ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (74)296
Vol.1974/0054

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(74)296Final
Brussels,7March1974
NOTTOBEPUBLISHED
COMMISSION OPINION
of7March1974
ontheDraftprovisionsforimplementation ofCouncil
DirectiveNo72/161/CEEof17April1972,
communicated bytheIrishGovernment.
C0M(74)296Final.

COM(74 )296Final
r• ••
NOT TOBEPUBLISHED
-COMMISSION OPINION
of7March 1974
ontheDraft provisions forimplementation ofCounoil
.Directive No72/l6l/CEEof17April 1972 ,-communicated
bytheIrish Government .
Pursuant toArticle 10(l )ofCouncil Directive NoJ2/161/E20
concerning theprovision ofsocio-economic guidance forand
theacquisition ofoccupational skills bypersons engaged
inagriculture ,theIrish Delegatior .coitimunioated its
Draft implementation provisions on4January 1974 *
After consultation ofthe Standing Committee onAgricultural
Structure (74th nesting on18January 1974)theCommission
has,inaccordance with Article 10(3 )ofDirective Ko72/l6l/EEC
adopted thefollowing positions with regard tothedraft provi­
sions : ^
I*Draft provisions for theimplementation ofTitle IoftheDirective
(Scheme fortheprovision ofsooio-economio guidance forthe
agricultural population )
1.Aims ofscheme
Point II2ofthedraft takes over thewording ofarticle
3oftheDirective todefine the function ofsocio-economic
guidance *
TheCommission hasnocomment onthis provision ofthedraft .

-2-
2*Training ofAdvisers
TheCommission has nocomment onthearrangements forthetraining
ofsocio-economic advisers provided forinpoint II4ofthe draft .
.·«<■'·'
3.Provision ofsocio-economic guidance "byother agencies
3*1*Inpoint II6ofthedraft ,provision isalso made forprivate
agencies ,whose advisers nust have qualifications andexperience
equivalent tothose ofofficial advisers ,tooperate measures
for theprovision ofsocio-economic guidance and "beapproved for
this purpose bytheMinistry forAgriculture andFisheries .
During consultation oftheStanding Committee onAgricultural
Structure ,theIrish Delegation stated that theYoung Farmers'
Organisation hadshown interest inemploying additional socio­
economic advisers ofitsown ,whose main task would betogive
guidance onproblems connected with farm inheritance and farm
transfer *The Commission would beinformed ofthe relevant mea­
sures indue course .

-3-
3.2.Underarticle2(a)oftheDirectivetheMemberStatesare
authorizedtoappointandapproveprivateagenciesalsofor
thepurposeofprovidingsocio-economic guidance,ifthey
meettherequirements ofArticles3and4«TheCommission
thereforehasnoobjectiontotheprovisioninpartII,
paragraph6.
TheCommissionwouldhowevertakethisopportunity tomake
thefollowingpoints:
1Th«Commissionconsidersthatthecontentandfunctionof
socio-economic guidancewithinthemeaningoftheDirective
canbedeterminedonlyifthethreeCouncilDirectivesof
17April1972onthereformofagricultural structureare
takentogether.
TheDirectivesarebasedontheassumptionthatthestructure
ofagricultureintheCommunityischaracterised bythelarge
numberoffarmswhichlackthenecessarystructurestoenable
themtoguaranteeasatisfactory incomeandlivingconditions
comparablewiththoseinotheroccupations .
Theaimofthedirectivesisconsequently toencouragethe
creationanddevelopment offarmswhosestructureandsize
enablesthemtoadapttofutureeconomicdevelopments .It
isassumed,firstly,thatvacantlandisrequiredforthe
development ofsuchfarmsand,secondly,thatmanyfarmers
areunableorunwillingtocarryoutsuchdevelopment .The
latteraretobeenabledbythemeasurescontainedinT>iree–
tiveT>To72/160/EECtoleaveagrioultureandtoplacetheir
landatthedisposalofotherfarmsforpurposesofmoder­
nization. -

-4-
c?
Accordingly ,thepreambletoDirectiveFo72/161/?^^states
thatagriculturalstructurescannot "bereformedunlessalarge
numberofthoseworkinginagricultttre makeafundamental
changeintheiroccupationalorientation .Thechoice.involved
inanychangeoforientationwithinagriculture (farmmoderni­
sation)orinanytransference tootheroccupations must"bem;'iT- •>: !:
withfullknowledgeofexistingopportunities andoftheconse­
quenceofsuchachoiceforthefarmerandhisfamily.Thunthe
objectiveofsocio-economic guidanceistoprovidehelpinsol­
vingtheirsocialandeconomicproblemstofarmersandthefa­
miliesoffarmerswhosefarmsdonotmeettherequirements of
modernagriculture ,andwhoareconsequently obliged,ifthey
wishtoimprovetheirownandtheirfamilies' *situations ,to
takedecisionsontheirworkingfutureandthefutureoftheir
children.Thismeansthatthoseresponsibleforsocio-economic
guidancemustalso,wherenecessarywiththeassistanceof
specialists ,studytheeconomicsituationofthefarmandthe
socialand.economicsituationofthefarmingfamilyandpresent
theresultsofthis.studytothefarmerandhisfamilyorre­
commendappropriatedecisions.
Socio-economic guidancethusrepresentsasregardsfarmsof
thekindwithwhichtheDirectiveismainlyconcernedthat
isfarmswhichcannotberegardedasmodern,thefundamental
basiccounselling onthebasisofwhich,dependingonthe
decisiontaken,othermorefar-reaching advicecanormustbe
sought,eitherwithaviewtodrawingupafarmdevelopment

-5-
planand/orreorganizingthefarm,orinconnectionwith
°thechoiceofanoccupationoutsideagricultureorwith
providingthefarmer'schildrenwithtrainingforsuchan
occupation(seeArticle3(f)oftheDirective).
Theapprovalofaprivateagencyasasocio-economic guidance
serviceasdefinedinArticle2(a)oftheDirectiveimplies
thatthisservicegivessocio-economic guidanceasdefined
inarticle3oftheDirectiveandthereforefulfilstheaims
ofthatarticleasdefinedinparagraph 1above.Dealing
withonespecialfield,suchasthelegalproblemsofin­
heritance,cannottherefore,howeverusefulspecialguidance
ofthatnaturemaybe,beregardedassocio-economic guidance
asdefinedintheDirective,thecostofwhichissharedby
theCommunity.
Moreover,insuchcases,afinancialcontribution bytheCom­
munityunderArticle12oftheDirectivecanonlybeenter­
tainedif,inaccordancewithArticle2(b),theMemberStates
alsopaythecostoftrainingadviserstobeemployedbythe
privateagenciesandsharethecostoftheseprivateguidance
centres.Thisfollowsfromthefactthat,inaccordancewith
Article12,theCommunityonlycontributestotheexpenditure
incurredbytheMemberStatesthemselvesinimplementing the
Regulation *
TheCommissionthereforewishestopointouttotheIrish
GovernmentthatonthebasisofthewordingofpointII6
ofthedraftasforwarded,tothem;'expenditure asdefinded
inArticle12oftheDirectivecannotqualifyforrefund.

0
»6-
II.Draftprovisionsfortheimplementation ofTitleIIoftheDirective
(Trainingschemeforpersonsengagedinagriculture )
1.Courses
1.1.UnderPartIII,4»thefollowingspecialandpracticalcourses
areofferedforthetrainingofpersonsengagedinagriculture.
Thesecoursesareinadditiontothegeneralsystemofagricul­
tural'tfrainffcg(see1.2.'below).
i
a)Basictraining
-Full-timeresidential coursesof800hours'durationfor
agriculture ,horticulture andfarmhomemanagement.
Accordingtotheinformation givenbytheIrishDelegation
duringconsultation oftheStandingCommitteeonAgricultural
»Structuresthesefull-timecoursesareintendedprimarilyfor
farmersbetween23and30yearsoldwho,immediatelyafter
completingprimaryorsecondaryeducationhavetakenupan
oocupationinagriculture ,usuallyontheirfamilyfarms,
withouteverhavingreceivedanagricultural training.The
participants inthesecoursesareselectedbytheadvisory
servicefromamongstthosewhohavealreadyworkedinagricul­
tureforsomeyears.
Probablyonlyonecourseofthistypewillbearrangedeach
yearforabout40participants .Thesecoursesaredireoted
tothespecialrequirements oftheparticipants ,takinginto
accountthat,inprinciple,theywillinitiallybeparticipants
wholateronwillformulateadevelopment plan.
-Residential block-release-courses of100or300hours'duration.
-Day-release-ooursesof100hours'duration.

