(c)

i ndiaidh Theideal IV, cuirtear Teideal IVa mar a leanas isteach: ‘TITLE IVA IMPLEMENTATION OF SUPPORT SCHEMES IN THE NEW MEMBER STATES Article 143a Introduction of support schemes In the new Member States direct payments shall be introduced in accordance with the following schedule of increments expressed as a percentage of the then applicable level of such payments in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004: — 25 % in 2004, — 30 % in 2005, — 35 % in 2006, — 40 % in 2007, — 50 % in 2008, — 60 % in 2009, — 70 % in 2010, — 80 % in 2011, — 90 % in 2012, — 100 % as from 2013. Article 143b Single Area Payment scheme 1. The new Member States may decide not later than the date of accession to replace the direct payments during the period of application referred to in paragraph 9 with a single area payment which shall be calculated according to paragraph 2. 2. The single area payment shall be made once a year. It shall be calculated by dividing the annual financial envelope established according to paragraph 3 by the agricultural area of each new Member State established according to paragraph 4. 3. For any new Member State, the Commission shall establish an annual financial envelope: — as the sum of the funds that would be available in respect of the calendar year concerned for granting direct payments in the new Member State, — according to the relevant Community rules and on the basis of the quantitative parameters, such as base areas, premium ceilings and Maximum Guaranteed Quantities (MGQ), specified in the Act of Accession and subsequent Community legislation for each direct payment, and — adjusted using the relevant percentage specified in Article 143a for the gradual introduction of direct payments. 4. The agricultural area of a new Member State under the single area payment scheme shall be the part of its utilised agricultural area which has been maintained in good agricultural condition at 30 June 2003, whether in production or not at that date, and, where appropriate, adjusted in accordance with the objective criteria to be set by that new Member State after approval by the Commission. “Utilised agricultural area” shall mean the total area taken up by arable land, permanent grassland, permanent crops and kitchen gardens as established by the Commission (EUROSTAT) for its statistical purposes. 5. For the purpose of granting payments under the single area payment scheme, all agricultural parcels corresponding to the criteria provided for in paragraph 4 shall be eligible. The minimum size of eligible area per holding for which payments may be requested shall be 0,3 ha. However, any new Member State may decide, on the basis of objective criteria and after approval by the Commission, to set the minimum size at a higher level not exceeding 1 ha. 6. There shall be no obligation to produce or to employ the factors of production. However, farmers may use the land referred to in paragraph 4 for any agricultural purpose. In the case of production of hemp falling within CN code 5302 10 00, Article 5a(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 (16) and Article 7b of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2316/1999 (17) as well as Article 52(1) of this Regulation shall apply. Any land benefiting from payments under the single area payment scheme shall be maintained in good agricultural condition compatible with the protection of the environment. As from 1 January 2005 the application of Articles 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9 shall be optional for the new Member States insofar as these provisions relate to statutory management requirements. 7. Where in a given year the single area payments in a new Member State would exceed its annual financial envelope, the national amount per hectare applicable in that new Member State shall be reduced proportionately by application of a reduction coefficient. 8. The Community rules on the integrated system laid down respectively in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (18), and in particular Article 2 thereof, and in Chapter 4 of Title II of this Regulation, and in particular Article 18, shall apply to the single area payment scheme to the extent necessary. Accordingly, any new Member State choosing this scheme shall: — prepare and process farmers' annual aid applications. Such applications shall contain data on applicants and on declared agricultural parcels (identification number and area); — put in place a land parcel identification system so as to ensure that the parcels for which aid applications have been made can be identified and their area established, that the parcels concern agricultural land and that they are not the subject of another application; — have in place a computerised database for agricultural holdings, parcels and aid applications; — check the aid applications pertaining to the year 2004 in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 and those pertaining to any year as from 2005 in accordance with Article 23 of this Regulation. The application of the single area payment scheme shall not in any way affect the obligation of any new Member State with regard to the implementation of Community rules on the identification and registration of animals as provided for by Council Directive 92/102/EEC (19) and Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (20). 