1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No270/79
of6February1979
onthedevelopmentofagricultural advisoryservicesinItaly
(OJ L 38, 14.2.1979, p. 6)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EEC) No 3768/85 of 20 December 1985 L 362 8 31.12.1985
►M2Council Regulation (EEC) No 1760/87 of 15 June 1987 L 167 1 26.6.1987
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COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No270/79
of6February1979
onthedevelopmentofagricultural advisoryservicesinItaly
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 (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas, if effective and balanced implementation of the common
agricultural policy in Italy is to remedy the serious structural deficien-ciesand markedly inadequate agricultural productivity in thisMemberState, a considerable effort must be made to provide farmers with
information and advice;
Whereasmany regionsof Italy at pres ent lack an effective agricultural
advisory service;
Whereas, because of economic and budgetary constraints, the Italian
Republic does not have sufficient means to make the considerableeffort involved in establishing a system comparable to those alreadyhighly developed in the other Member States;
Whereas an effective agricultural advisory service in Italy will be in
the interest of the Community and will contribute to the attainment ofthe objectivesdefined in Article 39 (1) (a) of the Treaty, including the
structural changes necessary for the proper functioning of the common
market; whereas these measures therefore constitute a commonmeasure within the meaning of Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC)No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricul-tural policy (
4);
Whereasthe termss hould be defined on which the Community will
help to finance the planning and operation of an advisory service in
the Member State concerned; whereas, while the Italian Republic
should be responsible for such planning, account being taken ofexisting administrative structures, certain conditions should be laiddown to guarantee optimum utilization of the Community'sfinancialcontribution;
Whereas the planned service must not only give farmers permanent
access to agricultural information and guidance but must also help the
individual farmer to use such information and guidance to his own best
advantage;
Whereas the provision of an advisory service cannot be treated in isola-
tion but must form part of programmes or measures for the balanceddevelopment of agriculture within which advisory work, experimentalresearch and vocational training of farmers and farm workers shouldbe closely coordinated;
Whereas the Community must be able to check that the measures taken
by the Italian Republic will help to attain the objectivesof the common
measure and will fulfil the conditions under which Community finan-cing isgranted; whereasa procedure s hould be laid down whereby theMember States and the Commission will cooperate closely in theStanding Committee on Agricultural Structuress et up under theCouncil Decision of 4 December 1962 on the coordination of policies1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 169, 14. 7. 1978, p. 7.
(2) OJ No C 239, 9. 10. 1978, p. 56.
(3) Opinion delivered on 19 October 1978 (not yet published in the Official
Journal).
(4) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.
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on the structure of agriculture (1), and whereby the Committee of the
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund provided for inArticles11 to 15 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 will be cons ulted on
financial matters,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. In order to ensure that farmers in Italy have permanent access to a
system of agricultural information and guidance, thereby helping to
increase productivity and incomes and contributing to the moderniza-tion of farms, a common measure within the meaning of Article 6 ofRegulation (EEC) No 729/70 ishereby ins tituted for the developmentof an agricultural advisory service in Italy in conjunction withprogrammesor meas uresfor the balanced development of agriculture.
2. The Commission may, in accordance with Title IV, grant aid for
the common measure by financing through the Guidance Section of theEuropean Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, hereinafter called‘the Fund’, the measures which are necessary for the implementation ofthe outline plan of agricultural advisory work, as described in Title I,
and which fulfil the conditionslaid down in TitlesII and III.
TITLE I
Outlineplanofagricultural advisorywork
Article 2
1. The outline plan of agricultural advisory work shall cover:
(a) the establishment of arrangements for the training of agricultural
advisers by an inter-regional agricultural advisory body, hereinaftercalled ‘the inter-regional body’, comprising inter-regional trainingcentres, hereinafter called ‘centres’ ►
M2or provided by agricul-
tural organizationsrecognized by the State for the training of farm
advisers ◄;
(b) the use of the trained advisers to carry out programmes or measures
for the balanced development of agriculture.
2. The outline plan shall be drawn up by the Italian Republic. Its
duration shall be at least the same as that of the common measure. Itshall be reviewed at least once every four years.
Article 3
Thisoutline plan s hall contain all the information required for its
assessment, in particular:
1. As regards the training of advisers:
(a) the steps taken to determine the number of advisers to be
trained or retrained on the basis of the actual advisory needs
at regional level and to ensure that the number of adviserstrained each year corresponds to these needs;
(b) the legal status, the organization, function and detailed rules
of operation of the inter-regional body, including the centres,and in particular:
— the composition, function and detailed rules of operation
of the administrative board of the inter-regional body, onwhich the professional organizations are to be repre-sented,
— the location of the centres, taking into account the
specific advisory needs of the different parts of Italy,1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 3
(1) OJ No 136, 17. 12. 1962, p. 2892/62.
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— the numbersand qualificationsof the teaching s taff envi-
saged,
— the arrangementsfor financing the inter-regional body,
including the centres;
(b) (a) the agricultural organizationsrecognized by the State for the
training of farm advisers;
(c) the conditionsthat will have to be met by candidatesfor
admission to basic and advanced training courses for advi-
sory service leaders, general advisers and specialist advisers;
(d) the principal conditions, content and duration of basic and
advanced training courses for advisers;
(e) measures planned for providing specialized training of the
teaching staff.
2. As regards the use of the advisers:
(a) the programmesor meas uresfor the balanced development of
agriculture within the framework of which the advisers shall
work;
(b) the priority areascovered by the programmesor meas ures
referred to in (a);
(c) the advisory services, including those of the farming organiza-
tions, to which the advisers are attached, and the controlproceduresapplicable to them;
(d) the steps taken to ensure that the advisers trained under the
common measure are actually employed ►
M2by the services
or organizationsreferred to in (c). ◄
Article 4
1. The outline plan and the results of its review shall be forwarded
to the Commission by the Italian Republic.
2. At the request of the Commission, the Italian Republic shall
supply further details in connection with those required under Article 3.
3. The Commission shall decide whether to approve the outline plan
in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14, afterconsulting the Fund Committee on the financial aspects.
TITLE II
Trainingofagricultural advisers
Article 5
1. The functionsof the inter-regional body s hall be, in particular:
(a) to provide basic and advanced training for advisory service leaders,
for general advisers and specialist advisers;
(b) to develop, in close collaboration with appropriate staff involved in
research and advisory work and with universities, basic and
advanced training programmes for advisers;
(c) to organize periodic seminars bringing together advisers and the
teaching staff of the inter-regional body to assess the results ofadvisory work and to propose any consequent adjustments totraining courses;
(d) to study and develop advisory techniques appropriate to the
problems of farmers in different areas, and to assess trainingrequirements in the light of the results achieved by the advisersworking within the framework of the programmesor meas uresreferred to in Article 3 (2) (a).1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 4
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2. The Centres shall have a permanent teaching staff qualified in the
fields referred to in Article 7 (1). Where necessary, staff from univer-sities, research stations and other institutions may be called upon
temporarily to teach special subjects.
Article 6
The training courses referred to in Article 7 shall be open to candidates
having the following qualificationsappropriate to agricultural advis orywork:
(a) a university degree in agriculture in the case of advisory service
leaders;
(b) at least a diploma of higher secondary education in agriculture
followed by an appropriate specialist training or equivalent profes-
sional experience in the case of specialist advisers;
(c) at least a diploma of higher secondary education in agriculture in
the case of general advisers.
All candidates shall furthermore be suitably qualified to carry out agri-
cultural advisory work. Professional experience of farming problemsshall be preferred. This experience shall be essential for advisoryservice leaders and the holders of non-university diplomas.
Article 7
1. The training courses referred to in Article 3 (1) (d) shall enable
persons meeting the requirements set out in Article 6 to acquire
adequate knowledge corresponding to their tasks, in the following areasin particular:
— the provision of advice to farmers,
— farm management techniques,
— the preparation of plansfor materially improving holdingsass peci-
fied in Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 (
1),
— techniquesand methodsfor improving production quality,
— production practicescompatible with environmental and natural
resource protection requirements,
— preparation and implementation of the programmesand meas ures
mentioned in Article 3 (2) (a) and other measures related thereto,
— psychology and rural sociology,
— techniquesfor us ing new computer technology or telematic tech-
nology for agricultural information and advice.
2. The basic courses must comprise at least nine months of theore-
tical and practical training.
3. The Italian Republic shall take all necessary steps to ensure that
the knowledge of advisers trained in this way is constantly updated.
TITLE III
Useoftheagriculturaladvisers
Article 8
1. Advisers given the training specified in Article 7 shall be used for
the implementation of the programmes and measures specified inArticle 3 (2) (a).
2. Italy shall ensure that at least 60 % of the advisers given the
training specified in Article 7 (1) work in the Mezzogiorno. Italy shallalso ensure that the training advisers are properly distributed in the1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ No L 93, 30. 3. 1985, p. 1.▼M2
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various areas on the basis of the actual requirements for advisory
services.
3. Italy shall notify, where appropriate every year:
— the action taken to ensure that the activities of the advisers are
wholly devoted to the provision of advice, to the exclusion of alladministrative or other unrelated work,
— the distribution, to the different areas, of the advisers trained each
year, with separate figures for general advisers, specialist advisersand advisory service managers.
