Commission Regulation (EC) No 1273/2007 of 29 October 2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in favour of the smaller Aegean islands
Date: 2007-10-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing arrangements, Greece, aid to agriculture, island region, supply

30.10.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 284/3

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1273/2007

of 29 October 2007

amending Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006 laying down detailed rules for applying Council
Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in favour of the
smaller Aegean islands

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006 of 18
September 2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture
in favour of the smaller Aegean islands and amending Regu-
lation (EC) No 1782/2003 (1), and in particular Article 14
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

In the light of the experience gained from the application
of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006 (2)
it
appears that some provisions of that Regulation need
to be adapted.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June
2000 laying down common detailed rules for the appli-
cation of the system of import- and export licences and
advance fixing certificates for agricultural products (3)
provides for the issuing and use of certificates using
computerised systems;
to this possibility
should be integrated in Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006.

references

Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006 does not
clearly indicate that payments are to be made throughout
the year. It should, therefore, be amended to include such
that Regulation
a statement. Similarly, Article 35 of
should be amended to make it possible to make
payments throughout the year for the measures referred
to in that Article.

to

for

procedures

amendments

programmes
The
provided for
in Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No
1914/2006 need to be more precise. It is appropriate
to specify the rules for the submission of the requests
for amendments to the overall programmes and for their
approval by the Commission, as well as the timing for
their application. Due to budgetary rules, the approved
amendments should be implemented as from 1 January
for amendment.
of

following the request

the year

(1) OJ L 265, 26.9.2006, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 365, 21.12.2006, p. 64.
(3) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1913/2006 (OJ L 365, 21.12.2006, p. 52).

Moreover, there should be a distinction between major
a Commission
amendments
Decision and minor amendments that should only be
notified to the Commission for information.

requiring approval by

The time limit of 90 days for the aid to be paid by the
competent authorities after the date on which the utilised
aid certificate is lodged as provided for in Article 4(1) of
Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006 is too long and leads to
certain administrative difficulties. It should, therefore, be
reduced to 60 days.

Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

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

(5)

(6)

(7)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1914/2006 is amended as follows:

1. Article 4 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(i) in the third subparagraph, the introductory phrase is

replaced by the following:

‘The aid shall be paid by the competent authorities
not later than 60 days after the date on which the
utilised aid certificate is lodged, except in one of the
following cases:’;

(ii) the following text is added as the fourth subpara-

graph:

‘Payments shall be made throughout the year.’;

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Official Journal of the European Union

30.10.2007

(b) In paragraph 2, the first subparagraph is replaced by the

following:

‘Aid certificates shall be drawn up on the basis of the
specimen of import licence set out in Annex I to Regu-
lation (EC) No 1291/2000. Articles 8(5), 13, 15, 17, 18,
19, 21, 23, 26, 27, 29 to 33 and 36 to 41 of Regulation
(EC) No 1291/2000 shall apply mutatis mutandis without
prejudice to this Regulation.’;

2. Article 34 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 34

Amendments to programmes

Amendments

1.
to the overall programme approved
under Article 13(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006
shall be submitted to the Commission and shall be duly
substantiated, in particular giving the following information:

(a)

the reasons and any implementation problem justifying
amendment of the overall programme;

(b) the expected effects of the amendment;

(c)

implications

the
commitments.

for

financing and verification of

Except in cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances,
Greece shall submit requests for programme amendments
not more than once per calendar year and per programme
and no later than 30 September of each year.

If the Commission raises no objections to the amendments
requested, Greece shall apply those amendments
from
1 January of
in which they
were notified.

following that

the year

Such amendments may apply earlier if
the Commission
confirms in writing to Greece before the date referred to
in the third subparagraph that
the notified amendments
comply with Community legislation.

legislation,

amendment

the notified

comply with
If
Community
inform
Greece thereof and the amendment shall not apply until
the Commission receives an amendment
that can be
declared as compliant.

does not
the Commission shall

By way of derogation from paragraph 1,

the
2.
following amendments, the Commission shall evaluate the
proposals of Greece and decide on their approval within
four months of their submission at the latest in accordance
with the procedure referred to in Article 13(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1405/2006:

for

(a)

the introduction of new measures or aid schemes into
the overall programme; and

(b) the increase of the unit level of support already approved
for each existing measure or aid scheme by more than
50 % of the amount applicable at the time when the
request for amendment is presented.

3.
Greece shall be authorised to make the following
amendments without recourse to the procedure set out in
paragraph 1 provided that the amendments are notified to
the Commission:

(a) as regards the forecast supply balances, changes in the
the products concerned covered by the
quantities of
supply arrangements
the global
consequently,
amount of aid allocated to support each line of
products; and

and,

(b) as regards support for local production, adjustments up
to 20 % of the financial allocation for each individual
measure.

Such amendments shall not apply before the date on which
they are received by the Commission. They may be imple-
mented only once a year except in cases of force majeure or
exceptional circumstances, of modification of the quantities
of the products covered by the supply arrangements and of
modification of
the
Common Customs Tariff codes as provided for in Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (*).
___________
(*) OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1.’;

the statistical nomenclature and of

3.

in Article 35, the following text is added as the second
paragraph:

‘Payments for studies, demonstration projects, training or
technical assistance measures shall be made throughout the
year.’

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

Article 2

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

Done at Brussels, 29 October 2007.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission