9. 7. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 180/9 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) establishing a system of transitional aids to 
agricultural income (') 
COM(88) 272 final 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3) of the Treaty on 30 May 1988) 
(88/C 180/10) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 
43 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the Community's policy on agricultural 
structures has been supplemented by certain measures 
designed, in particular, to make it easier for farmers to 
adapt to the new circumstances obtaining on agricultural 
markets in the context of the current reform of the 
common agricultural policy; whereas, however, these 
measures may not provide sufficient assistance for certain 
categories of family holding; 
Whereas, this being the case, Member States should have 
the option of granting transitional aids to agricultural 
income so that the agricultural population can maintain a 
fair standard of living and the balances necessary to 
the vitality of rural society can thus be safeguarded, 
given the restricted opportunities for non-agricultural 
employment available to the farmers concerned in the 
present economic climate; 
Whereas, to ensure the necessary transparency of such 
temporary aids and to ensure compliance with the 
Community conditions laid down to prevent any jeop­
ardizing of the Community's objectives as regards 
market reform in particular, the granting of the said aids 
to income should have to satisfy criteria relating mainly 
to the economic situation of the holdings concerned as 
compared with that of holdings in the region concerned as a whole and should be subject to prior approval by the 
Commission of income aid programmes drawn up by the 
Member States planning to introduce such measures; 
Whereas account should also be taken of the fact that 
holdings of the type concerned are unevenly distributed 
in the Community and are relatively concentrated in the 
Member States where budget funds and, consequently, 
the possibilities for granting transitional aids are much 
more restricted than in other Member States; whereas 
the cohesion sought by the Single Act therefore requires, 
in the latter cases in particular, a Community contri­
bution towards the income aids granted to persons prac­
tising farming as their main occupation; whereas the 
level of the Community contribution must be varied 
according to requirements and the financial resources 
available in the various regions of the Community; 
Whereas the Community contribution will be financed 
from appropriations entered in a special chapter of the 
general budget of the Communities; whereas in order to 
facilitate operation of the system the financing rules 
should be those applying to the EAGGF Guarantee 
Section under Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 
21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agri­
cultural policy (2), as last amended by Regulation (EEQ-
No 3183/87 (J), 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
1. To assist family holdings to overcome short-term 
income difficulties and to adjust to market conditions in 
the context of the reform of the common agricultural 
policy, a Community system is hereby instituted whereby 
(') OJ No C 236, 2. 9. 1987, p. 4. (2) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 15. 
0) OJ No L 304, 27. 10. 1987, p. 1. 
No C 180/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 7. 88 
the Member States may be authorized to grant tran­
sitional aids to agricultural income, hereinafter referred 
to as 'income aids'. 
2. The Community shall contribute towards the 
financing of income aids on the terms laid down in Title 
II. 
TITLE I 
The system of income aids 
Article 2 
Income aids shall fall within the scope of this system 
where: 
(a) they are covered by a programme drawn up by the 
Member State concerned in accordance with Article 
3; 
(b) the recipients meet the conditions laid down in 
Article 4 (1); and 
(c) they do not exceed in amount the level determined 
in accordance with Article 5. 
Article 3 
1. Each programme of agricultural income aids (here­
inafter referred to as a 'PAIA') shall include at least the 
following details: 
(a) the geographical scope of the PAIA as delimited in 
accordance with paragraph 2 and, where this does 
not fully coincide with one or more administrative 
regions within the meaning of paragraph 2, the 
reasons for such delimitation; 
(b) the objectives pursued and the period within which 
they are to be achieved, specifying the data necessary 
for establishing the average regional income and the 
average national income within the meaning of 
Article 5; 
(c) the status of the PAIA in relation to any other 
measures to stimulate economic development, and 
employment and incomes in general in the region 
concerned, outlining the necessary coordination 
between those measures and those provided for in 
the PAIA; 
(d) the forecast amount of overall annual expenditure on 
the implementation of the PAIA, justifying that 
amount by reference to the socio-economic situation 
of the holdings concerned and specifying, with 
supporting evidence, the amount which may qualify 
for a Community contribution under Articles 7 and 
8; 
(e) data warranting conformity with the objective that 
the aids granted under this Regulation must not 
stimulate agricultural production; (f) the detailed conditions for granting income aids 
within the framework of the PAIA in question, in 
compliance with the conditions laid down in Articles 
4 and 5 and, where appropriate, Article 7. 
2. The geographical scope of the PAIA shall be 
delimited in terms of the administrative regions of the 
Member State concerned; however, it need not fully 
coincide with one or more administrative regions if it 
covers an area where the socio-structural characteristics 
of agricultural holdings are broadly homogeneous. 
For the purposes of the geographical delimitation, 
Member States shall also take into account the initial 
situation and the trends which may be inferred 
therefrom, and in particular: 
(a) the economic and social situation of the area in 
general, and in particular the prospects for non-
agricultural employment; 
(b) the importance of farming, the characteristic types of 
farming and the structure of agricultural holdings; 
(c) the economic data relating to the profitability of 
agricultural holdings, their financial situation (capital 
and liabilities) and the average level and distribution 
of family agricultural incomes. 
3. PAIAs may restrict the granting of income aids to 
certain production sectors, but only by way of exception 
and in specially warranted cases. 
In such cases the PAIA shall indicate, in addition to the 
details listed in paragraph 1 and in the context of the 
information referred to in the second subparagraph of 
paragraph 2, the specific features of the production 
sector(s) concerned as compared to agricultural holdings 
as a whole within the PAIA area. 
4. A PAIA must not cover all or part of any regions 
for which another PAIA has already been approved in 
accordance with Article 6. 
Article 4 
1. Farmers and members of their families working on 
the holding may qualify for income aid only where the 
overall family income on the holding amounts, per work 
unit, to less than 100 % of the regional gross domestic 
product per member of the working population or, at the 
option of the Member State concerned, 75 °/o of the 
national gross domestic product per member of the 
working population. If the Member State uses the 
regional GDP, the limit of 75 % of the national GDP 
must not be exceeded. 
'Overall family income' shall mean the income of the 
farmer and those members of his family who belong to 
his household, including any non-agricultural resources. 
9. 7. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 180/11 
The agricultural income of the holding to be taken into 
account shall be established by recourse to objective 
criteria relating to the holding to be determined by the 
procedure laid down in Article 12. 
2. Income aids may be granted to individual ben­
eficiaries for a period not exceeding five years as from 
the first income-aid payment. 
Article 5 
1. The level of income aid per agricultural work unit 
shall be determined in such a way as to cover, at most, 
the difference between: 
(a) the agricultural income of the holding, determined as 
indicated in the third subparagraph of Article 4 (1), 
divided by the number of work units on the holding, 
and 
(b) 100 °/o of the average regional income or, at the 
option of the Member State concerned, 80 % of the 
average national income. 
If determined by reference to the average regional 
income, the aid must not result in the agricultural 
income of the holding per work unit exceeding 90 % of 
the average national income. 
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1: 
(a) 'average regional income' shall mean the average 
agricultural income per work unit recorded in the 
administrative region covered by the PAIA in 
question over a multiannual reference period to be 
determined in accordance with the procedure laid 
down in Article 12 for the entire period of appli­
cation of this system; 
(b) 'average national income' shall mean the average 
agricultural income per work unit recorded at 
national level on the same basis as the average 
regional income. 
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 and 
without prejudice to paragraph 4, a flat rate for the aid 
per work unit may be determined for the zone of appli­
cation of the PAIA by establishing the difference 
between the average regional or average national 
income, as appropriate, specified in paragraph 2, and the 
average agricultural income per work unit in the zone 
derived from the most recent figures. 
4. In order to prevent distortion of competition and 
ensure that the objective stated at (e) in Article 3 (1) is 
respected, maximum aid amounts set as a percentage of 
the average regional or national income as defined in 
paragraph 2 shall be determined by the procedure laid 
down in Article 12. Article 6 
1. Where a Member State plans to introduce or 
amend a PAIA, it shall notify the Commission of the 
draft programme or the proposed amendment. The noti­
fication must contain the information required for 
assessing whether the conditions laid down in this Regu­
lation are met. 
At the request of the Commission, the Member State 
concerned shall provide additional information for 
assessment purposes. 
2. Member States may not implement the planned 
measures before the Commission has approved the PAIA 
concerned. 
The Commission in making its assessment shall ensure in 
particular that the planned measures: 
(a) comply with the provisions of this Regulation, taking 
into account the objectives thereof, and 
(b) are consistent with the objective that aids granted 
pursuant to this Regulation must not stimulate agri­
cultural production. 
3. Within three months from the date of receipt of a 
draft PAIA or amendments thereto, the Commission, 
having consulted the Committee provided for in Article 
12, shall decide whether to approve the draft PAIA or 
the amendments thereto, provided that all the particulars 
listed in Article 3 and, where appropriate, the additional 
information referred to in the second subparagraph of 
paragraph 1 of this Article have been supplied. 
TITLE II 
Community financing of income aids 
Article 7 
1. Income aids which are part of a PAIA approved in 
accordance with Article 6 (3) and which are granted in 
accordance with the conditions laid down in Articles 4 
and 5 shall be eligible for Community financing, 
provided that the following special conditions are met: 
(a) the farmer or another member of his family receiving 
the aid must possess adequate occupational skill and 
competence and must practise farming as his main 
occupation; 
(b) he must have undertaken to continue farming for at 
least five years as from the first payment of income 
aid. 
NoC 180/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 7. 88 
For the purposes of compliance with the conditions laid 
down in subparagraph (a), Article 2 (5) and (6) of 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 (») shall apply. 
The party concerned may be released from the under­
taking referred to in subparagraph (b) where he meets 
the requirements of the first subparagraph, second 
reference, of Article 14 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 
797/85. 
2. However, only that proportion of income aid shall 
be eligible for Community financing: 
(a) which is granted in respect of not more than two 
work units per farm and amounts to not more than 
1 500 ECU per work unit per year, and 
(b) which constitutes, in the second, third, fourth and 
fifth years of its grant to individual beneficiaries, 
80 °/o, 60 %, 40 % and 20 % respectively of the 
eligible income aid granted to such beneficiaries in 
the first year in accordance with Articles 4 and 5. 
3. To ensure that the appropriations entered in the 
Community budget are not exceeded by expenditure, 
additional conditions relating to the eligibility of PAIAs 
may be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid 
down in Article 12, the EAGGF Committee having been 
consulted on the financial aspects. 
Article 8 
1. In order to determine the Community contribution 
to the financing of eligible income aids, a Community 
list breaking down the regions of the Community into 
various categories shall be drawn up in accordance with 
the procedure laid down in Article 12. 
The list shall be drawn up on the basis of a synthetic 
indicator: 
(a) three quarters of which shall reflect the level of 
economic development as measured in terms of the 
gross domestic product per inhabitant, and 
(b) one quarter of which shall reflect the share of total 
employment accounted for by agriculture, as 
measured by the percentage of total employment 
represented by non-agricultural employment. 
2. The Community shall finance expenditure on the 
granting of eligible income aids according to the 
category of the region where the holding concerned is 
located, at the following rates: 
— 70 °/o where the regional synthetic indicator is less 
than 75 % of the Community indicator (category I); 
— 45 % where the regional synthetic indicator is equal 
to or greater than 75 °/o but less than 85 % of the 
Community indicator (category II); 
(')OJ No L 93, 30. 3. 1985, p. 1. — 20 % where the regional synthetic indicator is equal 
to or greater than 85 % but less than 95 % of the 
Community indicator (category III); 
— 10 % where the regional synthetic indicator is equal 
to or greater than 95 °/o of the Community indicator 
(category IV). 
However, for the purpose of implementing this Article, 
Northern Ireland shall be placed in the same category as 
the neighbouring regions of Ireland. 
Article 9 
The measures referred to in Articles 7 and 8 shall be 
financed from appropriations entered in a special chapter 
of the general budget of the Communities. The financing 
rules shall be those applying to the EAGGF Guarantee 
Section. 
TITLE III 
General provisions 
Article 10 
1. The provisions of Articles 92, 93 and 94 of the 
Treaty, with the exception of Article 92 (2), shall not 
apply to aids granted pursuant to this Regulation. 
2. Without prejudice to other specific or sectoral 
Community provisions, aids to agricultural income shall 
be prohibited if the conditions or rules governing the 
grant thereof differ from those laid down in this Regu­
lation and, in particular, if the amount of such aids is 
determined by reference to prices, quantities of agri­
cultural products or inputs. 
Article 11 
Detailed rules for the application of this Regulation shall 
be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down 
in Article 12. 
Article 12 
1. A Management Committee for Agricultural Income 
Aids, hereinafter referred to as the 'Committee', shall be 
set up, comprising representatives from the Member 
States and chaired by a Commission representative. 
2. Within the Committee the votes of the Member 
States shall be weighted in accordance with Article 148 
(2) of the Treaty. The chairman shall not vote. 
3. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to 
be followed, the chairman shall refer the matter to the 
Committee, either on his own initiative or at the request 
of the representative of a Member State. 
9. 7. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 180/13 
4. The Commission representative shall submit a draft 
of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall 
deliver its opinion on the measures within a time limit 
which the chairman may lay down depending on the 
urgency of the matters submitted for examination. 
Opinions shall be delivered by a majority of 54 votes. 
5. The Commission shall adopt measures which shall 
apply immediately. However, if they are not in 
accordance with the opinion of the Committee, the 
measures shall be immediately notified by the 
Commission to the Council. In this event the 
Commission may defer application of the measures 
which it has adopted for not more than one month as 
from such notification. 
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a 
different decision within one month. 
6. The Committee may examine any other matter 
referred to it by its chairman, either on his own initiative 
or at the request of the representative of a Member 
State. Article 13 
1. At the end of a three-year period starting from the 
entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall 
submit to the Council and the European Parliament a 
report on the operation of the system provided for in this 
Regulation, on the basis of the information provided by 
the Member States. 
2. Having examined the said report, the Council, 
acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 43 (2) of the Treaty, may decide, in the light of 
experience and changes in economic conditions, to 
amend this system where necessary. 
Article 14 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 
It shall apply until [five years after entry into 
force]. 
No PAIA may be approved under Article 6 after that 
date and no income aid provided for in a PAIA approved 
before that date may be granted to individual ben­
eficiaries after [10 years after entry into force]. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States.