Commission Regulation (EC) No 394/2005 of 8 March 2005 amending Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, and derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003
Date: 2005-03-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, aid to agriculture, crop production, eligibility criteria

10.3.2005

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 394/2005

of 8 March 2005

amending Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the
single payment scheme provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing
common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing
certain support schemes for farmers, and derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29
September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support
schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing
certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations
(EEC) No 2019/93, (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001,
(EC) No 1454/2001, (EC) No 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999,
(EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71
and (EC) No 2529/2001 (1), and in particular Article 145(c) and
(d) and (q) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 (2) introduces
the implementing rules for the single payment scheme
that will apply from 2005. The administrative and opera-
tional implementation of the scheme which has started,
on that basis, at national level, has shown the need of
further detailed rules on some aspects of the scheme and
to clarify and adapt certain aspects of the existing rules.

In particular, it is appropriate to specify the application
of the definition of multiannual crops in relation to the
eligibility conditions for land to be put on set-aside and
in relation to the energy crops aid scheme referred to in
Article 88 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.

in case of

fractions of payment entitlements

For administrative reasons, in order to limit the creation
to the extent
of
necessary, Article 3(4) of Regulation (EC) No 795/2004
transfer, before splitting an
provides that
should be
existing entitlement, all existing fractions
that provision
used.
should refer to existing fractions of entitlements of the
same nature, such as normal entitlements, set-aside enti-
tlements, entitlements accompanied by an authorisation
in accordance with Article 60 of Regulation (EC) No
1782/2003.

is appropriate to specify that

It

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

According to Article 7(6) of Regulation (EC) No
795/2004,
farmers who leased or sold hectares shall
not benefit from the mechanism provided for in that
Article. As far as the aim of that mechanism is not
undermined by the fact of buying and selling or
it should be
leasing an equivalent number of hectares,
provided that the mechanism should also apply in those
cases.

Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 provides for
the reversion to the national reserve of a part of the
reference amount in particular situations. For adminis-
trative reasons it is appropriate to allow Member States
to apply such reduction above a ceiling to be defined.

Article 21(4) of Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 assimilates
investment purpose.
lease to purchase of
land for
Investments
the
in production capacity made under
form of a lease should also be taken into account.

Article 22(2) of Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 aims to
take into account the cases of farmers who find them-
selves in special situations deriving from the fact of
having bought land that was under a lease during the
reference period. It is appropriate to specify the scope of
application of the provision by giving a definition of the
condition of the lease to be taken into account.

The second subparagraph of Article 46(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1782/2003 provides that, except in case of force
majeure or exceptional circumstances, a farmer may
land only
transfer his payment entitlements without
after he has used, within the meaning of Article 44 of
that Regulation, at
least 80 % of his payment enti-
tlements during at least one calendar year or, after he
has given up voluntarily to the national reserve all the
payment entitlements he has not used in the first year of
application of the single payment scheme. It is appro-
priate to specify the conditions of application of that
provision.

(1) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1. Regulation last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 118/2005 (OJ L 24, 27.1.2005, p. 15).

(2) OJ L 141, 30.4.2004, p. 1. Regulation amended by Regulation (EC)

No 1974/2004 (OJ L 345, 20.11.2004, p. 85).

(9)

Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

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Official Journal of the European Union

10.3.2005

(10)

crops

States

to be

authorises Member

to
cultivated on the

From 1 January 2006, Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No
1782/2003, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No
864/2004 (1),
allow
secondary
eligible
hectares during a period of maximum three months
starting each year on 15 August. Taking into account
that until 31 December 2004 such practices
are
compatible with the existing rules on direct payments
and that farmers could again be authorised under that
new provision from 1 January 2006, the fact of inter-
rupting such practices for one year would result in severe
economical problems for farmers used to such practices
and would also provoke practical and specific problems
in terms of eligibility of the land. Therefore, in order to
guarantee the continuity of the measure and to allow
in Member States where such decision would
farmers,
be taken, to take their sowing decisions in time,
it is
necessary and duly justified to provide, by way of dero-
for the
gation from Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003,
application in 2005 of that option.

(11) Due to the fact

the single payment scheme is
applicable starting from 1 January 2005, it is appropriate
that this Regulation applies retroactively from that date.

that

(12)

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

— the areas planted with those crops between 30 April

2004 and 10 March 2005,

— the areas planted with these crops before 30 April
2004 and leased or acquired, between 30 April
2004 and 10 March 2005 in view of applying for
the single payment scheme.

d) “multiannual crops” shall mean crops of the following

products:

CN code

0709 10 00

Artichokes

0709 20 00

Asparagus

0709 90 90

Rhubarb

0810 20

Raspberries, blackberries, mulberries and logan-
berries

0810 30

Black-, white- or redcurrants and gooseberries

0810 40

Cranberries, bilberries and other fruits of the
genus Vaccinium

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

___________
(*) OJ L 38, 12.2.2000, p. 1.’

Article 1

2.

in Article 3, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 is amended as follows:

1.

in Article 2, points (c) and (d) are replaced by the following:

‘c) “permanent crops” shall mean non-rotational crops other
than permanent pasture that occupy the land for five
years or longer and yield repeated harvests including
to
nurseries as defined in point
Commission Decision
the
exception of multiannual crops and the nurseries of
such multiannual crops.

2000/115/EC (*), with

(G/5) of Annex I

For the purpose of Article 54(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1782/2003 and in case of areas which are also subject to
an application for the aid for energy crops provided for
in Article 88 of that Regulation, short rotation coppice
(CN code ex 0602 90 41) Miscanthus sinensis (CN code
ex 0602 90 51) Phalaris arundicea (reed canary grass)
(CN code ex 1214 90 90) shall be considered as multi-
annual crops. However, for the purpose of Article 44(2)
of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, shall be considered as
eligible hectares:

‘4.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply only if the farmer still
needs to declare or transfer a payment entitlement or a
fraction of a payment entitlement with a fraction of a
hectare
transferred existing
declared or
payment entitlements or fractions of payment entitlements
of the same nature.’;

after having

3.

in Article 7, paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:

‘6.
For the purpose of paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4, hectares
transferred by sale or by lease, and not replaced by a corre-
sponding number of hectares, shall be included in the
number of hectares which the farmer declares.’;

4.

in Article 10 the following paragraph 6 is added:

(1) OJ L 161, 30.4.2005, p. 48.

‘6. Member States may fix a
paragraph 1 shall apply.’;

ceiling above which

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5.

in Article 21, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

8. Article 47 is replaced by the following:

‘4.
Long term lease of six and more years started by 15
May 2004 at the latest shall be considered as a purchase of
land or investment in production capacity for the application
of paragraph 1.’;

6.

in Article 22(2), the following subparagraph is added:

‘For the purposes of application of this paragraph, “land
under a lease” shall mean land which was, at the time of,
or after the purchase under a lease which has never been
renewed except when the renewal was imposed by a legal
obligation.’

7.

in Article 25, the following paragraph is added:

For the application of

‘4.
the second subparagraph of
the
Article 46(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003,
percentage of
the payment entitlements the farmer has
used shall be calculated on the number of payment enti-
tlements allocated to him in the first year of application of
the single payment scheme, with the exception of payment
entitlements sold with land, and must be used during one
calendar year.’;

‘Article 47

Overrun of the ceilings

Where the sum of the amounts to be paid under each of the
schemes provided for in Articles 66 to 71 of Regulation (EC)
No 1782/2003 exceeds the ceiling fixed in accordance with
Article 64(2) of that Regulation, the amount to be paid shall
be reduced proportionately in the year concerned.’

Article 2

By way of derogation from Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No
1782/2003, Member States may decide for the year 2005 to
apply the second subparagraph of Article 51(b) of that Regu-
lation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 864/2004.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publi-
cation in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2005.

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

Done at Brussels, 8 March 2005.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission