1977R1078 — EN — 02.07.1979 — 004.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No1078/77
of17May1977
introducing a system of premiums for the non-marketing of milk and milk products and for the
conversionofdairyherds
(OJ L 131, 26.5.1977, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EEC) No 506/78 of 7 March1978 L 69 2 11.3.1978
►M2Council Regulation (EEC) No 1041/78 of 22 May 1978 L 134 9 22.5.1978
►M3Council Regulation (EEC) No 640/79 of 29 March1979 L 82 2 31.3.1979
►M4Council Regulation (EEC) No 1270/79 of 25 June 1979 L 161 10 29.6.1979
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 275, 27.10.1977, p. 26 (1078/77)
▼B
COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No1078/77
of17May1977
introducing a system of premiums for the non-marketing of milk
andmilkproductsandfortheconversionofdairyherds
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Whereas the products covered by Council Regulation (EEC) No 804/68
of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in milk andmilk products (
3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 559/76 (4),
are at present substantially and increasingly in surplus; whereas it
therefore seems justified to encourage the trend noted among certaingroups of holdings in the Community to cease milk production, or themarketing of milk and milk products;
Whereas this aim may be achieved by granting premiums to farmers
who cease to market milk and milk products or who convert their dairy
herds to meat production; whereas, however, in the case of a MemberState where the increase of cattle numbers is difficult and consequentlydairy herds have already been considerably reduced, it may prove advi-sable to authorize that Member State not to apply the provisionsconcerning the non-marketing and conversion premium;
Whereas the amount of the premiums should be fixed at a level such
that they may be considered as some compensation for loss of incomefrom the marketing of the products in question; whereas it thereforeappears necessary to fix the amount of the premiums according to the
quantity of products marketed in 1976;
Whereas the total amount of the premiums granted to a holding should
be limited, so as to improve the structure of dairy farming on holdingsthat are economically more viable; whereas, however, provision shouldbe made for certain exceptions to these limits where the applicant is
taking part in a programme to eradicate brucellosis, tuberculosis and
leucosis;
Whereas to facilitate checks on compliance with the obligations arising
from the application of this Regulation, the premiums should be paid inseveral instalments;
Whereas these measures are designed on the one hand to restore the
balance on the market in the products concerned and therefore may beregarded as intervention within the meaning of Article 3 of CouncilRegulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of thecommon agricultural policy (
5), as last amended by Regulation (EEC)
No 2788/72 (6), and on the other to achieve the objectives set out in
Article 39 (1) (a) of the Treaty, including the changes necessary forthe proper working of the common market; whereas they thereforeconstitute common measures within the meaning of Article 6 of thesaid Regulation;
Whereas the Community financing of the expenditure should therefore
be provided by the Guidance and the Guarantee Sections of theEuropean Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund,1977R1078 — EN — 02.07.1979 — 004.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 93, 18. 4. 1977, p. 11.
(2) OJ No C 77, 30. 3. 1977, p. 15.
(3) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 13.
(4) OJ No L 67, 15. 3. 1976, p. 9.
(5) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.
(6) OJ No L 295, 3. 12. 1972, p. 1.
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Whereas, in order to facilitate the administrative and financial manage-
ment of the system of premiums, the dispositions laid down byCommission Regulation (EEC) No 2697/70 of 29 December 1970, on
the procedure for making Community funds available to Member
States under the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF(
1) and by Commis-
sion Regulation (EEC) No 1723/72 of 26 July 1972 on making upaccounts for the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund,Guarantee Section (
2) should be applied, by way of exception, to the
expenses financed by the Guidance Section; whereas, however, the
normal system of reimbursement by the EAGGF, Guidance Sectionmay, during a transitional period, be applied at the request of aMember State,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
Conditions for and amounts of the non-marketing and conversion
premiums
Article 1
1. On request applicants shall be granted at their option either a
premium for the non-marketing of milk and milk products (non-marketing premium) or a premium for the conversion of dairy herdsto meat production (conversion premium).
2. However, where it is established that in a Member State the
number of dairy cows has been reduced by more than 20 % between
1 January 1969 and 31 December 1975, that Member State shall beauthorized not to implement this Regulation.
Article 2
1. To obtain the non-marketing premium, each producer must satisfy
the competent authorities that he still has dairy cows on his holding in
numbers appropriate to the quantities of milk or the equivalent in milk
products delivered by him during the 12 calendar months preceding themonth of application. This condition must be satisfied on the date ofapproval of the application; failing this, the premium shall be reducedaccordingly.
2. The grant of the non-marketing premium shall be conditional
upon a written undertaking by the producer that:
(a) during the non-marketing period neither milk nor milk products
from his holding will be disposed of, whether for a considerationor free of charge;
(b) from the date on which the application is lodged until the end of
the non-marketing period:
— he will not allow his holding or any part thereof to be used by
others for dairy farming,
— he will not lease his dairy cattle or entrust them to others,
whether for a consideration or free of charge,
— he will not dispose of his dairy cattle except for slaughter or for
export.
The non-marketing period shall span five years and shall begin at the
latest at the end of the sixth month following the date on which theapplication was approved.
3. Producers who cease farming in accordance with Directive 72/
160/EEC (
3) and after completing a period of at least two years of1977R1078 — EN — 02.07.1979 — 004.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 285, 31. 12. 1970, p. 63.
(2) OJ No L 186, 16. 8. 1972, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 96, 23. 4. 1972, p. 9.▼M2
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non-marketing milk and milk products shall be relieved of the obliga-
tions laid down in paragraph2.
4. Producers who cease farming in accordance with Directive 72/
160/EEC and at the end of their third year of non-marketing of milk
and milk products shall be relieved of the obligations laid down inparagraph 2. In this case, the payment for the third year shall be equalto 37·5 % of the non-marketing premium and shall become due oncethe application submitted pursuant to the abovementioned Directivehas been approved and proof furnished to the competent authority that
the dairy cattle have been slaughtered.
5. In the cases referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, no sum received as
a non-marketing premium shall be repayable. Producers may not subse-quently receive a non-marketing premium.
Article 3
1. To obtain the conversion premium, the producer must satisfy the
competent authorities:
— that he has delivered at least 50 000 kilograms of milk or the
equivalent in milk products during the 12 calendar monthspreceding the month of application, that he still has an appropriatenumber of dairy cows on his holding,
or
— that he has at least 15 dairy cows, including in-calf heifers, on his
holding.
This condition must be satisfied on the date of approval of the applica-
tion; failing this, the premium shall be reduced accordingly.
2. The grant of the conversion premium shall be conditional upon an
undertaking by the producer that:
(a) during the conversion period, neither milk nor milk products from
his holding will be disposed of, whether for a consideration or freeof charge;
(b) from the date on which his application is lodged until the end of
the conversion period, he will comply with the conditions laiddown in the first subparagraph of Article 2 (2) (b);
(c) he will keep on his holding during the conversion period an
average number of bovine or ovine units equal to or greater than
the number kept on the same holding on the reference date.
The conversion period shall span four years and shall begin at the latest
at the end of the sixth month following the date of approval of theapplication.
3. In cases where the producer retains cows, to obtain the premium
he must also satisfy the competent authorities that he has so husbanded
his herd that, at the latest at the end of the third year after the date of
approval of the application, at least 80 % of the cows or in-calf heiferson the holding either possess the characteristics of one of the recog-nized meat-producing breeds or are cross-breeds sired by a bull eitherregistered in the herd book of one of those breeds or else with suffi-
cient guarantees of its capability to transmit the essential
characteristics of such breed to its progeny.
Article 4
1. The non-marketing premium shall be calculated on the basis of
the quantity of milk or its equivalent in milk products delivered bythe producer during the 12 calendar months preceding the month ofapplication.1977R1078 — EN — 02.07.1979 — 004.001 — 4
▼M2
▼B
▼M2
▼M2
The premium per 100 kilograms of the abovementioned quantity shall
be:
— 20 units of account for quantities up to and including 30 000 kilo-
grams,
— 18 units of account for quantities exceeding 30 000 kilograms and
up to and including 50 000 kilograms,
— 13·5 units of account for quantities exceeding 50 000 kilograms and
up to and including 120000 kilograms,
— 11 units of account for quantities exceeding 120000 kilograms.
50 % of the premium shall be paid during the first three months of the
non-marketing period.
The balance shall be paid in the third and fifth years in two equal
instalments of 25 % of the premium, provided the recipient satisfies
the competent authorities that the undertakings provided for in Article2 have been fulfilled.
2. The conversion premium shall be calculated in proportion to the
quantity of milk or its equivalent in milk products delivered by theproducer during the 12 calendar months preceding the month of appli-cation.
The premium per 100 kilograms of the abovementioned quantity shall
be:
— 17·5 units of account for quantities up to and including 120000
kilograms,
— 11 units of account for quantities exceeding 120000 kilograms.
However, the amount of the conversion premium may in no case be
lower than that obtained from the application of paragraph 1. 60 % ofthe premium shall be paid in the first three months of the conversion
period.
The balance shall be paid in the third and fourth years in two equal
instalments of 20 % of the premium, provided the recipient satisfies
the competent authorities that the undertakings provided for in Article
3 have been fulfilled.
3. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, the non-
marketing premium or the conversion premium shall, however, be
paid on irrevocable election by the producer according to the type of
premium in five or four successive equal annual instalments. In thiscase, the recipient must prove to the competent authorities, before thethird and any further instalments are paid, that the undertakingsprovided for in Article 2 or 3 have been fulfilled; in the case referred
to in Article 2 (4), the final payment in the third year shall then be
47·5 % instead of 37·5 % of the non-marketing premium.
4. The two premiums shall be added to aid granted in connection
withprogrammes to eradicate brucellosis, tuberculosis and leucosis.
TITLE II
General andfinancialprovisions
Article 5
For the purposes of this Regulation:
(a) ‘Producer’ shall mean:
— a farmer, whether a natural or a legal person, whose holding is
located in the territory of the Community and who raises cattle,
— a group of natural or legal persons who jointly operate means of
agricultural production to raise cattle in the territory of theCommunity;
(b) ‘Holding’ shall mean:
all the production units managed by the producer and located in the
territory of the Community.1977R1078 — EN — 02.07.1979 — 004.001 — 5
▼B
▼B
Article 6
1. Any person who takes over an agricultural holding may undertake
in writing to continue to carry out the undertakings given by his prede-cessor.
In such case, the sums already paid shall remain the property of the
latter and the balance shall be paid to his successor.
Otherwise, the sums already paid shall be refunded by the predecessor.
2. Where only part of a holding is transferred, the applicant shall
retain his right to the premium if the person to whom he has transferredthe property undertakes in writing to continue to fulfil the undertakingsentered into by his predecessor. Otherwise, a proportion of the sumsalready paid shall be refunded by the predecessor, such proportion to
be calculated by reference to the area under forage transferred.
Article 7
The following shall be laid down in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 30 of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68:
(a) the time limit for submitting applications for the granting of
premiums;
(b) a definition of the terms ‘in numbers appropriate’ and ‘corre-
sponding quantities’ in Articles 2 (1) and 3 (1);
(c) the conditions relating to the recognition of breeds referred to in
Article 3 (3);
(d) a definition of the term ‘equivalent in milk products’ in the first
subparagraphof Article 4 (1);
(e) rules for verifying that undertakings arising from the grant of the
premium have been fulfilled;
(f) the equivalences to be used in calculating adult bovine and ovine
units;
(g) the conditions for the retention, in exceptional circumstances, of
sums already paid, in particular where the recipient ceases farming;
(h) a tolerance margin to be used in calculating the average number
referred to in Article 3 (2) (c);
(i) the definition of the term ‘area under forage’ in Article 6 (2);(j) the other detailed rules for implementing Articles 1 to 6.
Article 8
1. By way of derogation from Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/
70, 60 % of the expenditure arising out of the measures provided for inthis Regulation shall be financed by the Guarantee Section of theEAGGF. In addition, the Guidance Section of the EAGGF shall refund
to the Member States 40 % of the eligible expenditure.
2. With particular reference to the expenditure chargeable to the
Guarantee Section and the Guidance Section of the EAGGF, themeasures shall, respectively, be considered as intervention within the
meaning of Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 and constitute
common measures within the meaning of Article 6 (1) of the sameRegulation.
Article 9
The total estimated cost of the common measures chargeable to the
Guidance Section of the EAGGF is ►
M2330 million units of
account◄.►M4The measures provided for in this Regulation shall
be applied until the end of the 1979/80 milk year only. ◄
Article 10
For that part of the expenses financed by the EAGGF, Guidance
Section, the detailed rules for the financial application of the common1977R1078 — EN — 02.07.1979 — 004.001 — 6
▼B
measures shall, by way of exception, be those laid down by Regula-
tions (EEC) No 2697/70 and (EEC) No 1723/72.
However, during 1977, the system of reimbursements shall be applied
thereto at the request of a Member State. The request for reimburse-
ment from that Member State shall concern the expenses incurredduring that year and shall be submitted to the Commission before 1July of the following year.
The Commission shall decide on the request in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
Article 11
1. Without prejudice to the provisions adopted pursuant to Article 7
(g), the Member States shall, subject to Article 8 of Regulation (EEC)No 729/70, take the measures necessary for the recovery of premiums
already paid, in cases where the undertakings provided for have not
been fulfilled.
They shall inform the Commission of the measures taken, and in parti-
cular shall notify it periodically of the position as regardsadministrative and judicial proceedings relating thereto.
2. Sums recovered shall be reimbursed to the agencies or depart-
ments which made the payments and deducted by them from the
expenditure financed respectively by the Guarantee and Guidance
Sections of the EAGGF and in proportion to the amount financed bythe Community.
3. Where it is impossible to recover sums paid, the financial conse-
quences shall be borne by the Guarantee and Guidance Sections of theEAGGF in proportion to their financial participation.
4. Interest may be charged on sums to be recovered.
Article 12
Where necessary, detailed rules for the application of Articles 8 to 11
shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
13 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
Article 13
1. By 31 January ►
M41980◄at the latest, the Commission shall
submit to the Council and the European Parliament, on the basis of the
information supplied by the Member States, a report on the operationof the premium system.
2. After examining this report, the Council, acting by a qualified
majority on a proposal from the Commission, may decide, in the lightof experience and of economic trends in the sectors in question, to
maintain or to amend the premium system and to adapt its period of
application and the total estimated cost accordingly.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1977R1078 — EN — 02.07.1979 — 004.001 — 7