Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops (96/C 301/05) COM(96) 361 final - 96/0167(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 2 August 1996) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 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,

Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 (1), provides for the grant to producers of durum wheat in traditional production zones of a supplement to the compensatory payment referred to in Title I of that Regulation in order to offset the extra loss of income to the producers in question by comparison with producers of other cereals arising from the fixing of a single price for all cereals; whereas the supplement is restricted to areas under durum wheat in the traditional zones;

Whereas the process of determining the number of hectares eligible for the supplement to the compensatory payment granted to individual durum wheat producers in traditional production zones has made it necessary to establish a national register of such producers; whereas the introduction of such a register makes it difficult to adjust the structure of durum wheat production to the market situation; whereas the special scheme for durum wheat production aid should therefore be adjusted;

Whereas a means should be found to ensure that the adjustment produces a durum wheat production level which is sufficient to supply user industries while keeping budgetary expenditure in check; whereas that objective can be achieved by introducing, for each Member State concerned, a maximum area of durum wheat eligible for the special aid covering all the zones eligible for the supplement to the compensatory payment, as referred to in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92; whereas that maximum area should be fixed on the basis of the largest area which received the supplement to the compensatory payment since its introduction in order to correspond best to production in the Member States concerned; whereas, in the case of Spain, the maximum guaranteed surface area was fixed at 570 000 hectares by Council Regulation (EC) No 3116/94 (2), i.e. at a level that corresponds best to production in that Member State; whereas, in the case of Portugal, the maximum guaranteed surface area was fixed at 35 000 hectares by Regulation (EC) No 3116/94 in order to reflect best the production potential in that Member State in view of the existence of a special degressive aid granted to producers of common wheat by Regulation (EEC) No 3653/90 (3); whereas in the case of Italy, in view of the size of the area concerned, account should be taken of the land traditionally under durum wheat that was taken out of cultivation during the reference period under five-year set-aside arrangements in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91 (4); whereas any overshoot of these areas must lead to an adjustment in the applications submitted with a view to the grant of the special production aid for durum wheat;

Whereas Annexes II and III to Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 should be combined in a single Annex for the sake of clarity;

Whereas it is necessary to ensure that the areas in receipt of special aid for durum wheat produce wheat which satisfies the demands of user industries; whereas this may be achieved by requiring that certified seed be used;

Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 should therefore be amended,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 is hereby amended as follows:

1. In Article 4, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 are replaced by the following:

'3. A supplement to the compensatory payment of ECU 358,6 per hectare shall be paid for the area under durum wheat in the traditional production zones listed in Annex II, subject to the limits fixed in Annex III.

In the event that the total of the areas for which a supplement to the compensatory payment is claimed is greater than the limit referred to in this paragraph during the course of a marketing year, the area per producer for which the supplement may be paid shall be reduced proportionately.

However, the Member States may distribute the areas indicated above among the production zones as defined in Annex II, or, if necessary, the production regions referred to in Article 3, according to the extent of the production of durum wheat during the period 1993 to 1995. Where this is done, in the event that the total of the areas within a region for which a supplement to the compensatory payment is requested is greater than the corresponding regional limit during the course of a marketing year, the area per producer for which the supplement may be paid shall be reduced proportionately.

4. In France, in those departments where the production of durum wheat is well established, other than those referred to in Annex II, aid amounting to ECU 138,9 per hectare shall be introduced up to a limit of 50 000 hectares.

In Austria, the aid referred to in the first subparagraph shall be granted up to a limit of 5 000 hectares in the regions where the production of durum wheat is well established.` 2. In Article 12, the fifth indent is replaced by the following:

'- those determining, for durum wheat, the eligibility requirements for the supplement to the compensatory payment referred to in Article 4 (3) and the eligibility requirements for the aid referred to in Article 4 (4), and in particular determination of the regions to be taken into consideration and the measures to be taken in the event that the limit fixed for the payment of the aid is exceeded; those rules shall stipulate that the grant of the supplement provided for in Articles 4 (3) and (4) be subject to the obligation to use certified seed.` 3. In Annex II:

a) Under 'Italy`, Umbria is added to the list of regions.

b) Under 'France`, the region Midi-Pyrénées and the departments Ardèche and Drôme are added at the end of the list of regions.

4. Annex III is replaced by the Annex hereto.

Article 2

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

It shall apply from the 1997/1998 crop year.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) OJ No L 181, 1. 7. 1992, p. 12. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2989/95 (OJ No L 312, 23. 12. 1995, p. 5).

(2) OJ No L 330, 21. 12. 1994, p. 1.

(3) OJ No L 362, 27. 12. 1990, p. 28.

(4) OJ No L 218, 6. 8. 1991, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2387/95 (OJ No L 244, 12. 10. 1995, p. 50).

ANNEX

'ANNEX III

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