Commission Regulation (EC) No 1517/2002 of 23 August 2002 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 introducing specific measures for the smaller Aegean islands, as regards the cultivation of certain agricultural products, potatoes for human consumption and seed potatoes
Date: 2002-08-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Aegean Islands, aid per hectare, aid system, aid to agriculture, potato

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1517/2002

of 23 August 2002

laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 introducing
specific measures for the smaller Aegean islands, as regards the cultivation of certain agricultural
products, potatoes for human consumption and seed potatoes

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Article 1

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 of 19
July 1993 introducing specific measures for the smaller Aegean
Islands concerning certain agricultural products (1), as
last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 442/2002 (2), and in particular
Article 8(2) thereof,

Whereas:

Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 states that aid
per hectare is to be granted for the cultivation of pota-
toes for human consumption and seed potatoes up to a
maximum area cultivated and harvested of 2 200
hectares per year. Rules for the application of these
arrangements were adopted by Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 3404/93 (3) laying down rules for the applica-
tion of Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93. Some technical
adjustments should be made to these provisions, in parti-
cular as regards the control procedures and the penalties
for failure to comply with these provisions and, in the
interests of clarity and administrative efficiency, these
implementing rules should be replaced in full.

Before the aid provided for in Article 8 of Regulation
(EEC) No 2019/93 can be granted, applications for aid
will have to be lodged by interested producers. A final
date should be set for the lodging of applications so that
the on-the-spot checks required to guarantee proper
application of the rules can be carried out. This date
should vary according to the purpose for which potatoes
are cultivated. The length of the cultivation cycle of the
potato dictates that three different final dates for lodging
aid applications for this crop should be specified.

A system should be introduced to check that the imple-
menting measures put in place by the Greek authorities
have been properly carried out. These authorities should
make periodic notifications to the Commission.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

1.
The aid provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No
2019/93 for the cultivation of potatoes for human consump-
tion falling within CN codes 0701 90 50 and 0701 90 90 and
of seed potatoes falling within CN code 0701 10 00 shall be
paid on areas:

(a) of a minimum size of 0,1 hectares;

(b) sown and given all normal cultivation treatment; and

(c) for which an aid application has been lodged as specified in
Article 2 of this Regulation, the application serving as a
declaration of area cultivated.

The amount of the aid shall be EUR 603 per hectare.

2.
Payment of the aid for seed potatoes shall also be condi-
tional on certification of the harvested potatoes in accordance
with the provisions of Council Directive 66/403/EEC (4). If certi-
fication is not obtained, the application is deemed to be an
application for aid for the cultivation of potatoes for human
consumption.

3.
In cases where crops do not reach the harvesting stage,
the Greek authorities may authorise continuing entitlement to
aid where force majeure or a natural disaster substantially affects
the area cultivated by the applicant.

Cases of force majeure or natural disasters shall be notified to the
competent Greek authority within ten working days of their
occurrence. Proof shall be supplied within one month of that
notification.

Greece shall
immediately notify the Commission of cases it
recognises as being of force majeure or natural disaster such as to
justify continuing entitlement to the aid.

Article 2

Regulation (EEC) No 3404/93 should therefore be
repealed.

Producers wishing to receive aid shall lodge an application

1.
with the Greek authority.

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

(1) OJ L 184, 27.7.1993, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 68, 12.3.2002, p. 4.
(3) OJ L 310, 14.12.1993, p. 7.

Applications shall be made during a period set by the

2.
Greek authority ending on:

(a) 30 September of each year, for potatoes to be harvested
between 1 November and 31 March of the following year;

(4) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2320/66.

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(b) 10 March of each year,

for potatoes to be harvested

between 1 April and 31 July of the same year;

(c) 15 May of each year, for potatoes to be harvested between

1 August and 31 October of the same year.

Verification shall be by administrative and on-the-spot checks.
The administrative check shall be thorough and include,
if
appropriate, cross-checks with the data in the integrated admin-
istration and control system.

3.
Except in cases of force majeure late application shall occa-
sion a 20 % reduction in aid. Applications more than 20 days
late shall be invalid.

Based on a risk analysis, the national authorities shall perform
on-the-spot checks by sampling on a number of aid applica-
tions representing at
the recipients in each
least 10 % of
Nomos.

4.

Applications shall give at least the following information:

(a) the applicant’s name, first name and address;

Greece shall determine and notify to the Commission criteria
for selecting the areas to be checked. Those criteria must ensure
selection of a representative sample.

(b) the area cultivated in hectares and ares and its land refer-
ence or an indication recognised as equivalent by the
authority responsible for checking areas;

(c) the date of planting;

(d) the product concerned and in particular whether seed pota-
toes or potatoes for human consumption are involved;

(e) the scheduled harvesting date.

5.
If the total area covered by aid applications exceeds the
maximum area stipulated in Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No
2019/93,
the Greek authorities shall determine a uniform
reduction coefficient to be applied to each application.

Article 3

Greece shall notify to the Commission, by 30 October of
1.
each year,
its estimates of total areas for which aid will be
applied for in respect of the following year, distinguishing
between early, ware and seed potatoes.

2.
Greece shall notify to the Commission each year, by 30
August for early potatoes and by 31 December for maincrop
and seed potatoes:

(a) the total of the areas for which aid has been requested;

(b) the reduction coefficient applied, if necessary;

(c) the area checked;

(d) the number of irregularities found and the area involved in

each Nomos.

On-the-spot checks shall
include measurement of all areas
covered by the application in question. Should a significant
number of irregularities be discovered in a Nomos the compe-
tent authority shall make additional checks during the year in
question and increase the percentage of applications to be
checked in the following year in that Nomos.

Article 5

1. Where aid has been paid unduly the competent authori-
ties shall take steps to recover the amount paid, with interest,
calculated from the date of payment of the aid to the date of
repayment by the beneficiary.

Where the undue payment has been made because of a false
declaration, false documents or serious negligence on the part
of the recipient, a penalty equal to the amount paid out unduly
shall be imposed. The interest rate shall be that applied by the
European Central Bank to its principal refinancing transactions
published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European
Communities, in force on the date of the undue payment and
increased by three percentage points.

2.
The aid recovered shall be paid to the paying authorities
or agencies and deducted by them from the expenditure
financed by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund.

Article 6

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3404/93 is hereby repealed.

Article 4

Article 7

The national authorities shall take all the steps necessary to
ensure that the conditions for granting the aid provided for in
Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 are complied with.

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

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

Done at Brussels, 23 August 2002.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission