Council Regulation (EC) No 2008/2004 of 16 November 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period
Date: 2004-11-16
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Central and Eastern Europe, EU aid, accession to the European Union, aid system, farming sector, pre-accession strategy, rural development

L 349/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.11.2004

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2008/2004

of 16 November 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for
agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the
pre-accession period

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 181a thereof,

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (2),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The support possibilities to prepare rural communities to
conceive and implement local rural development stra-
tegies in beneficiary countries, which are not acceding
to the Union in 2004, namely Bulgaria and Romania,
should be aligned on those in beneficiary countries that
acceded to the Union on 1 May 2004. Therefore a
suitable measure should be introduced corresponding to
Article 33f of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of
17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
(EAGGF) (3).

The provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 (4) as
regards limits on aid rates should be clarified. At the
same time those provisions should be amended in such
a way that subsidies of a nature to facilitate access to
credits granted under other instruments are not taken
into account in the application of those aid limits. As
this would remove a possible ambiguity, that amendment
should apply with retrospective effect for all beneficiary
countries. It is however necessary to ensure that in all
cases the ceilings laid down in the Europe Agreements
are complied with.

The aid intensity limits in hill and mountain regions of
Bulgaria and Romania should be aligned from 1 January
2004 on those in less-favoured areas of countries that
acceded to the Union on 1 May 2004, for investments in
agricultural holdings and for young farmers, as provided
for in Article 331(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.

The aid intensities and the proportion of the Community
contribution in total eligible public expenditure for rural
development measures
and
certain other measures in beneficiary countries which
are not acceding to the Union in 2004, namely
Bulgaria and Romania, should be aligned on those in
countries that acceded to the Union on 1 May 2004.

infrastructure

involving

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 should therefore be
amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 is hereby amended as follows:

1.

in Article 2, the following indent shall be added:

‘— with regard to Bulgaria and Romania, preparation of
local
rural communities to conceive and implement
rural development strategies, and integrated territorial
rural development strategies of a pilot nature, within
the limits set by Article 33f of Council Regulation
(EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for
from the European Agricultural
rural development
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (*).

___________
(*) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80. Regulation as last amended
by Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 (OJ L 91, 30.3.2004, p.
1).’

2. Article 8 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 8

Rate of Community contribution and aid intensities

The Community contribution shall not exceed the

1.
ceiling of 75 % of the total eligible public expenditure.

However, that ceiling shall be:

(1) Opinion delivered on 14 October 2004 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(2) Opinion delivered on 2 June 2004 (not yet published in the Official

Journal).

(3) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80. Regulation last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 583/2004 (OJ L 91, 30.3.2004, p. 1).

(4) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 87. Regulation last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 769/2004 (OJ L 123, 27.4.2004, p. 1).

(a) 80 % for measures referred to in the fourth, seventh,
eleventh and sixteenth indents of Article 2, and any
project concerning infrastructure;

(b) 85 % for relevant projects under any measure where the
Commission determines that exceptional natural disasters
have occurred;

25.11.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(c) 100 % for the measure referred to in the fifteenth indent

of Article 2 and in Article 7(4).

Public aid shall not exceed the ceiling of 50 % of the

2.
total eligible cost of the investment.

In determining the rate of public aid for the purposes of this
paragraph, account shall not be taken of national aid of a
nature to facilitate access to credits granted without
the
benefit of any Community contribution provided under the
present instrument.

However, that ceiling shall be:

(a) 55 % for investments in agricultural holdings made by

young farmers;

(b) 60 % for

investments

in agricultural holdings

in

mountain areas;

(c) 65 % for

investments

in agricultural holdings

in

mountain areas made by young farmers;

(d) 75 % for investments referred to in paragraph 1(b);

In any case the Community contribution shall comply with
the ceilings on rates of aid and cumulation laid down for
State aid in the Europe Agreements.

The amount of the Community contribution shall be

3.
expressed in euro.’

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following
the European
that of
Union.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

(e) 100 % for investments in infrastructure not of a nature

It shall apply from 1 January 2004.

to generate substantial net revenue;

(f) 100 % for measures referred to under

the sixteenth

indent of Article 2.

However, point 2 of Article 1 shall apply from 1 January 2000
as far as the newly introduced second last subparagraph of
Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 is concerned.

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

Done at Brussels, 16 November 2004.

For the Council
The President

G. ZALM