9. For any new Member State the single area payment scheme shall be available for a period of application until the end of 2006 with the possibility of renewal twice by one year at the new Member State's request. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 11, any new Member State may decide to terminate the application of the scheme at the end of the first or the second year of the period of application with a view to applying the single payment scheme. New Member States shall notify the Commission of their intention to terminate by 1 August of the last year of application. 10. Before the end of the period of application of the single area payment scheme, the Commission shall assess the state of preparedness of the new Member State concerned to apply fully the direct payments. In particular, by the end of the period of application of the single area payment scheme, the new Member State shall have taken all necessary steps to set up the integrated system as referred to in Article 18 for running properly the direct payments in the form then applicable. 11. On the basis of its assessment, the Commission shall: (a) note that the new Member State can enter the system of direct payments applied in the Member States of the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004, or (b) decide to extend the application of the single area payment scheme by the new Member State for the period estimated necessary to allow for the necessary management and control procedures to be fully in place and to function properly. Before the end of the extended application period referred to in point (b), paragraph 10 shall apply. Until the end of the 5 year period of application of the single area payment scheme (i.e. 2008), the percentage rate set out in Article 143a shall apply. If the application of the single area payment scheme is extended beyond that date pursuant to a decision taken under point (b), the percentage rate set out in Article 143a for the year 2008 shall apply until the end of the last year of application of the single area payment scheme. 12. After the end of the period of application of the single area payment scheme, the direct payments shall be applied according to the relevant Community rules and on the basis of the quantitative parameters, such as base area, premium ceilings and Maximum Guaranteed Quantities (MGQ), specified in the Act of Accession (21) for each direct payment and subsequent Community legislation. The percentage rates set out in Article 143a for the relevant years shall subsequently apply. 13. New Member States shall inform the Commission in detail of the measures taken to implement this Article and in particular the measures taken pursuant to paragraph 7. Article 143c Complementary national direct payments and direct payments 1. For the purposes of this Article: “CAP-like national scheme” shall mean any national direct payment scheme applicable prior to the date of accession of the new Member States under which the support was granted to farmers in respect of production covered by one of the direct payments. 2. The new Member States shall have the possibility, subject to authorisation by the Commission, of complementing any direct payments up to: (a) with regard to all direct payments, 55 % of the level of direct payments in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004 in 2004, 60 % in 2005 and 65 % in 2006 and from 2007 up to 30 percentage points above the applicable level referred to in Article 143a in the relevant year. However, the Czech Republic may complement direct payments in the potato starch sector up to 100 % of the level applicable in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004. or (b) (i) with regard to direct payments other than the single payment scheme, the total level of direct support the farmer would have been entitled to receive, on a product by product basis, in the new Member State in the calendar year 2003 under a CAPlike national scheme increased by 10 percentage points. However for Lithuania the reference year shall be the calendar year 2002 and for Slovenia the increase shall be 10 percentage points in 2004, 15 percentage points in 2005, 20 percentage points in 2006 and 25 percentage points from 2007. (ii) with regard to the single payment scheme the total amount of complementary national direct aid which may be granted by a new Member State in respect of a given year shall be limited by a specific financial envelope. This envelope shall be equal to the difference between: — the total amount of CAP-like national direct support that would be available in the relevant new Member State in respect of the calendar year 2003 or, in the case of Lithuania, of the calendar year 2002, each time increased by 10 percentage points. However, for Slovenia the increase shall be 10 percentage points in 2004, 15 percentage points in 2005, 20 percentage points in 2006 and 25 percentage points from 2007, and — the national ceiling of that new Member State listed in Annex VIIIa adjusted, where appropriate, in accordance with Articles 64(2) and 70(2). For the purpose of calculating the total amount referred to in the first indent above, the national direct payments and/or its components corresponding to the Community direct payments and/or its components which were taken into account for calculating the effective ceiling of the new Member State concerned in accordance with Article 64(2), 70(2) and 71c shall be included. For each direct payment concerned a new Member State may choose to apply either option (a) or (b) above. The total direct support the farmer may be granted in the new Member States after accession under the relevant direct payment including all complementary national direct payments shall not exceed the level of direct support the farmer would be entitled to receive under the corresponding direct payment then applicable to the Member States in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004. 