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"BREGULATION No 79/65/EEC OF THE COUNCIL
of 15 June 1965
setting up a network for the collection of accountancy data on the incomes and business operation of
agricultural holdings in the European Economic Community
(OJ P 109, 23.6.1965, p. 1859)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Regulation (EEC) No 2835/72 of the Council of 29 December
1972L 298 47 31.12.1972
"M2 Regulation (EEC) No 2910/73 of the Council of 23 October 1973 L 299 1 27.10.1973
"M3 Council Regulation (EEC) No 2143/81 of 27 July 1981 L 210 1 30.7.1981
"M4 Council Regulation (EEC) No 3644/85 of 19 December 1985 L 348 4 24.12.1985
"M5 Council Regulation (EEC) No 3768/85 of 20 December 1985 L 362 8 31.12.1985
"M6 Council regulation (EEC) No 3577/90 of 4 December 1990 L 353 23 17.12.1990
"M7 Council Regulation (EC) No 2801/95 of 29 November 1995 L 291 3 6.12.1995
"M8 Council Regulation (EC) No 1256/97 of 25 June 1997 L 174 7 2.7.1997
Amended by:
"A1 Act of Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern IrelandL 73 14 27.3.1972
(adapted by Council Decision of 1 January 1973) L 2 1 1.1.1973
"A2 Act of Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
"A3 Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
"A4 Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C 241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
Corrected by:
"C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 63, 5.3.1974, p. 34 (2910/73)1965R0079 — EN — 09.07.1997 — 002.001 — 1
REGULATION No 79/65/EEC OF THE COUNCIL
of 15 June 1965
setting up a network for the collection of accountancy data on the
incomes and business operation of agricultural holdings in the
European Economic Community
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY ,
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),
Whereas the development of the common agricultural policy requires
that there should be available objective and relevant information on
incomes in the various categories of agricultural holding and on the
business operation of holdings coming within categories which call for
special attention at Community level;
Whereas the accounts of agricultural holdings constitute the basic source
of essential data for any assessment of incomes on agricultural holdings
or study of their business operation;
Whereas the data collected must be obtained from agricultural holdings
specially and suitably selected in accordance with common rules and
must be based on verifiable facts; whereas such data must reflect
technical, economic and social conditions on the holdings involved, be
taken from individual holdings, be available as quickly as possible, be
based on uniform definitions, be presented in a common form and be
usable at all times and in full detail by the Commission;
Whereas these objectives can be attained only by means of a Community
network for the collection of farm accountancy data, based on the farm
accountancy offices existing in each Member State, enjoying the
confidence of the parties concerned and relying on their voluntary
participation;
Whereas the complexity, both at Community and at Member State level,
of the work involved in creating a Community network for the collection
of farm accountancy data is such that the setting up of the accounting
system must proceed gradually, thus entailing for the first few years a
limited field of survey;
Whereas in selecting agricultural holdings and analysing and evaluating
the data collected it is necessary to refer to data derived from other
sources;
Whereas farmers must be given an assurance that their accounts and all
other individual details obtained in implementation of this Regulation
will not be used for taxation purposes or divulged by persons
participating or having participated in the Community farm accountancy
data network;
Whereas, in order that it may satisfy itself as to the objectivity and
relevance of the data collected, the Commission must be in a position to
obtain all necessary details concerning the manner in which the bodies
entrusted with the selection of agricultural holdings and the accountancy
offices participating in the Community farm accountancy data network
discharge their duties and, if necessary, to send experts to work on the
spot with the collaboration of the competent national authorities;
Whereas, to facilitate implementation of the provisions envisaged, a
procedure should be provided for whereby the Member States and the
Commission may co-operate closely within a Community committee;!B
(1) OJ No 157, 30. 10. 1963, p. 2653/63.1965R0079 — EN — 09.07.1997 — 002.001 — 2
Whereas after the Community farm accountancy data network has been
in operation for a few years the Commission will be in a position to
report on experience gained and to propose any necessary amendments
to this Regulation;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
Creation of a farm accountancy data network for the European
Economic Community
Article 1
1. To meet the needs of the common agricultural policy, there shall be
set up a Community network for the collection of farm accountancy data,
hereinafter called the ‘data network’.
2. The purpose of the data network shall be to collect the accountancy
data needed for, in particular:
(a) an annual determination of incomes on agricultural holdings coming
within the field of survey defined in Article 4; and
(b) a business analysis of agricultural holdings.
3. The data obtained pursuant to this Regulation "C1shall, in
particular, serve as the basis 3for the drawing up of reports by the
Commission on the situation of agriculture and of agricultural markets as
well as on farm incomes in the Community; the reports are to be
submitted annually to the Council and the European Parliament, in
particular for the annual fixing of prices of agricultural produce.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation:
(a) ‘operator’ means the natural person responsible for the day-to-day
management of an agricultural holding;
(b) ‘category of holding’ means a group of agricultural holdings which
belong to the same categories as regards type of farming and
economic size as defined in the Community typology for agricultural
holdings established by Decision 78/463/EEC (1);
(c) ‘returning holding’ means any agricultural holding making returns
for the purposes of the data network;
(d) ‘division’ means the territory of a Member State, or any part thereof
as delimited with a view to the selection or returning holdings; a list
of such divisions appears in the Annex to the Regulation.
(e) ‘accountancy data’ means any technical, financial or economic data
relating to an agricultural holding derived from accounts consisting
of entries made systematically and regularly throughout the
accounting year.!B
(1) OJ No L 148, 5. 6. 1978, p. 1.!M2
!B
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!B1965R0079 — EN — 09.07.1997 — 002.001 — 3
CHAPTER II
Determination of incomes on agricultural holdings
Article 3
The provisions of this Chapter concern the collection of accountancy
data for the purpose of making an annual determination of incomes on
agricultural holdings.
Article 4
1. The field of survey referred to in Article 1 (2) (a) shall cover the
agricultural holdings having an economic size equal to, or greater than, a
threshold expressed in European size units (ESU), as defined in the
Community typology.
2. To qualify as a returning holding, an agricultural holding shall:
(a) have an economic size equal to, or greater than, a threshold to be
determined in accordance with paragraph 1;
(b) be farmed by a farmer holding accounts or willing and able to keep
farm accounts and willing to allow the accountancy data from his
holding to be made available to the Commission;
(c) be representative, together with the other holdings and at the level of
each division, of the field of survey.
3. The maximum number of returning holdings shall be 80 000 for the
Community.
4. Detailed rules for the application of this Article, and in particular the
threshold for the economic size and the number of returning holdings per
division, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 19.
Article 5
1. Each Member State shall, before 1 February 1982, set up a national
committee for the data network, hereinafter called ‘National Committee’.
"A4Austria, Finland and Sweden shall set up the said Committee
within a period of 6 months from their accession. 3
2. The National Committee shall be responsible for the selection ofreturning holdings. To this end, its duties shall, in particular, include
approval of:
(a) the plan for the selection of returning holdings, specifying in
particular the distribution of returning holdings per category of
holding and the detailed rules for selecting the said holdings;
(b) the report on the implementation of the plan for the selection of
returning holdings.
3. The chairman of the National Committee shall be appointed by the
Member State from among the members of this Committee.
The National Committee shall take its decisions unanimously; in the
event of unanimity not being achieved, decisions shall be taken by an
authority appointed by the Member State.
4. Member States which have several decisions may, for each of the
divisions under their jurisdiction, set up a regional committee of the data
network, hereinafter called ‘Regional Committee’.
The Regional Committee shall in particular have the duty of cooperating
with the liaison agency referred to in Article 6 in selecting the returning
holdings.
5. Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be adopted
pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 19.!B
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Article 6
1. Each Member State shall appoint a liaison agency whose duties shall
be:
(a) to inform the National Committee, the Regional Committees and the
accountancy offices of the detailed rules of application concerning
them and to ensure that those rules are properly implemented;
(b) to draw up and submit to the National Committee for its approval,
and thereafter to forward to the Commission:
— the plan for the selection of returning holdings, which plan shall
be drawn up on the basis of the most recent statistical data,
presented in accordance with the Community typology of
agricultural holdings,
— the report on the implementation of the plan for the selection of
returning holdings;
(c) to compile:
— the list of returning holdings,— the list of the accountancy offices willing and able to complete
farm returns in accordance with the terms of the contracts
provided for in Articles 9 and 14;
(d) to assemble the farm returns sent to it by the accountancy offices and
to verify on the basis of a common inspection programme that they
have been duly completed;
(e) to forward the duly completed farm returns to the Commission
immediately after verification;
(f) to transmit to the National Committee, the Regional Committees and
the accountancy offices the requests for information mentioned in
Article 16 and to forward the relevant answers to the Commission.
2. The detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be adopted
in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 19.
Article 7
1. Each returning holding shall be the subject of an individual and
anonymous farm return.
2. The accountancy data provided by each farm return must be such
that it is possible:
— to characterise the accounting holding by reference to the main
elements of its factors of production;
— to assess the income of the holding in its various forms;— to test by means of spot-checks the veracity of the information given.3. The type of accountancy data to be given in a farm return, the form
in which such data are to be presented and the definitions and
instructions relating thereto shall be determined in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 19.
