1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No571/88
of29February1988
on the organization of Community surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings
►M6 ◄
(OJ L 56, 2.3.1988, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1CommissionRegulation(EEC) No 807/89 of 20 March 1989 L 86 1 31.3.1989
►M2amended by Commission Decision 93/156/EEC of 9 February 1993 L 65 12 17.3.1993
►M3CommissionRegulation(EEC) No 1057/91 of 26 April 1991 L 107 11 27.4.1991
►M4CommissionDecision94/677/EC of 6 October 1994 L 269 38 20.10.1994
►M5CommissionDecision96/170/EC6 of 15 February 199 L 47 23 24.2.1996
►M6Council Regulation (EC) No 2467/96 of 17 December 1996 L 335 3 24.12.1996
►M7CommissionDecision98/377/EC of 18 May 1998 L 168 29 13.6.1998
►M8CommissionRegulation(EC) No 143/2002 of 24 Jan uary 2002 L 24 16 26.1.2002
►M9Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 September 2003L 284 1 31.10.2003
Amended by:
►A1Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
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COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No571/88
of29February1988
ontheorganizationofCommunitysurveysonthestructureofagri-
culturalholdings ►M6 ◄
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 proposals from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Whereas trends in the structure of agricultural holdings are an impor-
tant factor in determining the development of the common agricultural
policy; whereas the series of surveys onthe structure of agricultural
holdings, carried out on a Community basis since 1966/67, should becontinued;
Whereas such trends cannot be examined at Community level unless
comparable data are available for all the Member States; whereas it is
therefore necessary to continue previous harmonization and synchroni-zationefforts;
Whereas the workloads of the Member States and of the Commission
inthe executionof this task must be reduced as much as possible;
Whereas, where at all possible, the characteristics, definitions and
geographic units laid down for similar previous structure surveysshould be retained;
Whereas, when determining the characteristics to be examined
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possible the workload of persons concerned by the survey;
Whereas, in order to assess the situation of Community agriculture and
monitor trends in agricultural structures, it is necessary to carry out atregular intervals statistical surveys in agricultural holdings which havea certainagricultural area utilized for farmin g or if they produce acertainproportionfor sale or whose productionexceeds certain
physical thresholds;
Whereas, inview of the variety of statistical services inthe Member
States, the efficiency of sample survey methods and the necessity toobtain reliable information at reasonable cost, Member States should
be allowed to decide whether the surveys they carry out are of a full
or sample type, on condition that the results of the random samplesurveys are reliable at the various levels of aggregationrequired;
Whereas it is nonetheless necessary to carry out, at least every ten
years, a census (full survey) of all the agricultural holdings in order to
update the basic registers of holdings and the other informationrequired for the stratificationof sample surveys;
Whereas, whenthe procedures to be employed for the Commun ity
censuses in 1989/90 and 1999/2000 are determined, acocunt (SIC!account) must be taken as far as possible of the recommendations of
the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
regarding world censuses of agriculture to be conducted sometimearound 1990 and also around 2000;
Whereas for the requirements of agricultural policy it is necessary to
provide the statistical offices of the Member States and the Commis-sion with a new system of analysing the data and disseminating the1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 179, 8. 7. 1987, p. 3 and
OJ No C 4, 8. 1. 1988, p. 10.
(2) OJ No C 305,16. 11. 1987, p. 147.▼M6
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results of the surveys which is more flexible and rapid than the
previous one, while alleviating the workload of the Member States;
Whereas the introduction of adequate procedures enabling the Commis-
sionan d the Member States to make the best use of the statisticsprepared from the data collected insurveys of the structures of agricul-tural holdings should be facilitated;
Whereas individual data are subject to statistical confidentiality;
Whereas it is necessary, when implementing a new system for the use
of surveys and the circulation of their results,
to take account of the positions of the Directors-General of the Member
States' national statistical institutions on the preparation of rules on theconfidentiality of statistics,
to ensure close cooperation between the Member States in the analysis
of the data;
Whereas the coordinating role of the Statistical Office of the European
Community is necessary to meet the Community requirements for
information in the field in question and to ensure uniform analysis ofthe results obtained;
Whereas, in order to carry out these surveys, considerable funding will
be required from both the Member States and the Commission over a
number of years, a large proportion of which will be used to meet the
requirements of the Community; whereas provision should therefore bemade for a Community subsidy to assist this programme;
Whereas, in order to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of
this Regulation, close cooperation between the Member States and the
Commission should continue, in particular via the Standing Committee
for Agricultural Statistics set up by Decision72/279/EEC (
1),
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
As part of the programme of statistical surveys of the Community,
Member States shall, between ►M61988 and 2007 ◄, carry out
surveys onthe structure of the agricultural holdin gs intheir territories,
hereinafter referred to as ‘surveys’. The reference periods of thesesurveys are set out inArticles 2 an d 3.
Article 2
1. In line with the FAO recommendations for world censuses of
agriculture, Member States shall carry out a basic survey inon e ormore stages in the form of a general census (full survey) of all agricul-tural holdings, between 1 December 1988 and 1 March 1991 andbetween1 December 1998 an d 1 March 2001 respectively. These
surveys shall relate to the crop year corresponding to the crop to be
harvested in1989 or 1990 an d in1999 or 2000.
Nevertheless, inthe framework of the 1989/90 basic survey, Member
States may use random sample surveys, hereinafter referred to as‘sample survey’ for certaincharacteristics; the results obtain ed thereby
shall be extrapolated.
2. Member States may, however, bring forward or defer the carrying
out inthe 1989/90 basic survey by 12 mon ths at most, inwhich casethey shall carry out a sample survey, relating to one of the crop years1989 or 1990.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 179, 7. 8. 1972, p. 1.▼M6
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Article 3
The following surveys ►M6(interim surveys) ◄onthe structure of
agricultural holdings shall be carried out in one or more stages in the
form of full or sample surveys:
(a) between 1 December 1992 and 1 March 1994, covering the crop
year corresponding to the crop to be harvested in 1993 (structuresurvey 1993);
(b) between 1 December 1994 and 1 March 1996, covering the crop
year corresponding to the crop to be harvested in 1995 (structuresurvey 1995); and
(c) between 1 December 1996 and 1 March 1998, covering the crop
year corresponding to the crop to be harvested in 1997 (structure
survey 1997);
(d) between 1 December 2002 and 1 March 2004, covering the crop
year corresponding to the crop to be harvested in 2003 (structure
survey 2003);
(e) between 1 December 2004 and 1 March 2006, covering the crop
year corresponding to the crop to be harvested in 2005 (structure
survey 2005);
and
(f) between 1 December 2006 and 1 March 2008, covering the crop
year corresponding to the crop to be harvested in 2007 (structuresurvey 2007).
Article 4
Member States conducting sample surveys shall take the necessary
steps to obtainreliable results at the various levels of aggregationrequired, which are as follows:
— the regions referred to in Article 8,
— the districts referred to inArticle 8 (for base surveys on ly),
— the ‘objective zones’ within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No
2052/88(
1) and Commission Decision 94/197/EC (2) (for the 1999/
2000 basic survey only),
and in so far as the following territorial units are important locally:
— the ‘less-favoured agricultural areas’ as defined in Article 3 of
Directive 75/268/EEC (3) and the ‘mountain areas’ as defined in
paragraph 3 of the same Article,
— the principal technical economic guide-lines within the meaning of
Decision85/377/EEC (4),
— the particular technical economic guide-lines within the meaning of
the same Decision.
Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that
samples are structured in a way which allows the use of one singlecoefficient per holding for raising the information collected bysampling.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 185, 15. 7. 1988, p. 9. Regulationas last amen ded by Regulation
(EC) No 3193/94 (OJ No L 163, 2. 7. 1996, p. 45).
(2) OJ No L 96, 14. 4. 1994, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 128, 19. 5. 1975, p. 1. Directive as last amended by the 1994 Act
of Accession.
(4) OJ No L 220, 17. 8. 1985, p. 1. Decisionas last amen ded by Commission
Decision96/393/EC (OJ No L 163, 2. 7. 1996, p. 45).▼M6
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Article 5
For the purposes of applying this Regulation:
(a) ‘agricultural holding’ shall mean a single unit, both technically and
economically, which has a single management and which produces
agricultural products;
(b) ‘agricultural area utilized for farming’ shall mean the total area
taken up by arable land, permanent pasture and meadow, landused for permanent crops and kitchen gardens.
Article 6
The surveys shall cover:
(a) agricultural holdings where the agricultural area utilized for
farming is one hectare or more;
(b) agricultural holdings where the agricultural area utilized for
farming is less than one hectare, if they produce a certain propor-
tionfor sale or if their productionun it exceeds certainphysical
thresholds.
However, Member States which use a different survey threshold
commit themselves to fixing this threshold at a level excluding onlythe smallest holdings which together contribute 1% or less to the totalstandard gross margin (SGM), within the meaning of Decision 85/377/
EEC, for the Member State concerned.
Before the surveys are carried out Member States shall inform the
Commissionof the methods used to fix their thresholds.
Article 7
1. Inthe case of combin ed crops, the agricultural area utilized for
farming shall be allocated between the various crops in proportion tothe amount of land the latter take up.
The procedure for this allocation and, if appropriate, exceptions to the
general rule will be settled by the Member States in agreement with the
Commission.
