Commission Regulation (EC) No 1136/98 of 29 May 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1350/72 on rules for granting aid to hop producers
Date: 1998-05-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: aid per hectare, hops, producer organisation, production aid, terms for aid, utilised agricultural area

L 157/104

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Official Journal of the European Communities

30. 5. 98

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1136/98

of 29 May 1998

amending Regulation (EC) No 1350/72 on rules for granting aid to hop
producers

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
the Management
in accordance with the opinion of
Committee for Hops,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71
of 26 July 1971 on the common organisation of the
market in hops (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1554/97 (2), and in particular Article 13(4) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/98 of
25 May 1998 introducing special temporary measures for
hops (3), and in particular Article 3 thereof,

for
Whereas Regulation (EC) No 1098/98 provides
compensation to be granted for areas put into temporary
rest and/or grubbed up; whereas those areas should be
declared on the same basis as planted areas; whereas for
the 1998 harvest the data have to be communicated not
later than 30 June 1998; whereas the new provisions
should therefore be incorporated into Commission Regu-
lation (EEC) No 1350/72 (4), as last amended by Regula-
tion (EC) No 317/98 (5);

Whereas Article 1(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1350/72 lays
down that areas planted must be declared not later than
that poses
the year of harvest; whereas
31 May of
problems in the United Kingdom because of develop-
ments in production methods whereby propagated plants
can be harvested within the same year as planting (for the
first time); whereas such planting will not be completed
in May but in June; whereas the harvesting of propagated
hops by this method is expected to be limited to a small
percentage of the total hop area in the United Kingdom;
whereas discrimination against the producers concerned
in the form of loss of aid should nevertheless be avoided;
whereas to that end provsion should be made for a dero-
gation for the United Kingdom by postponing the date
for declaring areas until 30 June of the year of harvest;

(1) OJ L 175, 4. 8. 1971, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 208, 2. 8. 1997, p. 1.
(3) See page 7 of this Official Journal.
(4) OJ L 148, 30. 6. 1972, p. 11.
(5) OJ L 33, 7. 2. 1998, p. 10.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 1350/72 is amended as follows:

1. in Article 1:

— paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.
All hop producers shall declare the areas
which they have planted and the areas which are
the subject of
for
resting and/or grubbing-up provided for in Regula-
tion (EC) No 1098/98 not later than 31 May of the
year of harvest or,
the United
Kingdom, not later than 30 June 1998.’,

temporary measures

in the case of

special

— paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.

The declaration shall include at least:

(a) the name and address of the person making the

declaration;

(b) for each variety or experimental strain:

— the area planted or subject to special resting

and/or grubbing-up measures;

— the land-register reference for the area or, if
no such reference is available for the area in
indication
question, an equivalent official
and,
indication
further
a
making it possible to locate the variety or
the experimental strain;

if necessary,

(c) the name of
group if
belongs to such a group.’;

the recognised hop producers’
the person making the declaration

2. Article 2 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 2

1.
The application for aid in those Member States
that decide to apply temporary resting and/or defin-
compensation within the
itive grubbing up for

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 157/105

meaning of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1098/98
shall be made by the individual producer not later than
31 October of
the year of harvest or through the
producer group by a date set by the Member State.

— the first subparagraph of Article 8(1) in cases
where the area delaration and/or the application
for aid or compensation is lodged late,

Aid or compensation shall be granted only for

2.
areas that for the harvest in question

(a) were planted, as regards the areas referred to in
Article 1(3)(a), at a uniform density of at least:

— 1 500 plants per hectare in the case of double

staking,

— 2 000 plants per hectare in the case of single

staking,

— or were in production in 1997 and have been
resting and/or grub-

special

the subject of
bing-up measures,

(b) have been declared in conformity with the provi-

sions of Article 1,

(c) in the case of the areas referred to in the first
indent of (a) above, were cultivated and harvested in
the normal way; this excludes hop plants cultivated
principally as nursery products.’;

3. in Article 3:

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.
The aid application or compensation shall
include for the area in question at least the infor-
mation required under Article 1(2) and, in case of
the areas referred to in the first indent of paragraph
2(a) above, a statement
the crop has been
harvested.’;

that

(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2. Member States may lay down that the appli-
cation for aid or compensation shall comprise a
copy of the declaration referred to in Article 1,
together with the declaration that
the areas for
which aid is sought have been harvested.’;

(c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

The following Articles of Regulation (EEC)

‘3.
No 3887/92 shall apply:

— the last subparagraph of Article 6(3) in cases
where significant irregularities are noted in a
region or part of a region,

— Article 11 in cases of force majeure,

— Article 12 on the report of the inspection visit,

— Article 13 on refusal of the farmer to receive an

on-the-spot visit,

— Article 14 on undue payments.’;

4. in Article 4:

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

and

‘1.
Each Member State shall notify to the
Commission the names and addresses of the bodies
designated under
the second subparagrpah of
Article 13(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 and
its measures for operation of the aid and compensa-
on-the-spot
tion scheme. Administrative
checks shall be carried out
that properly verify
compliance with the terms on which aid or
compensation is granted. The administrative checks
shall also include cross-checks on the hop parcels
declared,
the database
provided for in Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No
any double
3508/92 (*),
payment of the aid or compensation for the harvest
in question. For the 1998 harvest, however, cross-
checks may be effected on a sample basis. Checks
on the spot, effected following a risk analysis, shall
cover a significant sample of declarations and appli-
cations amounting to at least 5 % of the area decla-
rations and 5 % of the aid and compensation appli-
cations.

including checks against

to forestall

in order

(*) OJ L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 1’;

(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

shall each year

‘2. Member States
send the
Commission in respect of the recognised producer
groups located in their territory all relevant infor-
the aid and
mation on their management of
compensation paid to them,
if appro-
priate, full details of measures as referred to in
Article 7(1)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1696/71. Noti-
fications shall be made not later than 31 December
of the year following that of the harvest in ques-
tion.’;

including,

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30. 5. 98

5. Article 4a is replaced by the following:

‘Article 4a

1.
If the actual area is found to be larger than that
stated in the area declaration, the declared are shall be
used for calculating the aid or compensation.

2.
If the area declared is larger than the area deter-
mined, the latter shall be used for calculating the aid
or compensation. It shall, however, except in cases of
force majeure, be reduced by twice the difference
found, should that be more than two hectares or 3 %
and no more than 20 % of the actual area.

If the difference is more than 20 % of the area deter-
mined, no area-related aid or compensation shall be
granted.

If a false declaration was made deliberately or by
serious negligence:

— the applicant shall be excluded from the aid and
compensation scheme for the harvest in question,

and

— if the false declaration was made deliberately, for

the following harvest also.

The above reductions shall not be applied if the appli-
cation shows that for determing the area he used infor-
mation recognised by the competent authority.

For the purposes of this Article, the “area determined”
is that for which all regulatory requirements have been
met.’

Article 2

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

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

Done at Brussels, 29 May 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission