EN Official Journal of the European Union L 199/40

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 758/2011

of 1 August 2011

amending Regulation (EU) No 1291/2009 concerning the selection of returning holdings for the purpose of determining incomes of agricultural holdings

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009 of 30 November 2009 setting up a network for the collection of accountancy data on the incomes and business operation of agricultural holdings in the European Community (1), and in particular Article 5(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1291/2009 of 18 December 2009 concerning the selection of returning holdings for the purpose of determining incomes of agricultural holdings (2) sets the thresholds for the economic size of agricultural holdings for the accounting year 2010 and subsequent accounting years.

(2) Structural change in Ireland has led to a decrease in the number of the smallest holdings and in their contribution to the total output of agriculture, thereby making their use unnecessary in order for the field of survey to cover the most relevant part of the agricultural activity.

(3) In the case of France, the structure of the agricultural sector in the divisions Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion is not reflected by the threshold applicable for France as a whole.

(4) Therefore, in the case of Ireland, it is advisable to raise the threshold to EUR 8 000 and, in the case of France, the threshold for the divisions Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion should be set at EUR 15 000.

(5) In the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 1291/2009 the total number of returning holdings for Ireland has been fixed at 1 300. This number has not been changed since 1982, despite the reduction in the number of holdings in Ireland and an increase in the average size of holdings. Satisfactory representativeness should therefore be achieved on the basis of a smaller sample than the current one.

(6) In the case of France, the addition of the new divisions Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion should be reflected and the number of returning holdings in each French division should be adjusted at levels that ensure satisfactory representativeness of the sample.

(7) In the case of Hungary, the reduction of the number of divisions needs to be reflected.

(8) Regulation (EU) No 1291/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Community Committee for the Farm Accountancy Data Network,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) No 1291/2009 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 2 is amended as follows: (a) the indent concerning Ireland is replaced by the following: ‘— Ireland: EUR 8 000’; (b) the indent concerning France is replaced by the following: ‘— France (with the exception of Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion): EUR 25 000 — France (only Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion): EUR 15 000’;

(2) the Annex is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from the 2012 accounting year.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 1 August 2011. For the Commission The President José Manuel BARROSO

(1) OJ L 328, 15.12.2009, p. 27.

(2) OJ L 347, 24.12.2009, p. 14.