Article 8
A farmer whose holding is selected as a returning holding shall choose
from a list compiled for the purpose by the liaison agency an
accountancy office willing to complete the return for his holding in
accordance with the terms of the contract provided for in Article 9.!M3
!B1965R0079 — EN — 09.07.1997 — 002.001 — 5
Article 9
1. A contract shall be concluded annually on the authority of the
Member State between the competent authority designated by the latter
and each accountancy office chosen as provided in Article 8. Under this
contract the accountancy office will undertake, in consideration of a
standard fee, to complete farm returns in a manner consistent with the
provisions of Article 7.
2. The terms of this contract, which must be uniform in all Member
States, shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down
in Article 19.
3. Where the duties of an accountancy office are carried out by an
administrative department, the latter shall be notified as to its duties
through the normal administrative channels.
CHAPTER III
Collection of accountancy data for the purpose of a business analysis
of agricultural holdings
Article 10
The provisions of this Chapter concern the collection of accountancy
data for the purpose of a business analysis of agricultural holdings.
Article 11
There shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 19:
— the subjects of the analyses mentioned in Article 1 (2) (b);
— detailed rules concerning the selection and number of returning
holdings, these being established according to the objectives of each
particular analysis.
Article 12
1. Each returning holding selected in accordance with the second
indent of Article 11 shall be subject of a special farm return, which shall
be individual to that holding and anonymous. This farm return shall
include the accountancy data required under Article 7 (2) and all such
further accountancy items and details as each particular analysis may
require.
2. The type of accountancy data to be given in a special farm return, the
form in which such data are to be presented and the definitions and
instructions relating thereto shall be determined in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 19.
3. Special farm returns shall be completed by the various accountancy
offices chosen as provided in Article 13.
Article 13
A farmer whose holding is selected in accordance with the second indent
of Article 11 shall choose from a list compiled for the purpose by the
liaison agency an accountancy office willing to complete the special
return for his holding in accordance with the terms of the contract
provided for in Article 14.!B
!M3
!B1965R0079 — EN — 09.07.1997 — 002.001 — 6
Article 14
1. A. contract shall be concluded on the authority of the Member State
between the competent authority designated by the latter and each
accountancy office chosen as provided in Article 13. Under this contract
the accountancy office will undertake, in consideration of a standard fee,
to complete special farm returns in a manner consistent with the
provisions of Article 12.
2. The terms of this contract, which must be uniform in all Member
States, shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down
in Article 19.
The supplementary terms which may be included in this contract by
Member States shall be determined in accordance with the same
procedure.
3. Where the duties of a (SIC! an) accountancy office are carried out by
an administrative department, the latter shall be notified as to its duties
through the normal administrative channels.
CHAPTER IV
General provisions
Article 15
1. It shall be prohibited to use for taxation purposes any individual
accountancy data or other individual details obtained in implementation
of this Regulation, or to divulge or use such data for purposes other than
those specified in Article 1.
2. It shall be prohibited for any person participating or having
participated in the data network to divulge any individual accountancy
data or any other individual details of which knowledge was acquired in
the exercise of his duties or otherwise incidentally to such exercise.
3. Member States shall take all appropriate measures to penalise
infringement of the provisions of paragraph 2.
Article 16
1. The National Committee, the Regional Committees, the liaison
agency and the accountancy offices shall be bound, within their
respective areas of responsibility, to furnish the Commission with any
information which the latter may request of them regarding the discharge
of their duties under this Regulation.
Such requests for information made to the National Committee, the
Regional Committees or to the accountancy offices and the relevant
answers shall be forwarded in writing through the liaison agency.
2. If the information supplied is inadequate or if such information fails
to arrive in good time, the Commission may, with the collaboration of the
liaison agency, send experts to work on the spot.
Article 17
There is hereby set up a Community Committee for the Farm
Accountancy Data Network, hereinafter called the ‘Community Com-
mittee’.!B
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!B
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Article 18
1. The Community Committee shall consist of representatives of the
Member States and of the Commission. Each Member State shall be
represented on the Community Committee by not more than five
officials.
The Chairman of the Community Committee shall be a representative of
the Commission.
2. Where the procedure laid down in Article 19 is applied, the votes of
Member States shall be weighted as provided in Article 148 (2) of the
Treaty. The Chairman shall not vote.
Article 19
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed,
matters shall be referred to the Community Committee by the Chairman,
either on his own initiative or at the request of the representative of a
Member State.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee
a draft of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall deliver its
opinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay
down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be
delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the treaty in the
case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal
from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member
States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in
that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immedi-
ately. However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion
of the Community Committee, they shall forthwith be communicated by
the Commission to the Council. In that event the Commission may defer
application of the measures which it has adopted for not more than one
month from the date of such communication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision
within one month.
Article 20
1. The Community Committee shall be consulted
(a) for the purpose of verifying that the plans for the selection of
returning holdings are in conformity with the provisions of Article 4;
(b) for the purpose of analyzing and evaluating the weighted annual
results furnished by the data network, having regard in particular to
data deriving from other sources inter alia from farm accounts and
statistics generally and from national accounts.
2. The Community Committee may examine any other matter raised by
its chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request of a
representative of a Member State.
It shall examine each year, in October, the trend of farm incomes in the
Community, referring in particular to the updated results of the data
network.
It shall be kept regularly informed of the working of the data network.
Article 21
The Chairman shall convene the meetings of the Community Committee.
Secretarial services for the Community Committee shall be provided by
the Commission.!B
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!B
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!B1965R0079 — EN — 09.07.1997 — 002.001 — 8
The Community Committee shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
Article 22
1. Appropriations to cover those costs of the data network attributable
specifically to payment of fees to accountancy offices in consideration of
their performelance (SIC! performance) of the duties referred to in
Articles 9 and 14 shall be included in the Community budget, in the
Commission section.
2. Costs in respect of the setting up and operation of the National
Committee, Regional Committees and liaison agencies shall not be
included in the Community budget.
Article 23
Before "M31 January 1990 3the Commission shall submit to the
Council a full report on the operation of the data network together with
any proposal for amending this Regulation, as appropriate.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.!B
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!B
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!B1965R0079 — EN — 09.07.1997 — 002.001 — 9
!M3
ANNEX
List of divisions referred to in Article 2 (d)
Germany
1. Schleswig-Holstein2. Hamburg3. Niedersachsen4. Bremen5. Nordrhein-Westfalen6. Hessen
7. Rheinland-Pfalz
8. Baden-Württemberg9. Bayern10. Saarland11. Berlin
11. Berlin (SIC!)
12. Brandenburg
13. Mecklenburg-V orpommern
14. Sachsen15. Sachsen-Anhalt16. Thüringen.
France
1. Île de France2. Champagne-Ardenne3. Picardie4. Haute-Normandie5. Centre6. Basse-Normandie7. Bourgogne8. Nord-Pas de Calais9. Lorraine10. Alsace11. Franche-Comté
12. Pays de la Loire
13. Bretagne14. Poitou-Charentes15. Aquitaine16. Midi-Pyrénées17. Limousin18. Rhône-Alpes19. Auvergne20. Languedoc-Roussillon21. Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur22. Corse!
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Italy
1. Piemonte2. Valle d’Aosta3. Lombardia4. Alto Adige5. Trentino
6. Veneto
7. Friuli — Venezia Giulia8. Liguria9. Emilia — Romagna10. Toscana11. Umbria12. Marche13. Lazio14. Abruzzi15. Molise16. Campania17. Puglia
18. Basilicata
19. Calabria20. Sicilia21. Sardegna
Belgium
Constitutes a single divisionLuxembourg
Constitutes a single division
Netherlands
Constitutes a single division
Denmark
Constitutes a single division
IrelandConstitutes a single division
United Kingdom
1. England — north region2. England — east region3. England — west region
4. Wales
5. Scotland6. Northern Ireland
Greece
1.Μακεδ/omikronνία — Θράκη,
2. Ήπειρ/omikronς — Πελ/omikronπ/omikronacuteννησ/omikronς — Νήσ/omikronι Ι/omikronνί/omikronυ,
3. Θεσσαλία,
4. Στερεά Ελλάς — Νήσ/omikronι Αιγαί/omikronυ — Κρήτη.
Spain
1. Galicia,2. Asturias,!
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3. Cantabria,
4. País Vasco,5. Navarra,
6. La Rioja,
7. Aragón,8. Cataluña,9. Baleares,
10. Castilla-León,
11. Madrid,12. Castilla-La Mancha,13. Comunidad Valenciana,
14. Murcia,
15. Extremadura,16. Andalucía,17. Canarias.
Portugal
1. Entre-Douro-e-Minho e Beira Litoral,
2. Trás-os-Montes e Beira Interior,
3. Ribatejo-Oeste,4. Alentego e Algarve,5. Açores e Madeira.
Austria
constitutes a single division
Finland
1. Etelä-Suomi
2. Sisä-Suomi3. Pohjanmaa4. Pohjois-Suomi
Sweden
1. Plains of Southern and Central Sweden
2. Forest and mixed agricultural and forest areas of Southern and Central
Sweden
3. Areas of Northern Sweden!
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