4. The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 14, issue an opinion on the action taken in the areascovered by paragraph 3.
TITLE IV
General andfinancialprovisions
Article 10
1. The period envisaged for the implementation of the common
measure shall be 12 years from the date on which this Regulation is
to apply.
2. The total estimated cost of the common measure to the Fund shall
be 66 million European unitsof account.
3. Article 6 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 shall apply to this
Regulation.
Article 11
1. The Fund shall participate in expenditure incurred by the Italian
Republic for the training of agricultural advisers referred to in Title IIup to a maximum amount of six million units of account and within thefollowing limits:
(a) in an initial phase of up to two years, 150 000 units of account for
the specialized training of teachers and 50 000 units of account forthe running expenses of the inter-regional body;
(b) subsequently, for a period of 10 years:
— 180 000 unitsof account per annum for the running expens esof
the inter-regional body, including the centres,
— 400 000 unitsof account per annum for expenditure incurred by
way of the course attendance allowance, subject to a limit of2 000 unitsof account per s tudent ►
M2, trained by the
centresor organizationsmentioned in Article 2 (1) (a) ◄.
Unused funds may be carried over to the following years.
2. The Italian Republic shall reimburse the Fund for its contribution
to the allowance referred to in the second indent of paragraph 1 (b)
above in the case of advisers who do not actually carry out for at least
three yearsthe tas ksfor which they were trained.
►M23. The Fund shall reimburse Italy for the costs of employing
the advisers on the following terms:
the maximum qualifying amount per adviser trained as specified in
Article 7 (1) and newly installed as specified in Article 8 shall be12 500 ECU. ◄The rate of reimbursement shall be 50 % in the case
of advisers employed in the Mezzogiorno and 40 % for others. Fund
aid shall extend over a maximum period of six years of work by the
adviser. In order to apply a progressive reduction to the amount reim-bursed per adviser, hereinafter referred to as ‘the annual premium’, thefollowing coefficients shall be used: 1·25 for the first year, 1·15 for thesecond year, 1·05 for the third year, 0·95 for the fourth year, 0·85 forthe fifth year and 0·75 for the sixth year.1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 6
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At the end of each three-year period, the Council, acting on a proposal
from the Commission, shall examine the above amount and decidewhether to adjust it in the light of real wage increases in Italy.
4. Detailed rulesfor the application of thisArticle s hall be adopted
in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of Regulation
(EEC) No 729/70.
Article 12
1. Applicationsfor reimburs ement of the expenditure referred to in
Article 11 (2) shall relate to the expenditure incurred by the ItalianRepublic during a calendar year and shall be submitted to the Commis-sion before 1 July of the following year.
2. Advancesmay be granted by reference to the arrangementses tab-
lished by the Italian Republic for the financing of the inter-regional
body, including the centres.
3. Applicationsfor payment of the annual premium referred to in
Article 11 (3) shall be submitted by the Italian Republic before 16
March of each year in respect of the advisers employed on 1 January
of that year. Applicationsfor premiumsfor advis ersbeginning workafter 1 January shall be made with the applications for the followingyear; a premium proportional to the duration of their service shall bepaid for these latter advisers.
4. Decisions to grant aid from the Fund shall be made in accordance
with Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
5. Detailed rulesfor the application of thisArticle s hall be adopted
in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of Regulation(EEC) No 729/70.
Article 13
Before 1 August of each year the Commission shall submit to the
European Parliament and the Council a report on the implementationof the common measure provided for in this Regulation. The ItalianRepublic shall provide the Commission with all the documentationneeded for thispurpos e.
Article 14
1. Where the procedure laid down in thisArticle isto be followed,
the matter shall be referred to the Standing Committee on AgriculturalStructuresby itschairman either on hisown initiative or at the reques tof the representative of a Member State.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit a draft of the
measures to be adopted. The Standing Committee on AgriculturalStructures shall deliver its opinion on those measures within a time
limit set by the chairman according to the urgency of the matter. An
opinion shall be adopted by a majority of ►
M1fifty-four ◄votes,
the votesof the Member Statesbeing weighted aslaid down in Article148 (2) of the Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt the measures, which shall be imme-
diately applicable. However, if such measures are not in accordancewith the opinion delivered by the Standing Committee on AgriculturalStructures, they shall be communicated forthwith by the Commission to
the Council. In that case, the Commission may defer application of the
measures which it has adopted for not more than one month from thedate of such communication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may adopt a different deci-
sion within one month.
Article 15
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the third day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 7
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This Regulation shall apply as soon as the Council has taken a decision
on the Commission proposal for an amendment to Regulation (EEC)No 729/70.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1979R0270 — EN — 29.06.1987 — 002.001 — 8