Furthermore, the area used for combined crops shall also be recorded
separately from the utiized (SIC! utilized) agricultural area (UAA) inaccordance with the groupings listed in Annex I.
2. The area used for successive secondary crops shall be recorded
separately from the ‘utilized agricultural area.’
Successive secondary crops shall be enumerated in accordance with the
groupings listed in Annex I.
Article 8
1. Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the
in formationcollected inthe surveys referred to inthis Regulation
complies with the characteristics listed in Annex I. The changes to bemade to that list of characteristics for the ►
M61993 to 2007 ◄
surveys shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laiddowninArticle 15.
2. In the framework of determining the list of characteristics for the
1992/2000 basic survey, Member States may, at their request and onthe basis of appropriate documentation, be authorized by the Commis-sion, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 15, to userandom sample surveys for certain characteristics.
Inaccordan ce with the procedure laid downinArticle 15, likewise on
request and on the basis of appropriate documentation and in the
framework of determining the list of survey characteristics, MemberStates may be authorized to use, for certaincharacteristics as from the1997 survey, already available information from sources other thanstatistical surveys.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 5
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3. Inthe 1999/2000 basic survey, the geographical situationof each
holding shall be defined by a code which allows for aggregation byterritorial units lower than the survey-district level or at least by objec-
tive zones.
4. The definitions relating to the characteristics and to the delimina-
tion (SIC! delimitation) and coding of regions, survey districts andother territorial units shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure
laid downinArticle 15.
►
M65◄. Where, for the purpose of applying the Community
typology for agricultural holdings in certain Member States, standardgross margins have been established relating to subdivisions of certaincharacteristics listed in Annex 1, the Member States concerned shallcollect all the information necessary to permit the application of these
standard gross margins.
Article 9
Member States shall take all appropriate steps to carry out the surveys
intheir territories. Inparticular they shall:
(a) devise questionnaires appropriate to the collection of the informa-
tion provided for in the list of characteristics mentioned in Article8 (1);
(b) check whether the questionnaires have been completed in full and
whether the replies are credible; where necessary and as far aspossible, they shall complete missing data and correct inaccurate
data.
Article 10
Member States shall forward to the Statistical Office of the European
Communities the information mentioned in Article 8 (1) obtainedfrom the censuses and sample surveys in the form of individual dataper holding, in accordance with the procedure described in Annex II,
hereafter called ‘Eurofarm project’.
Member States shall ensure that the data transferred in the Eurofarm
standard record layout are complete and plausible, using the uniformchecking conditions laid down by the Statistical Office of the European
Communities after close collaboration with the competent services of
the Member States; they shall also use the checking tables mentionedin paragraph 9 of Annex II for checking individual data.
Article 11
Member States shall supply the Statistical Office of the European
Communities with any information it may require of them regarding
the organization and methodology of the surveys covered by this Regu-
lation; in particular, they shall provide detailes (SIC! details) of thetimetable for the data collectionoperation s inthe field.
Article 12
Inthe con text of the Eurofarm project, the Statistical Office of the
European Communities shall be responsible for disseminating thetabular results of the survey. The practical details of such disseminationshall be agreed by the appropriate committees and working parties.
Article 13
Every three years, and in the first instance not later than 31 December
1992, the Commissionshall submit to the Coun cil a report ontheoperation of the Eurofarm project. It shall propose any necessarychanges to this Regulation.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 6
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Article 14
1. As a contribution to expenses incurred by the Member States
►M6in carrying out the surveys provided for in Articles 2 and
3◄, 20 ECU per holding for which complete survey results are
forwarded to the Statistical Office of the EuropeanCommun ities shall
be reimbursed up to a maximum per survey of:
— 100000 ECU for Luxembourg,
— 500000 ECU for Belgium and Denmark,
— ECU 600000 for Sweden,
— 700000 ECU for the Netherlands,
— ECU 700000 for Finland,
— 1 100000 ECU for Ireland,
— 1 300000 ECU for the United Kingdom,
— ECU 1400 000 for Austria.
— 2 000000 ECU for Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy and
Portugal.
For Member States which carry out a general census (full survey) in
1999/2000 of all agricultural holdings surveying all the required char-acteristics, the abovementioned sums shall be increased by 50%.
The annual appropriations shall be authorized by the budgetary
authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
2. The maximum annual financial reference amount for the develop-
ment, maintenance, necessary adaptations to, and management of, the
Eurofarm project, including dissemination of results, shall be:
— ECU 480000 for 1989,
— ECU 440000 for 1990,
— ECU 240000 for 1991,
— ECU 80000 for the years 1992 to 1998,— ECU 700000 for the years 1999 and 2000,
— ECU 550000 for the years 2001 to 2010.
The annual appropriations shall be authorized by the budgetary
authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
Article 15
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on
Agricultural Statistics, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’.
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 4 and 7 of Deci-
sion1999/468/EC (
1) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period laid downinArticle 4(3) of Decision1999/468/EC shall be
set at one month.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 7
(1) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ
L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23).▼M6
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Article 16
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its
publicationinthe Official Journal of the European Communities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
inall Member States.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 8
ANNEX I
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ANNEX II
EUROFARMPROJECT
Descriptionandcontent
1. The Eurofarm project is a set of data banks to be used for processing
Community surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings for the
requirements of national and Community agricultural policies.
The project will be designed and implemented by the statistical services of
the Member States and of the Commission, working in close consultation
and with Commission support.
2. The Eurofarm data banks are as follows:
— the individual data bank (BDI), which will contain the individual data
not directly indentifiable (SIC! identifiable) on all holdings (in the
case of basic surveys) or data on all holdings or on a representative
sample of holdings (in the case of interim surveys) which is sufficient
to enable analyses to be carried out at the geographical levels
mentioned in Article 4 of the Regulation.
— the Tabular Data Bank (BDT), which will contain the survey results in
the form of statistical tables. The contents of the BDT will be decided
inaccordan ce with the procedure laid downinArticle 15 of this Regu-
lation.
Locationofthedatabanks
3.►M6Except in case of the individual data of Germany concerning the
1988 to 1997 surveys ◄, the BDI for all Member States is located ina
Commission processing centre. The Statistical Office of the European
Communities has sole responsibility for access to it and for its manage-
ment.
4. The BDT is housed in a Commission processing centre.
Communication of the individual data to the Statistical Office of the
EuropeanCommunities
5. Individual data will be supplied using a uniform code specified by Eurostat
in agreement with the Member States and within time limits to be deter-
mined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 15 of this
Regulation.
6. By way of derogation, Germany will not forward individual data but
tabular results corresponding to the BDT table programme mentioned under
paragraph 2. This derogationexpires after the surveys of the period 1988 to
1997.
Germany undertakes to centralize the individual data on a magnetic carrier
in a single data-processing centre, within 12 months of completion of data
collectioninthe field.
Communicationofthetabulardata
7. Onthe basis of the in dividual data supplied by the Member States the
Statistical Office of the EuropeanCommun ities will compile:
— tables intended for BDT,
— ad hoc tables as defined in paragraph 15.
8.1. Where the individual data forwarded by the Member States do not enable
the Statistical Office of the EuropeanCommun ities to prepare all the tables
for the BDT specified inaccordan ce with the procedure laid downin
Article 15, the Member States inquestionshall un dertake to supply the
missing tables three months after the date for the forwarding of individual
data referred to in paragraph 5 of the Annex.
8.2. Where the individual data forwarded by the Member States do not enable
the Statistical Office of the EuropeanCommun ities to prepare the ad hoc
tables based on the characteristics listed in Annex I, the Commission, in
collaborationwith the Member States, shall con sider how the tables in
questionare to be forwarded.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 21
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9. Together with the individual data the Member States undertake to forward
the checking tables which will be defined by the Statistical Office of the
European Communities in concert with the Member States.
Confidentialityofindividualdata
10. The individual data must be forwarded to the Statistical Office of the
European Communities in an anonymous form which does not allow hold-
ings to be directly identified.
11. The Commission will take suitable precautions within its data-processing
system to safeguard the confidentiality of the data and shall inform the
Member States thereof.
12. Access to the individual data is restricted to the persons responsible within
the Statistical Office of the European Communities for implementation of
the Regulation.
13. The tables referred to in paragraph 14 must not allow direct or indirect
identification of holdings.
Useofthedataanddisseminationoftheresults
14. The Statistical Office of the European Communities undertakes to use the
individual data communicated by the Member States for statistical purposes
only, and to exclude all use for administrative ends.
The individual data will be used in compiling:
— the tables contained in the BDT,
— the ad hoc tables.
15. Ad hoc tables are those for which no provision has been made in the
original Community programme fixing the content of the BDT, but whose
compilation, on the basis of the characteristics indicated in Annex I, is
requested in order to satisfy the information requirements of the Commu-
nity institutions or of the Member States' statistical offices.
Coordination
16. In the framework of their respective responsibilities and in accordance with
Regulation(Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90, the Statistical Office of the
European Communities and the Member States will establish rapid consul-
tationprocedures with a view to:
— ensuring the confidentiality and statistical reliability of the information
prepared onthe basis of the in dividual data,
— informing the Member States of the use made of these data.1988R0571 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 004.001 — 22
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