b)Advanced training
-Pall-time residential courses of800hours' duration at
agricultural andhorticultural colleges including praotioal
training onmodel farms .
-Block -release -courses orday-release -courses of25hours'
duration .The number ofhours attendance atacourse depends
ontheprevious training ofthose taking part .Each partici­
pant must attend foratleast 100hours . -
-Farm apprenticeship which isintended forapprentices whohave
spent oneyear atarecognized agricultural college andwho
have attained asatisfactory level ofeducation .
This involves practical training atapproved training farms
which canlast uptofour years .Every years atwoweeks'
course (50hours )isgiven tosupplement practical training .
-Trainee Farmer Scheme :,this praotical training isfirst of
allintended especially for those whowill inherit farms and
cannot remain away from thefamily farm foranylength oftime ,
andwhohave already received appropriate basic training .The
participants must have attended awinter school (course of100
hours' duration )oranagricultural college .Thetraining
period idthree years ,thefirst ofwhich must bespent onan
approved model faro .Practical training issupplemented by
atwoweeks' course ,designed particularly toinstrust the
participants inmodem farm management .
°)Special Interest group courses lasting atotal of25hours
These courses areforfarmers whohave already reoeived
appropriate basic training andwhohave nothad theopportunity
totake part intheblock-release courses mentioned above .

-8-
Thesecoursescoverspecificeconomicortechnicalaspects
offarmmanagement.
Participantsinthesecoursesmustheatleast18yearsofage
andbeemployedinagriculture .
1.2.Fromthecommunication of4January1974andtheadditional
statementmadebytheIrishDelegationduringconsultation of
theStandingCommitteeonAgricultural Structuresthefollowing
pictureofgeneralagricultural trainingemerges:
Primaryandsecondaryschooleducationisfollowedbyoneyear's
trainingatanagricultural collegewhichisnormallyattended
bypersonsof17to18yearsofagewho,oncompletionofthe
course,receiveanagricultural diploma.Often,however,
diplomatesofthesecollegesdonotreturntopractiseagriculture.
Furthermore ,onlyalimitednumberoffarmers'childrenwhoare
latertotakeoverthefarmparticipateinthistraining.
Anumberofcollegesalsooffertrainingintheformofaone
year'ssecondresidential coursewhichisaimedatthosewho
intendtoreturntothefarm.Thesecoursesconcentrate on
farmmanagement.Therearealsospeoialcoursesforhorticulture ,
poultryfarmingandfarmhomemanagement.
Inaddition,theAdvisoryStaffofCountyAgricultural Committees
offervariouswintercoursesforyoungparticipants workingin
agriculture .
■/.

Article 5(L)OFDirective No72/16I/EECobliges theMember
States tosetupschemes toencourage thevocational advancement
and .adaptation offarmers andhired andfamily agricultural
workers .Inaccordance with Article 6(l)oftheDirective these
schemes ofencouragement are toconsist ofmeasures designed to
give persons engaged inagriculture further training ofageneral
teqiui^cAl andeconomic nature .According to ,thesioond subparagraph
ofarticle l)such schemes arenottooover thenormal agricul­
tural courses ofstudy organised aspart ofsecondary orhigher
education systems .
Onimplementating these schemes theMember States must inaccordance
with Article 6(2)oftheDirective ,specify among other things ,
theduration ofeach type ofcourse interms ofjtheobjectives set
outinArticle 5(L)ANDTHEstructure ofcourses having regard
totraining tobegiven .
Inaccordance with thethird indent ofArticle 12(2 )ofthe
Directive ,25%oftheMember State 'sactual expenditure under
Article 6(3)qualifie sforarefund from theGuidance section of
theEAGGP uptoamaximum of1500 u.a .foreach fanner whohas
completed avocational training offurther training course .
Inconsidering thecourses andpractical training mentioned
under II1.1 .above ,theCommission adopted thefollowing
principles :

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Inaccordance with thesecond paragraph ofArticle 5(1)ofthe
Directive ,normal agricultural courses ofstudy organized as
part of"secondary orhigher educational systems "arenotcovered
bytheprovisions oftheDirective ,IntheCommission 'sopinion ,
thereference to"secondary orhigher education systems "shows
clearly that normal training courses arecourses which immediate­
lyfollow compulsory schooling andcanlast until thetrainee
iswell over 18years ofage.Thefundamental aimofthese trai­
ning courses is,therefore ,toprepare forfuture vocational
training and itdoes notmatter whether these training courses
arecompulsory oroptional or,whether thetrainee isalready
engaged inagriculture .These training courses arestill con­
sidered as"normal "training courses even 'ifthey areattended
"byfarmers already inbusiness . (
Artiole 5of "th®Directive assumes that normal training courses
ofthis kind exist inthe Member States .This isofcrucial
significance since itclearly shows that theintroduction or
reorganization ofthenormal training systems isnotcovered
bytheDirective andtherefore does notqualify forrefund from
the EAGGP .
TheDirective ,therefore ,covers only training courses which sup­
plement normal training andareaimed specifically atpersons en­
gaged inagriculture Clio already work full-time asmanagers or
asfamily orhired agricultural workers ,andwhich areintended
tohelp these farmers toachieve anall-round improvement intheir
professional skills oracquire newprofessional skills .
/•

-11
Thedurationandcontentofthecoursesmustbetitedto
theseaims.IntheCommission'sopinionthismeans,for
example,thatpracticaltrainingcoursesforyoungpeople
cannotnormallybecoveredbytheDirective,as"bytheir
verynaturetheyshouldtakeplacebeforeanoccupationis
takenup.
AccordingtotheCommissionthisalsomeansthatmereattendance
atshortercourses,particularly technicalcourses,cannotba
regardedastrainingwhichoffersallroundimprovement of
professional skillsandwhichqualifiesforafinancialcontri­
butionfromtheCommunity.
1.5«Atthesametime,itcanbeseenthatinIrelandthereisa
i
normaltrainingsystem(seeII,1.2.)towhichareaddedthe
variouscoursesmentionedinpoint4ofthecommunication
(seeII1.1.)providingspecialtrainingforpersonsalready
engagedinagriculture ,andwhich,withtheexceptionsmentioned
inthefollowingparagraphs,qualifyforfinancialcontributions
fromtheCommunity.
1.5.1.However,intheCommission'sopinionthisdoesnotapplyto
theFarmapprenticeship referredto.Theschemeinvolves
practicaltrainingwhichissupplemented byveryshort
theoretical courses,whichareintendedforparticipants not
yetworkinginagriculture orwhohaveworkedinagriculture
foronlyaverylimitedperiod.Evenifthispracticaltraining
isattendedbypersonswhohavealreadybeenengagedinagri­
cultureforacertaintime,theCommissionregardsitasnormal
trainingofthekindgiveninseveralMemberStates,thecosts
ofwhichcannotbesharedbytheCommunity.
/

•Hms
-12-
1.5.2.AsfarastheSpecialInterestGroupCourses,of25hours*
duration,referredtoinpoint4*2.areconcerned,the
Commissionisoftheopinionthatasingleparticipation in
oneofthesecoursescannotberegardedasacompletecourse
withinthemeaningofArticle12oftheDirective.However
usefulparticipation incoursesofthiskindmaybe,onecourse
alonedoesnotconstituteatrainingprogrammewhichoffers
all-soundimprovementofprofessionalskillsortheacquisition
ofnewskills.Afinancialcontribution bytheCoraaunityto
theexpensesincurredbyafarmworkertakingpartinjust
oneofthesecoursescannotbeentertained .
/
Conclusions
Followingtheexaminationofthedraftsfromthepointofviewof
theircompatibility withDirectiveNo72/161/EECandtakinginto
accounttheaimsofthisdirectiveandthenecessaryconnection
betweenthevariousmeasures,theCommissionconcludesthatthe
draftsforwardedmeetthecriteriaforafinancialcontribution
bytheCommunitytothemeasuresenvisagedbutthattheFarm
Apprenticeship ,theTrainee^Farmers'SchemeandtheSpecial
InterestGroupCoursesplannedarenotcoveredbytheprovisions
ofArticles5and6oftheDirectiveandthereforedonotqualify
forrefundunderArticle12oftheDirective.
DoneatBrussels,7March1974
FortheCommission
ThePresident
Francois-Xavier ORTOLI.