1999R2603 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 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)No2603/1999
of9December 1999
laying down rules for the transition to the rural development support provided for by Council
Regulation(EC)No1257/1999
(OJ L 316, 10.12.1999, p. 26)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 1929/2000 of 12 September 2000 L 231 5 13.9.2000
▼B
COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No2603/1999
of9December 1999
laying down rules for the transition to the rural development
supportprovidedforbyCouncilRegulation(EC)No1257/1999
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 replacingcertain regulations(
1), and in particular Article 53(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 is to apply in relation to
Community support as from 1 January 2000. Regulations
repealed and provisions deleted by that Regulation are to
continue to apply to actions approved by the Commission underthe Regulations concerned before 1 January 2000.
(2)Transitional rules should facilitate the transition from existingsupport schemes to the new rural development support scheme
in order to avoid any difficulties or delays in the implementation
of rural development support during the period of transition.
(3)Rural development support under Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999is to cover a programming period starting on 1 January 2000. Inorder to ensure full integration of all future measures into the
new programming the Commission should no longer approve
measures or amendments to measures under the existing schemeswhose duration extends beyond 31 December 1999, unlessimmediate approval is required for imperative reasons.
(4)In order to ensure the continuity of agri-environment support,
Member States should be authorised to extend existing agri-
environment commitments for the necessary period to allowtransition to the new scheme and to conclude new agri-environ-ment contracts if full compliance of suchcommitments withth enew support framework can be assured. In order to ensure theeffectiveness of new rules for agri-environment support, the
specific transitional arrangements for agri-environment commit-
ments must be applied as from 30 July 1999, the day after theywere announced to Member States in the managementcommittee. Member States should also be authorised to makenew agri-environment commitments before 1 January 2000upon applications submitted before 30 July 1999 under Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92(
2), as last amended by Commis-
sion Regulation (EC) No 2772/95(3).
(5)Payments arising from commitments made before 1 January2000 in connection with rural development schemes, which infuture are to be financed by the Guarantee Section of the
EAGGF, should continue to be financed by the Guidance
Section of the EAGGF until 31 December 2001 in accordancewithexisting support conditions and subject to funds available.However, until 31 December 2001 multiannual expenditurearising from suchcommitments, as well as compensatory allow-
ances relating at the latest to the year 1999, may under certain
conditions be financed from the Guarantee Section of theEAGGF if no funds are available or the available funds areinsufficient. In any case, multiannual expenditure beyond 31December 2001 should be financed by the Guarantee Section ofthe EAGGF.1999R2603 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(2) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 91.
(3) OJ L 288, 1.12.1995, p. 35.
▼B
(6)Specific rules should be established as to the starting point for
eligibility of expenditure under the new rural development
programming documents.
(7)In order to resolve specific problems arising from the changefrom headage to hectare based payments for granting compensa-tory allowances, Member States should be authorised for atransitional period of one year to continue payments on aheadage basis.
(8)The dates for the applicability of the State aid rules laid down inTitle IV of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 should be defined for
new aid within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/
1999 of 22 March1999 laying down detailed rules for th e appli-cation of Article 93 of the EC Treaty(
1).
(9)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordancewith the opinion of the Committee on Agricultural Structuresand Rural Development,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
Scope
Article 1
This Regulation lays down specific measures to facilitate the transition
from the system in force to the one established by Regulation (EC) No
1257/1999.
CHAPTER II
Existingmeasures
Article 2
The Commission shall not approve in the framework of Regulations
repealed by Article 55(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 anymeasure or any amendment thereto whose duration extends beyond 31December 1999, unless immediate approval is required for imperativereasons.
Article 3
1. Member States may extend an agri-environment commitment
made under Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 terminating before the ruraldevelopment programming document has been approved by theCommission by up to a maximum period of one year, but in no case
extending beyond 31 December 2000.
The extension period shall not be taken into account in calculating the
duration of commitments in the framework of Regulation (EC) No1257/1999.
2. Member States may make new agri-environment commitments
under Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 only before 1 January 2000 andon condition that:
(a) an application has been submitted before 30 July 1999 and conti-
nuity of agri-environment support requires a commitment withoutundue delay; or
(b) these commitments are adjusted, if necessary and as soon as
possible, to the rural development programming document asapproved by the Commission. In cases where such adjustment ismade, the period before the adjustment shall not be taken into1999R2603 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.
▼B
account in calculating the duration of commitments in the frame-
work of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
3. Where Member States apply paragraphs 1 or 2, they shall inte-
grate this in their rural development plans. Member States shall
specify where they have applied paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 and shallintegrate any adjustments under paragraph2(b).
4. Before the end of the period for performing a commitment
entered into under Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92, Member States may
authorise the transformation of that commitment into a new commit-
ment for five years or more under Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999provided that:
(a) any sucha transfer is of unequestionable benefit to th e environ-
ment, and
(b) the existing commitment is significantly reinforced.
Article 4
1. In the case of support granted Council Regulations (EEC) No
1696/71(
1), (EEC) No 404/93(2) and (EC) No 2200/96(3), as well as
Council Regulations (EEC) No 4256/88(4), (EEC) No 1610/89(5),
(EEC) No 867/90(6), (EC) No 950/97(7), (EC) No 951/97(8) and (EC)
No 952/97(9), the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall
apply.
2. Payments arising from commitments, including compensatory
allowances relating, at the latest, to the year 1999, made by MemberStates before 1 January 2000 and for which the application for paymentis received by the Commission before 1 January 2002 shall continue tobe financed by the Guidance Section of the EAGGF in accordance with
the conditions laid down in the Regulations referred to in paragraph 1
and subject to the availability of funds.
Where for actions referred to in subparagraph 1 no funds are available
or the available funds are insufficient, the following may be integratedinto the rural development programming for the period 2000-2006 andfinanced by the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF, provided thatcriteria clearly identifying the expenditure to be integrated in the
programming are laid down by the Member State concerned:
(a) payments in connection withcompensatory allowances relating, at
the latest, to the year 1999, or
(b) payments in connection withmultiannual expenditure in areas not
covered by Objective 1 as defined as from 1 January 2000.
3. Community support for multiannual expenditure for actions
referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 for which applica-tion for payment is received by the Commission after 31 December2001, shall be financed by the Guarantee section of the EAGGF inareas not covered by Objective 1 as defined as from 1 January 2000.
4. In their rural development plans, Member States shall specify
where they have applied paragraph 1 or paragraph 2.1999R2603 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 175, 4.8.1971, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 47, 25.2.1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 374, 31.12.1988, p. 25.
(5) OJ L 165, 15.6.1989, p. 3.
(6) OJ L 91, 6.4.1990, p. 7.
(7) OJ L 142, 2.6.1997, p. 1.
(8) OJ L 142, 2.6.1997, p. 22.
(9) OJ L 142, 2.6.1997, p. 30.▼M1
▼B
▼B
Article 5
1. For existing measures Member States shall continue to report to
the Commission in compliance with the rules applicable to those
measures.
2. Member States shall submit to the Commission by 31 March
2000 a report on actions covered by Article 4. This report must bepresented in accordance withth e tables in Annexes I and II.
CHAPTER III
Newmeasures
Article 6
Expenditure shall be eligible for support from the EAGGF Guarantee
Section only if it has actually been paid to the individual beneficiaryof a rural development support measure after 31 December 1999 andafter the date on which the rural development plan or any amendment
to that plan relevant for the measure concerned has been submitted or
communicated to the Commission. The later of those dates shall consti-tute the starting point for the eligibility of expenditure.
However, expenditure in respect of ex-anteevaluation shall be eligible
for support according to Article 40 of Commission Regulation (EC) No1750/1999(
1), if it has been paid after 31 July 1999.
Article 7
Member States may provide in their rural development plans that
compensatory allowances may continue to be granted on the basis of
livestock numbers for payments due in relation to the year 2000. In
this case, the maximum compensatory allowance referred to in theAnnex to Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 applies per livestock unit.
CHAPTER IV
Stateaid
Article 8
The provisions of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall
apply to new aids within the meaning of Article 1 (c) of Regulation(EC) No 659/1999 from 1 January 2000.
CHAPTER V
Finalrules
Article 9
This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of its publication in
theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
Article 3 shall apply as from 30 July 1999.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1999R2603 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999, p. 31.
▼B
ANNEX I
1999R2603 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 6
▼B
ANNEX II
1999R2603 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 7