Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops
Date: 1994-10-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: aid per hectare, arable land, cereals, monetary compensatory amount, oleaginous plant, regional aid

COMMISSION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

C0M(94) 404 final 
Brussels, 03.10.1994 

94/0217 (CNS) 

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION  (EC) 

amending Regulation  (EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system 

for producers of certain arable crops 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

<* 

1. Some  durum-wheat  production  outside  the  traditional  production  regions, 

should be maintained by granting a specific aid set at ECU 115/ha. 

The measures must  be taken  at Community  level, since this  is an area in 
which only the community has power to act. 

The  aid  reflects  the  loss  of  income  to  durum  wheat  producers  in  those 
areas  as a result  of the alignment  of the price  for durum wheat  on that 
for other cereals as part of the reform arrangements. 

In order  to prevent  an  increase  in durum-wheat  production  in France, it 
is  proposed  that  the  specific  aid  be  limited  to  50 000 ha,  to  be 
allocated among the regions concerned. 

In Spain and Portugal the production quota for durum wheat  set initially 
at  550 000 ha and  30 000 ha is being increased  by 20 000 ha and  5 000 ha 
respectively  to  reflect  better  within  the  national  quota  the  true 
situation of the producers concerned during the reference period. 

Up to now umbria,  a land-locked  area  in central  Italy  and  a traditional 
production  zone,  has  not  been  eligible  for  the  supplement  to  the 
compensatory  payment  for durum wheat. It seemed fair to regard  umbria as 
a  traditional  production  zone  in the  same way  as  adjoining  areas, since 
this region did not qualify for production aid for durum wheat before the 
reform,  the only production data available are statistics. It is planned 
on that basis to grant Umbria  a maximum  production quota of 5 000 ha for 
allocation among the producers. 

2. In December  1993 the Council adopted rules to implement the Memorandum of 
Understanding  on oilseeds, agreed between the EU and the us. These rules 
included  a  system  of  sanctions  to  apply  in  case  of  a  breach  of  the 
Union's  oilseed  maximum  guaranteed  area  (MGA).  These  sanctions  would  be 
targeted  at  Member  States  which  exceeded  their  national  reference  area 
(NRA) and would  apply  uniformly  throughout  the  territory  of  each  Member 
State. 

Since unification,  the development of oilseed cultivation  in Germany has 
been  disparate, with  little change  in the area cultivated  in the eleven 
old Lender but  a rapid expansion  of the area cultivated  in the  five new 
Lander.  Given  such  divergent  development,  the  application  of  a  uniform 
sanction  throughout  Germany  could  result  in  the .disproportionate 
penalization of some producers. 

3 

The  Commission  proposes  to  modify  the  sanction  system  to  permit  the 
partial  or  complete  apportionment  of  any  national  penalty  imposed  on 
Germany  according  to  the  regional  base  area  (the  Lander).  This 
apportionment  would  be  made  on  the  basis  of  objective  criteria  to  be 
determined by Germany and notified, in advance, to the Commission. 

In order  to prevent  this option having  detrimental  effects  on  producers 
in  other  parts  of  the  Union  and  to  improve  the  management  of  the  NRA 
system,  it  is  necessary  to  amend  the  rules  governing  the  fixing  of  the 
level of the advance payment to be made to producers. It is proposed that 
the Commission be empowered  to apply different levels of advance payments 
for different regional base areas. 

y 

•  Proposal  f or  a 

COUNCIL REGULATION  (EC) NO 

/.. 

Of 

amending Regulation  (EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system 
for producers of certain arable crops 

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^1), 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament<2), 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee<3), 

Whereas  Council Regulation  (EEC) No  1765/92 of  30 June  1992 establishing  a 

support system for producers of certain arable crops(*), as last amended by 

Regulation  (EC)  No  232/94(5),  provides  for  the  payment  to  producers  of 

durum  wheat  in  traditional  production  zones  of  a  supplement  to  the 

compensatory  payment provided  for in Title I of that Regulation  in order to 

offset  the  additional  loss  of  income  to  the  producers  in  question  as 

compared  with  producers  of  other  cereals  as  a result  of  the  setting  of  a 

single price for all cereals; whereas payment of the supplement is made only 

for areas sown to durum wheat in the traditional production zones; 

whereas, as a result of the alignment of the price for durum wheat on that 

for other cereals and the restriction of the supplement to the compensatory 

payment for areas sown to durum wheat to the zones listed in Annexes  II and 

III to Regulation  (EEC) No 1765/92 only, cultivation of this cereal outside 

those  zones,  especially  in  France,  shows  a  disproportionate  fall  having 

regard to the objectives sought; 

,  . .199 , p. 
,  .  .199 , p. 

(1)  OJ No C 
(2)  OJ No C 
(3) 
(4)  OJ No L 181,  1. 7.1992, p. 12. 
(5)  OJ No L  30,  3. 2.1994, p.  7. 

"£& 

J' 

Whereas a certain  level of production should thus'be safeguarded  in regions 

where  production  was  well  established  outside  the  traditional  production 

zones before the introduction of the reform; 

whereas  aid  should  accordingly  be  introduced  for  areas  sown  to durum  wheat 

outside  the  zones  listed  in  Annexes  II  and  III  to  Regulation  (EEC) 

No 1765/92, the aid being limited to an amount reflecting the loss of income 

due to the alignment of the price for durum wheat on that for other cereals; 

Whereas, however, in order to avoid a rise in the areas sown to durum wheat, 

the  areas  eligible  for  additional  support  as  compared  with  other  cereals 

should be limited; 

Whereas,  moreover,  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  the  national  quota  for  the 

production of durum wheat should be adjusted  in order to reflect better the 

true  situation  of  producers  during  the reference  period; whereas,  for  the 

sake of fairness, the Italian region of Umbria should also be regarded as a 

traditional  durum-wheat  production  zone  as  regards  a  limited  number  of 

hectares which reflect the area traditionally sown to durum wheat; 

whereas,  in view  of  the particular  structural  situation  of  the  new  German 

Lander, oilseed production in'Germany is threatening to develop in different 

ways  in  the  various  Lander; whereas, for the  sake  of  fairness, provision 

should be made in Germany  for penalties to vary according  to the Lander in 

the event of any simultaneous overrun in the maximum guaranteed area and the 

national reference area; whereas the necessary measures should also be taken 

to prevent  the application of this scheme from affecting  the amount  or the 

date of  payment  of  the  advance  payment  on  oilseeds  in other  parts  of  the 

Community, 

4 

HAS ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION: 

Article 1 

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

1. In  the  second  subparagraph  of  Article  4(3),  "550 000  hectares"  and 

"30 000 hectares" 

are 

replaced 

by 

"570 000 hectares" 

and 

"35 000 hectares" respectively. 

2. In Article  4(4) the words  "In France" and  "departments"  are replaced  by 

"In France and Italy" and "departments and regions" respectively. 

3. The following paragraph is added to Article 4: 

"5.  In  France,  in  the  departments  where  production  of  durum  wheat  is 

well established, other than those listed in Annexes II and III, aid 

of ECU 115/ha shall be paid in respect of not more than 50 000 ha." 

4. In Article  5(1)(f), the following is inserted before the last sentence: 

"However, in the case of Germany the appropriate additional reduction may 

be  adjusted  at  its  request,  in  whole  or  in  part,  according  to  the 

regional  base  area;  where  this  option  is  exercised,  Germany  shall 

immediately  send the Commission the data used to calculate the reductions 

to be applied." 

5. In Article  11(2), the following is inserted after the first sentence: 

"Where  the  provisions  specifically  applying  to Germany  laid  down  in the 

second-to-last  sentence of Article 5(1)(f) are likely to affect the date 

of  payment  of  the  advance  payment  provided  for  in Article  11(2) or  the 

amount  thereof,  a  date  for  payment  and/or  advance  payment  specific  to 

Germany may be fixed." 

6. The fifth indent of Article 12 is replaced by the following-: 

^ 

"-  those  determining,  for durum wheat, the eligibility  requirements  for 

the  supplement  to  the compensatory  payment  provided  for  in Article 4(3) 

and  (4)  and  those  for  the  aid  provided  for  in  Article  4(5), and  in 

particular  the departments concerned and the measures to be taken in the 

event of an overrun in the limit fixed for the payment of the aid." 

7. The following is added to Annex III: 

•ITALÏ 

- fimbria 

5 D®0 ha". 

Article 2 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force on  the  seventh  day  fallowing  its 

publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 

It shall apply from the 1995/96 marketing year. 

This Regulation shall fee binding  in its entirety and directly applicable in 

all Member States, 

Bone at Brussels,, 

for the Council 

The President 

F I N A N C I AL 

STATEMENT 

2L 

1.  BUDGET  HEADING:  Bl-1055 

APPROPRIATIONS:  ECU  1  079  million 

2. TITLE: 

Proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  amending  Regulation  (EEC) No  1765/92  establishing  a  support 

system  for  producers  of  certain  arable  crops 

3. LEGAL  BASIS: 

Articles  4 2 and  4 3 of  the  Treaty 

4. AIMS OF  PROJECT: 

From  the  1995/96  marketing  year: 

- 

to  provide  for  the  grant  of  ECU  115/ha  for an  area  of  not more  than  50  000  ha  sown  to  durum  wheat 

outside  the  traditional  production  zones  in  France  and  for  an  increase  in  the  traditional  durum 

wheat  production  zones  in  Spain  (+  20  000 h a ), Portugal  (+ 5 000 ha) and  Italy  (+  5 000 h a ); 

to  provide  in  Germany  for  different  penalties  in  the  different  Lander  as  a result  of  the 

simultaneous  overrun  of  the maximum  guaranteed  areas  for  oilseeds  and  the  national  reference-area. 

5. FINANCIAL  IMPLICATIONS 

PERIOD  OF  12  MONTHS 

CURRENT  FINANCIAL 

FOLLOWING  FINANCIAL 

(ECU  million) 

(ECU  million) 

(ECU  million) 

YEAR  (94) 

YEAR  (95) 

5.0.  EXPENDITURE 

-  CHARGED  TO  THE  EC  BUDGET 

(REFUNDS) 

-  NATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION 

-  OTHER 

5.1.  REVENUE 

-  OWN RESOURCES  OF  THE  EC 

(LEVIES/CUSTOMS  DUTIES) 

-  NATIONAL 

5.0.1.  ESTIMATED  EXPENDITURE 

5.1.1.  ESTIMATED  REVENUE 

5.2. METHOD  OF  CALCULATION: 

+  18 

1996 

+  18 

1997 

+  18 

1998 

Non-traditional  zones  (F) 

: 50  000 ha  x  ECU  115/ha  x  1,207  (DT) 

Extension  of  traditional  zones:  30 000 ha  x  ECU  297/ha  X  1,207  (DT) 

(Spain,  Italy  and  Portugal) 

ECU  million  (B) 

+  6,9 

+  10,8 

+  17,7 

6.0.  CAN  THE  PROJECT  BE  FINANCED  FROM  APPROPRIATIONS  ENTERED  IN THE  RELEVANT  CHAPTER  OF  THE  CURRENT  BUDGET?  Yes 

6.1.  CAN  THE  PROJECT  BE  FINANCED  BY TRANSFER  BETWEEN  CHAPTERS  OF  THE  CURRENT  BUDGET? 

6.2.  IS A  SUPPLEMENTARY  BUDGET  NECESSARY? 

6.3.  WILL  FUTURE  BUDGET  APPROPRIATIONS  BE  NECESSARY? 

COMMENTS: 

The  measure  to  be  implemented  is  contained  in  the  Council  compromise  of  19  July  1994  on  the  1994/95  prices 

package. 

\ 

The  cost  shown  is the  cost  of  the  per  hectare  aid.  Should  new areas  sown  to  durum  wheat  of  50  000  ha  in  non-

craditional  zones  replace  common  wheat,  resulting  in additional  exports  of  durum  wheat  but  a  drop  in  the 

common  wheat  exports, there  could  be  a  slight  net  saving  on  export  refunds  for  cereals  estimated  at  ECU  3 million 

for  1996. 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(94) 404 final 

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