Commission Regulation (EC) No 963/2001 of 17 May 2001 on detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 as regards the additional Community support and the transmission of information to the Commission
Date: 2001-05-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative sanction, aid to agriculture, disclosure of information, environmental impact, rural development, utilised agricultural area

L 136/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

18.5.2001

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 963/2001

of 17 May 2001

on detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 as regards the
additional Community support and the transmission of information to the Commission

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 of 17
May 1999 establishing common rules for direct support
schemes under the common agricultural policy (1), and in
particular Article 11, first indent, thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Rural development measures financed by the additional
Community support referred to in Article 5(2) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1259/1999 shall form part of rural devel-
opment programming in accordance with Articles 41 to
44 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May
1999 on support for rural development from the Euro-
pean Agricultural Guidance
Fund
(EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regula-
tions (2). Therefore the Commission shall appraise the
proposed measures in compliance with Article 33(2)(a)
of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999 of 23
July 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application
of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support
for rural development from the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (3), as
last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 672/2001 (4).

and Guarantee

It is necessary to fix the time limits referred to in Article
5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 governing the
availability of the additional Community support. The
limits should allow sufficient time for Member States to
use the additional Community support.

Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 provides
for the use of amounts made available from payment
reduction for certain additional measures to existing
rural development measures. This support could consist
either in support for additional beneficiaries of existing
measures, including beneficiaries of new commitments
for additional actions in the framework of existing meas-
ures, or in support for additional measures. It should,
however, not be used for simply increasing Community
co-financing rates of measures already foreseen in the
rural development programming documents. To ensure
the financing source for a multiannual
traceability,

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 113.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(3) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999, p. 31.
(4) OJ L 93, 3.4.2001, p. 28.

(4)

(5)

action undertaken by a beneficiary must remain the
same until the end of this undertaking.

In order for the Commission to be fully informed of the
measures taken by Member States to implement Regula-
tion (EC) No 1259/1999, pursuant to Article 9 thereof,
rules concerning the content and timing of communica-
tions should be adopted.

The joint committee drawn from the Management
Committees set up by Article 42 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 1254/1999 (5) and the corresponding Articles of
the other Regulations on the common organisation of
agricultural markets has not delivered an opinion within
the time limit laid down by its Chairman,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Additional Community support

1.
Amounts withheld in accordance with Article 3(2) and
Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 shall be used for
the payment of additional Community support provided for in
Article 5(2) of that Regulation at the latest by the end of the
third financial year following that during which they are with-
held.

2.
The additional Community support to one or more of the
four measures referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1259/1999 shall consist in a support granted:

(a) to additional beneficiaries of existing measures included in
rural development programming documents as referred to
in Article 44(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999; and/or,

(b) to additional measures to be included in rural development

programming documents.

The percentage of Community contribution to such additional
support shall be the same as that provided in the rural develop-
ment programming document for the measure concerned.

3.
A multiannual action undertaken by a beneficiary shall
not be alternately funded one year by the Community support
as referred to in Article 33(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1750/
1999 and another year by the additional Community support
provided for in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999.

(5) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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Article 2

Transmission of information to the Commission

1. Member States shall communicate to the Commission in
respect of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999, and in
respect of each of the sectors listed in the Annex to that
Regulation:
(a) an analysis of the situation of the agricultural land used and
the production concerned with reference to the potential
environmental effects;
(b) a detailed description of

the appropriate environmental
measures envisaged by Article 3(1) of
that Regulation
which they have taken in the light of the analysis referred
to in point (a);

(c) a detailed description of the penalties which they have
decided in accordance with Article 3(2) of that Regulation.

2. Where Member States choose to implement Article 4 of
they shall communicate a
Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999,
detailed description of the measures adopted to this end.

3. Member States shall communicate a detailed description
of any other measures adopted pursuant to Regulation (EC) No
1259/1999.

4.
The descriptions referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3
shall refer to all relevant legislation of the Member State and/or
the Community. Member States
shall communicate such
national

legislation to the Commission on request.

5.
The communications referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3
shall be made forthwith once the measures concerned have
been adopted. For those measures adopted between 1 January
2000 and 31 July 2001, the communication shall be made by
30 September 2001.

an update of

6. Member States shall present each year, not later than 30
September,
additional
the
Community support, of the amounts withheld in accordance
with Article 3(2) and Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1259/
1999, together with the statement of expenditure under Article
37 of Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999.

allocation,

as

the Commission by 30 April each year. The first progress
report shall be submitted by 30 April 2002 and shall cover the
measures and penalties implemented during the years 2000
and 2001.

Each progress report shall contain the following information:

(a) a summary of available physical and financial data on the
the measures and any penalties as
implementation of
referred to in Article 2(1),
followed by an
analysis of this data including details of any major prob-
lems incurred;

(2) and (3)

(b) an assessment of progress towards meeting the stated
operational objectives, based on the information provided
under point (a).

2. Where the report is not received by 30 April each year or
is obviously incomplete, the Commission shall suspend for the
Member States concerned the payment of the advance relating
to expenditure under subheading 1A of the EAGGF Guarantee
Section as follows:

this date, an amount equivalent

(a) if the report is not received by 15 May or is obviously
incomplete at
to the
amounts deducted pursuant to Article 3(2) and Article 4 of
Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 between 1 May and 15
October of the previous year shall be withheld from the
advances to be paid at the beginning of June;

(b) if the report is received after 15 June or is obviously
incomplete after this date, an amount equivalent to the
amounts deducted pursuant to Article 3(2) and Article 4 of
Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 between 16 October and
30 April shall be withheld from the advances to be paid at
the beginning of July.

3.
Payment for the Member States concerned of the amount
withheld in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be conditional
upon receipt of the complete report and shall be made together
with the second advance paid thereafter.

Article 3

Annual report

Article 4

Entry into force

1.
An annual progress report on the implementation of
measures and penalties referred to in Article 2(1), (2) and (3),
including an assessment of their effects, shall be submitted to

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh 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, 17 May 2001.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission