Commission Regulation (EC) No 963/2003 of 4 June 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 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)
Date: 2003-06-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EAGGF, rural development

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 963/2003

of 4 June 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 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)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17
May 1999 on support
from the
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)
and amending and repealing certain Regulations (1), and in
particular Articles 34, 45 and 50 thereof,

rural development

for

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

In the light of
the experience gained in applying
Commission Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 (2),
the
Member States and the Commission have found that
some of its provisions should be simplified.

In order to make the monitoring of rural development
programmes more flexible, Regulation (EC) No 445/
2002 should be simplified, in particular as concerns the
procedure for amending programming documents and
the indicative overall financial table.

It has been found that the time limit for notifying cases
of force majeure and providing the relevant evidence may
be too short in certain cases. Member States should
therefore be given the right to extend that time limit.

Since the beginning of the programming period standard
unit costs have frequently been fixed for certain invest-
ments part-financed under the first, second and sixth
indents of Article 30(1) and under Article 31 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 1257/1999. In the interests of clarity and
in order to simplify the management of those measures,
provision should be made from 2000 onwards to allow
the exemption of beneficiaries from the requirement to
present invoices under Commission Regulation (EC) No
1685/2000 of 28 July 2000 laying down detailed rules
for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 as regards eligibility of expenditure of opera-
tions part-financed by the Structural Funds (3). The
conditions by which Member States may apply such
standard costs should also be laid down in order to
ensure efficient management.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

To facilitate the financial administration of rural devel-
opment programmes, the conditions for amending the
financing of measures should be relaxed so that only
substantial amendments to the financing of programmes
are subject to the management committee procedure.

Provision should be made for the possibility of exceeding
the limit on submitting amendments to programming
documents to the Commission in cases where such
amendments are the result of a natural disaster or other
exceptional occurrence with a major impact on the
Member State's programming.

The procedure should be changed for amendments to
rural development programming documents and single
programming documents under Objective 2 in the case
of rural development measures financed by the EAGGF
Guarantee Section which do not require approval from
the Commission. Communication of financial amend-
ments to the Commission should be rapid and efficient,
as
should the Commission's examination of other
amendments.

To ensure effective and regular monitoring, the Member
States should make a consolidated and updated elec-
tronic version of their programming documents avail-
able to the Commission.

The deadline for submitting the annual progress reports
provided for in Article 48(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1257/1999 should be the date provided for in the
context of multiannual assistance under Council Regula-
tion (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down
general provisions on the Structural
as
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1447/2001 (5).

Funds (4),

In order to give the Member States more flexibility as
regards the Community's contribution to the financing
of evaluation, the minimum level of co-financing for ex
post evaluation should be abolished.

that

The fact
investment measures are often imple-
mented over several years should be taken into account
in order to ensure optimal on-the-spot checking in terms
of both the choice of beneficiary and the period of
inspection and avoid checks which are not relevant.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(2) OJ L 74, 15.3.2002, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 39.

(4) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 198, 21.7.2001, p. 1.

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(12)

The technical constraints of aid schemes for forestry
measures other than afforestation of agricultural
land
make superfluous the sanctions provided for in Articles
30 and 31 and Article 32(1) of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 2419/2001 of 11 December 2001 laying down
detailed rules for applying the integrated administration
and control system for certain Community aid schemes
established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (1),
as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2550/2001 (2).

(13) Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001 providing
for exceptions from the application of reductions in and
exclusions from aid applies to support granted on the
basis of land area or number of animals. In the interests
of consistency, those exceptions should be extended to
other rural development measures.

(14)

former accompanying
Information on the effect of
measures under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/
92 (3), Council Regulation (EEC) No 2079/92 (4), and
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2080/92 (5), where such
measures form part of the financial programming for
2000 to 2006, should be included in the annual report
provided for in Article 48(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1257/1999. In addition, the expenditure arising under
such measures should be included in the information
which Member States are required to supply by 30
September each year as provided for in Article 47 of
Regulation (EC) No 445/2002. Taking into account
those matters,
the requirements as regards financial
monitoring provided for in Article 17 of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 746/96 (6), Articles 1 and 2 of
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1404/94 (7) and Articles
1 and 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1054/94 (8)
should be deleted.

(15)

the requirement of approval by the
It appears that
Commission for amendments to some of
the main
features of support measures referred to in Annex II to
Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 has made the manage-
ment of programmes cumbersome. That Annex should
therefore be amended so that such changes may be
decided by the Member States and notified to the
Commission.

(16)

Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

(17)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Agri-
cultural Structures and Rural Development,

(1) OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 11.
(2) OJ L 341, 22.12.2001, p. 105.
(3) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 85, repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1257/

1999.

(4) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 91, repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1257/

1999.

(5) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 96, repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1257/

1999.

(6) OJ L 102, 25.4.1996, p. 19, repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1750/

1999.

(7) OJ L 154, 21.6.1994, p. 8, repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1750/

1999.

(8) OJ L 115, 6.5.1994, p. 6, repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1750/

1999.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 is hereby amended as follows:

1.

in Article 33(2), the following sentence is added:

‘That deadline may be extended by 20 working days so
long as that possibility is provided for in the programming
document.’;

2.

in Section 1 of Chapter II, the following Article 39a is
added:

‘Article 39a

1. Member States applying standard unit costs for estab-
lishing the cost of certain forestry investments under the
first, second and sixth indents of Article 30(1) and under
Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 may exempt
beneficiaries from the requirement
to present receipted
invoices or accounting documents of equivalent probative
value for the investments concerned as provided for in
point 2 of Rule 1 of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No
1685/2000.

The costs referred to in paragraph 1 may be applied

2.
provided the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the costs are calculated by the competent public autho-
rities on the basis of objective criteria permitting deter-
taking
mination of the cost of
account of specific local conditions and avoiding any
overcompensation;

individual activities,

(b) the part-financed investments are made between the
date the aid application is submitted and the date final
payment of that aid is made.’;

3. Article 44 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

(i) points (b), (c) and (d) are replaced by the following:

‘b) the main features of the support measures as

referred to in Annex II;

c) the overall amount of Community support and
the overall total eligible cost or eligible public
expenditure fixed in the decision approving the
programming document;

d) the distribution of the financial allocation made
for the measures contained in the program-
ming document, where it exceeds:

— 15 % of

the total eligible cost of

the
for
entire
programme
programming period,
the Community
contribution is based on the total eligible
cost,

concerned
if

the

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— 20 % of the total eligible public expenditure
for the programme concerned for the entire
programming period,
the Community
contribution is based on the eligible public
expenditure,

if

calculated on the basis of the financial table
annexed
Commission Decision
approving the programming document, as last
amended.’

the

to

(ii) point (e) and the second subparagraph are deleted;

(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.
The amendments referred to in paragraph 2 shall
be submitted to the Commission in a single proposal
per programme no more than once per calendar year.

The first subparagraph shall not apply where amend-
ments are required as a result of a natural disaster or
other exceptional occurrence with a major impact on
the Member State's programming.’;

5.

in Article 51, the second sentence of the second paragraph
is deleted;

6.

in Article 53(1), ‘30 April of each year’ is replaced by ‘30
June of each year’;

7.

in Article 61, the following sentence is added to the second
paragraph:

‘For investment support measures under Title II, Chapters
I, VII, VIII and IX of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999,
Member States may provide that on-the-spot checks
concern only those projects in the process of completion.’;

8. Article 62 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 62

Articles 30 and 31 and Article 32(1) of Regulation (EC) No
2419/2001 shall apply to area payments. Those provisions
shall not apply to support under forestry measures other
than afforestation of agricultural land.

(c) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

Articles 36, 38 and 40 of that Regulation shall apply to
support based on livestock.’;

‘4.
Amendments of a financial nature which are not
covered by paragraph 2(d) and amendments to the
Community contribution rate as referred to in the first
indent of point 9(2) B of Annex II shall be communi-
cated to the Commission together with the financial
table amended in accordance with point 8 of Annex II.
They shall enter into force on the date on which they
are received by the Commission.

The amendments of a financial nature referred to in
the first subparagraph when totalled over a calendar
year may not exceed the ceilings provided for in para-
graph 2(d).’;

(d) in paragraph 5, ‘at least two months’ is replaced by ‘at

least three months’;

4.

in Section 2 of Chapter II, the following Article 45a is
added:

‘Article 45a

Member States shall make available to the Commission a
their programming
consolidated electronic version of
documents, updated following each amendment. They shall
provide the Commission with the electronic address at
which the consolidated versions of programming docu-
ments can be consulted and shall inform it each time they
are updated.

9. the following Article 62a is inserted:

‘Article 62a

Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001 shall
rural development

1.
apply to support granted to all
measures.

2.
In the event of undue payment, the beneficiary under
a rural development measure shall be under an obligation
to repay the amount concerned in accordance with Article
49 of Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001.’;

10.

in Article 65, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

The Regulations and Decisions repealed by Regula-
‘2.
tion (EC) No 1750/1999, with the exception of Article 17
of Commission Regulation (EC) No 746/96 (*), Articles 1
and 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1404/94 (**) and
Articles 1 and 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1054/
94 (***), shall continue to apply to actions approved by the
Commission before 1 January 2000 under the Regulations
referred to in Article 55(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/
1999.

(*) OJ L 102, 25.4.1996, p. 19.
(**) OJ L 154, 21.6.1994, p. 8.
(***) OJ L 115, 6.5.1994, p. 6.’;

11.

in Article 66, the following paragraph is added:

‘Article 39a(1) shall apply from 1 January 2000.’;

Furthermore, Member States
shall keep an electronic
version of all the previous versions of their programming
documents.’;

12. Annex II is amended in accordance with the Annex to this

Regulation.

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Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Union.

However, point (3)(a) and point (12) of Article 1 of this Regulation shall not apply to amendments to rural
development programming documents and rural development measures funded by the EAGGF Guarantee
Section contained in single programming documents under Objective 2 which had been received by the
Commission before the entry into force of this Regulation and which have not yet been the subject of a
Commission decision by that date.

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

Done at Brussels, 4 June 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 is hereby amended as follows:

ANNEX

1. point 8 is replaced by the following text:

‘8. Indicative overall financial table (EAGGF financial year)

Article 43(1), fourth indent, of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999

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2.

in point 9(1)A, the following indent is added:

‘— overall objective of each measure’;

3.

in point 9(2)A, the first and second indents are deleted;

4.

in point 9(2)B, the following indents are inserted after ‘Other information’:

‘— rate of Community contribution based on either the total cost or public expenditure;

— aid intensity and/or amount and differentiation applied (Chapters I to VIII);’

5.

in point 9(3)V.A, point 1 of the first indent is deleted;

6.

in point 9(3)V.A, the introductory phrase of point 3 of the first indent is replaced by the following:

‘for compensatory allowances under Articles 13(b) and 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999: the initial detailed
agronomic calculations showing:’;

7.

in point 9(3)V.B, the following points are added to the first indent:

‘3. amount of aid for payments referred to in point (a) of Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999: justification

of differentiation of the amount of aid using the criteria set out in Article 15(2) of that Regulation;

4. for compensatory allowances referred to in point (b) of Article 13 and Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/

1999: changes to the detailed agronomic calculations fixed in the programming document as approved.’;

8.

in point 9(3)VI.A, the second, third and fourth indents are deleted;

9.

in point 9(3)VI.A, the introductory phrase of the fifth indent is replaced by the following text:

‘the initial detailed agronomic calculations showing:’;

10.

in point 9(3)VI.B, the following indents are inserted after ‘Other information’:

‘— the list of local breeds in danger of being lost to farming and the number of breeding females for the areas
concerned. That number must be certified by a duly recognised technical body — or breeder's organisation/
association — which must register and keep up-to-date the herd or flock book for the breed. The body
concerned must possess the necessary skills and knowledge to identify animals of the breeds in question,

— for plant genetic resources under threat of genetic erosion, evidence of genetic erosion based upon scientific
results and indicators for the occurrence of landraces/primitive (local) varieties, their population diversity and
the prevailing agricultural practices at local level,

— details of obligations on farmers and any other terms of the commitment, including scope and procedures for

adjusting of running contracts,

— changes to the level of support up to 120 % of the costs and income lost indicated in the agronomic calcula-

tions fixed in the programming document as approved and the justification for these changes;’

11. Point 9(3)VIII.A is deleted;

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12.

in point 9(3)VIII.B, the following indents are inserted after ‘Other information’:
‘— definition of:

(i) “agricultural land” in relation to Article 26 of this Regulation;

(ii) “farmer” in relation to Article 27 of this Regulation;

(iii) provisions ensuring that the planned measures are suited to local conditions and compatible with the

environment as well as keeping a balance between forestry and game populations where applicable;

(iv) contractual arrangements between regions and potential beneficiaries concerning measures referred to in

Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999;

— where the standard costs referred to in Article 39a are applied:

(i) the standard unit costs;

(ii) the method used to fix those costs;

(iii) compliance with the criterion of avoidance of overcompensation.’;

13. In point 12, the following final point is added:

‘4) Other information:

Where appropriate, information that the time limit for notifying cases of force majeure has been extended (Article
33(2) of this Regulation).’;

14. Point 16.B is replaced by the following:

‘B. Other information:

— abolition of a State aid;

— changes to the additional financing in the form of State aid granted for any of the measures in the program-

ming document as approved;

— rate of aid.’