1993 to1997. Where this is done, should the total of the areas within a regionfor which a supplement to the area payment is requested be greater thanthe corresponding regional limit during the course of a marketing year,the area per producer in that production region for which the supple-ment may be paid shall be reduced proportionately. The reduction shallbe made when, within a Member State, the areas in regions, which havenot reached their regional limits, have been distributed to regions inwhich those limits have been exceeded.
In regions where the production of durum wheat is well established,
other than those referred to in Annex II, special aid amounting toEUR 138,90 per hectare shall be granted up to a limit of the number ofhectares laid down in Annex IV.
Article 6
1. The set-aside obligation for each producer applying for area
payments shall be fixed as a proportion of his area down to arable crops
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and for which a claim is made and left in set-aside pursuant to this
Regulation.
The basic rate of compulsory set-aside is fixed at 10 % from the
2000/2001 marketing year up to the 2006/2007 marketing year.
2. Member States shall apply appropriate environmental measures
which correspond to the specific situation of the land set-aside.
3. The land set-aside may be used for the provision of materials for
the manufacture within the Community of products not primarilyintended for human or animal consumption, provided that effectivecontrol systems are applied.
Member States shall be authorised to pay national aid up to 50 % of the
costs associated with establishing multiannual crops intended for bio-mass production on set-aside land.
▼
M1
If the quantity of by-products for feed or food uses likely to be madeavailable as a result of the cultivation of oilseeds on land set-asideunder the first subparagraph will, on the basis of the forecast quantitiescovered by contracts made with producers, exceed 1 million metrictonnes annually expressed in soya bean meal equivalents, in order tolimit such quantity to 1 million metric tonnes, the amount of theforecast quantity under each contract, which may be used for feed orfood uses, shall be reduced.
▼
B
4. Where different yields are set for irrigated and non-irrigated land,the payment for set-aside for non-irrigated land apply. In the case ofPortugal, payment shall take account of the aid granted under Regula-tion (EEC) No 3653/90.
5. Producers may be granted the set-aside payment on land volun-
tarily set aside in excess of their obligation. Member States shall allowfarmers to set-aside up to at least 10 % of the area down to arable cropsand for which a paymentapplicat ion is made, and leftin set -asidepursuant to this Regulation. Higher percentages may be set by aMember State taking into account specific situations and ensuring suffi-cientoccupat ion of farmland.
6. The set-aside payment may be granted on a multiannual basis for a
period up to five years.
7. Producers who make a paymentapplicat ion for an area no bigger
than the area which would be needed to produce 92 tonnes of cereals,on the basis of the yields determined for their region, are not bound bythe set-aside obligation. Paragraphs 5 and 6 shall apply to these produ-cers.
8. Without prejudice to Article 7, areas:
— set aside pursuant to agri-environment (Articles 22 to 24 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for ruraldevelopment from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guar-antee Fund (EAGGF) and amending certain Regulations (
1), which
are neither put to any agricultural use nor used for any lucrativepurposes other than those accepted for other land set aside underthis Regulation, or
— afforested pursuant to afforestation (Article 31 of Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999,
as a result of an application made after 28 June 1995, may, up to any
limit per holding which may be set by the Member State concerned, becounted as being set aside for the purposes of the set-aside requirementindicated in paragraph 1. Such limit shall be set only to the extentnecessary to avoid a disproportionate amount of the available budget
(1) Sea page 80 of this Official Journal.
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relating to the scheme in question being concentrated on a small number
of farms.
However, on these areas, the area payment specified in Article 4 shall
not be granted and the support granted under Article 24(1), orArticle 31(1), second indent of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (ruraldevelopment regulation) shall be limited to an amount equal at most tot he area paymentfor setaside specified in Art icle 4(3).
Member States may decide not to apply the scheme provided for in this
paragraph to a new applicant in any region in which there is acontinuing risk of a significant overshoot of the regional base area.
Article 7
Applications for payments may not be made in respect of land that on
31 December 1991 was under permanentpast ure, permanentcrops ortrees or was used for non-agricultural purposes.
Member States may, on terms to be determined, depart from these
provisions under certain specific circumstances, in particular for areassubject to restructuring programmes or for areas subject to standardrotations of multiannual arable crops with those crops listed in Annex I.In such cases, they shall take action to prevent any significant increasein the total eligible agricultural area. This may in particular involvedeeming previously eligible areas ineligible as an offsetting measure.
Member States may also depart from the provisions of the first subpara-
graph under certain specific circumstances relating to one or other formof public intervention where such intervention results in a farmergrowing crops on land previously regarded as ineligible in order tocontinue his normal agricultural activity and the intervention in questionmeans that land originally eligible ceases to be so with the result thatthe total amount of eligible land is not increased significantly.
Moreover, Member States may, in certain cases not covered by the
previous two subparagraphs, depart from the first subparagraph if theyprovide proof in a plan submitted to the Commission that the totalamountof eligible land remains unchanged.
Article 8
1. Payments shall be made between 16 November and 31 January
following the harvest. However, where Article 6(3) applies, areapayments for the land set aside shall be paid between 16 November and31 March.
2. In order to qualify for the area payment, a producer shall by
31 May at the latest preceding the relevant harvest have sown the seedand by 15 May at the latest have lodged an application.
3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to remind appli-
cants of the need to respect environmental legislation.
Article 9
Detailed rules for the application of this Chapter shall be adopted in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23 of CouncilRegulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organ-isation of the market in cereals (
1) and in particular:
— those relating to the establishment and management of base areas,
— those relating to the establishment of production regionalisation
plans,
(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21. Regulation as last amended by Commission
Regulation (EC) No 923/96 (OJ L 126, 24.5.1996, p. 37).
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— those relating to grass silage,
— those relating to the granting of the area payment,— those relating to the minimum area eligible for payment; such rules
shall take particular account of the monitoring requirements and ofthe desired effectiveness of the scheme in question,
— those determining, for durum wheat, the eligibility for the supple-
ment to the area payment referred to in Article 5 and the eligibilityrequirements for the special aid referred to in that Article, and inparticular determination of the regions to be taken into considera-tion,
— those relating to set-aside, in particular those relating to Article 6(3);
these conditions may include the growing of products withoutcompensation,
— those relating to the conditions for applying Article 7; these condi-
tions shall specify under what circumstances the provisions ofArticle 7 may be waived and Member States’ obligation to referenvisaged action to the Commission for approval,
— those relating to compliance with the Memorandum of Under-
standing on certain oil seeds between the European EconomicCommunity and the United States of America within the frameworkof the GATT approved by Decision 93/355/EEC (
1).
According to the same procedure, the Commission may:
— either make the granting of payments subject to the use of specific
seeds, certified seeds in the case of durum wheat, certain varieties inthe cases of oilseeds, durum wheat and linseeds or provide for thepossibility for Member States to make the granting of paymentssubject to such conditions,
— allow the dates in Article 8(2) to be varied in certain zones where
exceptional climatic conditions render the normal dates inapplicable,
— allow Member States, subject to the budgetary situation, to
authorise, by way of derogation from Article 8(1), payments prior to16 November in certain regions, of up to 50 % of the area paymentsand of the payment for set-aside in years in which exceptionalclimatic conditions have so reduced yields that producers facesevere financial difficulties.
CHAPTER II
Article 10
1. For the 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 marketing years the area
payments for oilseeds are calculated by multiplying the followingamounts by the average cereals yield determined in the regionalisationplan in the region concerned:
— EUR 81,74/t for the 2000/2001 marketing year,
— EUR 72,37/t for the 2001/2002 marketing year.
However, Member States shall have the possibility of continuing to fix
the oilseeds payments on the basis of historical regional oilseeds yield.In that case the yield shall be multiplied by 1,95.
2. For the 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 marketing years, a maximum
guaranteed area (MGA) shall be established for the crop-specificoilseeds area payments of 5 482 000 hectares, reduced by the rate ofcompulsory set-aside applicable for that marketing year, or by 10 % ifthat rate is less than 10 %. If after the application of Article 2 themaximum guaranteed area is exceeded, the Commission shall reduce theamounts referred to in paragraph 1, in accordance with the provisions ofparagraphs 3 and 4.
3. If the area of oilseeds already determined as eligible for crop
specific oilseeds area payments in any year exceeds the MGAs, theCommission shall reduce, by 1 % for each percentage point by which
(1) OJ L 147, 18.6.1993, p. 25.
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the MGA is exceeded, the basic amount for that year. If the MGA isexceeded by more than a threshold percentage, special rules shall apply.Up to the threshold percentage, the reduction of the amount shall beuniform in all Member States. Beyond the threshold percentage, appro-priate additional reductions shall apply in those Member States thathave exceeded the national reference areas set out in Annex V, reducedby the rate referred to in paragraph 4. However, in the case of Germanythe appropriate additional reduction may be adjusted at its request, inwhole or in part, according to the regional base area; where this optionis exercised, Germany shall immediately send the Commission the dataused to calculate the reductions to be applied.
The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92, establish the size anddistribution of the appropriate reductions to be applied and shall, inparticular, ensure that the weighted average reduction for theCommunity as a whole is equal to the percentage by which the MGAhas been exceeded.
4. The threshold percentage provided for in paragraph 3 should be
0% .
5. If the oilseeds area payment is reduced in accordance with the
provisions in paragraphs 3 and 4, the Commission shall reduce therelevant basic amounts for the following marketing year by the samepercentage unless the MGA is not exceeded in that year, in which casethe commission may determine that such a reduction shall not apply.
6. If the MGA for the Community is exceeded in 2000/2001
marketing year, the percentage of reduction of the regional referenceamounts applied for the 1999/2000 marketing year shall be applied bythe Commission to the relevant basic amount for the 2000/2001marketing year by the same percentage.
7. Notwithstanding the provisions in this Article, Member States in
which there is a significant risk of the National Reference Area set outin Annex V being substantially exceeded in the following marketingyear may limitt he area for which an individual producer may receivethe oilseed area payments referred to in this article. Such limit shall becalculated as a percentage of the arable land area, of either the MemberState or the regional base area, that is eligible for the area paymentsprovided for in this Regulation and shall be applied to the eligiblearable area of the producer. This limit may be differentiated betweenregional base areas or sub-base areas on the basis of objective criteria.Member States shall announce such limit, at the latest, by 1 August ofthe marketing year prior to that in respect of which the area payment isrequested, or by an earlier date in the case of a Member State, orregions within a Member State, where plantings for the marketing yearconcerned take place prior to 1 August.
8. The reduction resulting from the overshoot of the MGA, applied
in accordance with the provisions of this Article, cannot lead to anamountless t han:
— EUR 58,67/t for the 2000/2001 marketing year,
— EUR 63,00/t for the 2001/2002 marketing year.
9. Producers of confectionery sunflower seed, sown for harvest, shall
be excluded from the benefit of the support provided for under theterms of this article.
10. Within two years from the application of the present article the
Commission will submit a report to the Council on the development onthe oilseeds market. If necessary this report will be accompanied byappropriate proposals should the production potential deteriorate seri-ously.
Article 11
The amounts of the area payments and the payment for set-aside as well
as the percentage area to be set aside fixed in this Regulation may bechanged in the light of developments in production, productivity and the
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markets, according to the procedure laid down in Article 37(2) of theTreaty.
Article 12
Should specific measures be necessary to facilitate the transition from
the system in force to that established by this Regulation, such measuresshall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down inArticle 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92.
Article 13
The measures defined in this Regulation shall be deemed to be interven-
tion intended to stabilise agricultural markets within the meaning ofArticle 1(2)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999.
Article 14
Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 and Regulation (EEC) No 1872/94 are
hereby repealed.
Article 15
1. This Regulation shall enter into force seven days after its publica-
tion in theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
2. This Regulation shall apply from the 2000/2001 marketing year
onwards.
3. Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 and Regulation (EEC) No 1872/94
shall continue to be applied in relation to the 1998/1999 and 1999/2000marketing years.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.
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ANNEX I
DEFINITION OF PRODUCTS
CN code Description
I. CEREALS
1001 10 00 Durum wheat
1001 90 Other wheat and meslin other than
durum wheat
1002 00 00 Rye
1003 00 Barley
1004 00 00 Oats
1005 Maize
1007 00 Grain sorghum
1008 Buckwheat, millet and canary seed;
other cereals
0709 90 60 Sweetcorn
II. OILSEEDS
1201 00 Soya beans
ex 1205 00 Rape seed
ex 1206 00 10 Sunflower seed
III. PROTEIN CROPS
0713 10 Peas
0713 50 Field beans
ex 1209 29 50 Sweetlupins
IV. FLAX
other than fibre flax
ex 1204 00 Linseed
(Linumusitatissimum L.)
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ANNEX II
TRADITIONAL PRODUCTION ZONES FOR DURUM WHEAT
GREECE
Nomoi (prefectures) of the following regions
Central GreecePeloponneseIonian IslandsThessalyMacedoniaAegean IslandsThrace
SPAIN
Provinces
Almería
BadajozBurgosCádizCórdobaGranadaHuelvaJaénMálagaNavarraSalamancaSevilleToledoZamoraZaragoza
AUSTRIA
Pannonia
FRANCE
Regions
Midi-Pyrénées
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’AzurLanguedoc-Roussillon
Departments (*)
Ardèche
Drôme
ITALY
Regions
Abruzzo
BasilicataCalabria
(*) Each of these departments may be linked to one of the abovementioned regions.
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Campania
LatiumMarchesMoliseUmbriaApuliaSardiniaSicilyTuscany
PORTUGAL
Districts
Santarém
LisbonSetúbalPortalegreÉvoraBejaFaro
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ANNEX III
MAXIMUM GUARANTEED AREAS IN RECEIPT OF THE SUPPLE-
MENT TO THE AREA PAYMENT FOR DURUM WHEAT
(hectares)
Greece 617 000
Spain 594 000France 208 000Italy 1 646 000Austria 7 000Portugal 118 000
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ANNEX IV
MAXIMUM GUARANTEED AREAS IN RECEIPT OF THE SPECIAL
AID FOR DURUM WHEAT
(hectares)
Germany 10 000
Spain 4 000France 50 000Italy 4 000United Kingdom 5 000
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(in 1000 hectares)
CountryFor the 2000/2001 and
2001/2002 marketing yearsANNEX V
NATIONAL REFERENCE AREA
Belgium 6
Denmark 236
Germany 929
Greece 26
Spain 1 168
France 1 730
Ireland 5
Italy 542
Luxembourg 2
Netherlands 7
Austria 147
Portugal 93
Finland 70
Sweden 137
United Kingdom 385