3. Cyprus may complement direct aid paid to a farmer under any direct payments listed in Annex I up to the total level of support the farmer would have been entitled to receive in Cyprus in 2001. The Cypriot authorities shall ensure that the total direct support the farmer is granted after accession in Cyprus under the relevant direct payment including all complementary national direct payments in no case exceeds the level of direct support the farmer would be entitled to receive under that direct payment in the relevant year in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004. The total amounts of complementary national aid to be granted shall be those indicated in Annex XII. The complementary national aid to be granted shall be subject to any adjustments which may be rendered necessary by developments in the common agricultural policy. The paragraphs 2 and 5 shall not apply to Cyprus. 4. If a new Member State decides to apply the single area payment scheme, that new Member State may grant complementary national direct aid under the conditions referred to in paragraphs 5 and 8. 5. In respect of the year 2004, the total amount per (sub)sector of complementary national aid granted in that year when applying the single area payment scheme shall be limited by a specific financial envelope per (sub)sector. This envelope shall be equal to the difference between: — the total amount of support per (sub)sector resulting from the application of the points (a) or (b) of paragraph 2, as appropriate, and — the total amount of direct support that would be available in the relevant new Member State for the same (sub)sector in the year concerned under the single area payment scheme. In respect of any year as from 2005 the requirement to operate the above limitation by means of applying (sub)sector specific financial envelopes shall not apply. However, the new Member States shall retain the right to apply (sub)sector specific financial envelopes, provided that such a (sub)sector specific financial envelope may only relate to — the direct payments combined to the single payment scheme, and/or — one or more of the direct payments that are excluded or may be excluded from the single payment scheme in accordance with Article 70(2) or may be subject to partial implementation as referred to in Article 64(2). 6. The new Member State may decide on the basis of objective criteria and after authorisation by the Commission, on the amounts of complementary national aid to be granted. 7. The authorisation by the Commission shall: — where point (b) of paragraph 2 applies, specify the relevant CAPlike national direct payment schemes, — define the level up to which the complementary national aid may be paid, the rate of the complementary national aid and, where appropriate, the conditions for the granting thereof, — be granted subject to any adjustments which may be rendered necessary by developments in the common agricultural policy. 8. No complementary national payments or aid shall be granted for agricultural activities in respect of which direct payments are not foreseen in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004. 9. Cyprus may, in addition to the complementary national direct payments, grant transitional and degressive national aid until the end of 2010. This State aid shall be granted in a form similar to Community aid, such as decoupled payments. Taking into account the nature and amount of national support granted in 2001, Cyprus may grant State aid to the (sub)sectors listed in Annex XIII and up to the amounts specified in that Annex. The State aid to be granted shall be subject to any adjustments which may be rendered necessary by developments in the common agricultural policy. Should such adjustments prove necessary, the amount of the aid or the conditions for the granting thereof shall be amended on the basis of a decision by the Commission. Cyprus shall submit an annual report to the Commission on the implementation of the State aid measures, indicating the aid forms and amounts per (sub)sector. 10. Latvia may, in addition to the complementary national direct payments, grant transitional and degressive national aid until the end of 2008. This State aid shall be granted in a form similar to Community aid, such as decoupled payments. Latvia may grant State aid to the (sub)sectors listed in Annex XIV up to the amounts specified in that Annex. The State aid to be granted shall be subject to any adjustments which may be rendered necessary by developments in the common agricultural policy. Should such adjustments prove necessary, the amount of the aid or the conditions for the granting thereof shall be amended on the basis of a decision by the Commission. Latvia shall submit an annual report to the Commission on the implementation of the State aid measures, indicating the aid forms and amounts per (sub)sector.