Commission Regulation (EC) No 1522/2007 of 19 December 2007 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
Date: 2007-12-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: aid system, common agricultural policy, fruit, production aid, vegetable

20.12.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 335/27

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1522/2007

of 19 December 2007

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

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

support

certain
Regulations

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
for
establishing
and
(EC) No
2019/93,
amending
1452/2001,
(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 54(5) and Article 145
(d) and (d)(d) thereof,

(EEC) No
(EC) No 1453/2001,

schemes

farmers

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 (2) introduces
the implementing rules for the single payment scheme as
from 2005.

for

Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as amended by Regu-
lation (EC) No 1182/2007 (3), which lays down specific
rules as regards the fruit and vegetable sector, defines the
rules for the decoupled support and the integration of
fruit and vegetables into the single
the support
payment
should
should
therefore be
follow the same lines as those already laid down in
Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 with regard to olive oil,
tobacco, cotton, hops, sugar beet, cane, chicory and
banana.

scheme. The related detailed rules
adopted. Those detailed rules

Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 should be
further articulated as regards the definition of nurseries.

Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 provides for
the detailed rules for farmers who made investments in
production capacity or who leased parcels on a long-
term basis. Those provisions need to be adapted in
order
situation of
farmers in the fruit and vegetable sector who made

to take into account

the special

(1) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by
L 284,

(EC) No 1276/2007 (OJ

Commission Regulation
30.10.2007, p. 11).

(2) OJ L 141, 30.4.2004, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 608/2007 (OJ L 141, 2.6.2007, p. 31).

(3) OJ L 273, 17.10.2007, p. 1.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

such investments or entered into such long-term lease-
contracts before the entry into force of Regulation (EC)
No 1182/2007.

Member States which have acceded to the Community as
from 1 May 2004 have established an identification
system for agricultural parcels
in compliance with
Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. When
switching from the old to the new identification
system,
the features or certain parcels as existing in
2003 may not have been accurately reflected in the
new identification system due to technical difficulties.
In order to facilitate the implementation of the definition
of ‘hectare eligible for set-aside entitlement’ as referred to
in Article 54(2) of that Regulation in this context in all
they should be authorised to
those Member States,
derogate, without prejudice to Article 33 of Regulation
(EC) No 795/2004,
from the reference to the date
provided for the area aid applications for 2003 fixed in
first subparagraph of that Article 54(2) provided that
they ensure that the total agricultural area eligible to
set-aside entitlements will not be increased. Article 32
of Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 should be amended
accordingly. Given that some of those Member States
have implemented the Single Payment Scheme as from
1 January 2007, this derogation should apply as from
that date.

For farmers who have already been allocated, bought or
received payment entitlements by the last date for
applying for the establishment of payment entitlements
for the year of the determination of the amounts and
eligible hectares as referred to in point M of Annex VII to
Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the value and number of
their payment entitlements should be recalculated as a
result of
the reference amounts and hectares derived
from the integration of the fruit and vegetable sector.
Set-aside payment entitlements and entitlements subject
to special conditions should not be taken into account in
this calculation.

of Regulation
In accordance with Article 42(1)
the national reserve has to be
(EC) No 1782/2003,
replenished by a linear reduction of all
the reference
amounts. Rules need to be established to clarify how
Member States have to proceed with regard to the inte-
gration of the reference amount for fruit and vegetables
into the replenishment of the national reserve.

59(1)

Article

Member States that apply the regional model established
in
Regulation
and
(EC) No 1782/2003, should be empowered to fix the
number of payment entitlements per farmer resulting
from the integration of fruit and vegetable hectares.

(3)

of

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Official Journal of the European Union

20.12.2007

(9)

The date for the communication by Member States of
information to the Commission regarding the options
provided
Regulation
of
Article
(EC) No 1782/2003 should be established.

for

51

in

(10)

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

(11)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

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

Article 1

1. Article 2 is amended as follows:

(a) Point (c) is 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 nurseries, and short
rotation coppice
(CN code ex 0602 90 41), with the exception of
multiannual crops and nurseries of multiannual
crops’;

(c)

in paragraph 4, the following subparagraph is added:

‘For the long-term leases in the fruit and vegetable sector
the date referred to in the first subparagraph shall be
1 November 2007.’;

3.

in Article 32(4), the following subparagraph is added:

‘Without prejudice to Article 33 of this Regulation, in the
case where the new Member States within the meaning of
Article 2(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 have
encountered technical difficulties to determine the limits of
certain agricultural parcels as a consequence of the transition
from the parcel
identification system existing at the date
referred to in Article 54(2) of that Regulation to the identi-
fication system for agricultural parcels referred to in Article
20 of that Regulation, they may derogate from the first
subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Article 54 of Regulation
(EC) No 1782/2003 in order to fix the reference to the
date provided for the area aid applications for 2003 at
30 June 2006. They shall
take action to prevent any
significant increase in the total area eligible to set-aside en-
titlements. However Bulgaria and Romania may fix that date
at 30 June 2007.’;

4. the following Chapter 6c is inserted before Chapter 7:

‘CHAPTER 6 C

(b) After point (k), the following point is added:

INTEGRATION OF THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SECTOR IN
THE SINGLE PAYMENT SCHEME

‘(l)

“Nurseries” are those as defined in point G/5 of
Annex I to Commission Decision 2000/115/EC (*)
relating to the definitions of the characteristics, the
list of agricultural products, the exceptions to the
definitions and the regions and districts regarding
the surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings.

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

2. Article 21 is amended as follows:

Article 48f

General rules

For the purposes of the establishment of the amount
1.
in the
and the determination of payment entitlements
framework of
the fruit and vegetable
the integration of
sector in the single payment scheme, Articles 37 and 43
of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall apply subject to
the rules established in Article 48g of this Regulation and,
the option
in case the Member State has made use of
provided
Regulation
(EC) No 1782/2003, in Article 48h of this Regulation.

Article

for

59

of

in

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is added:

‘For the investments in the fruit and vegetable sector the
date referred to in the first
subparagraph shall be
1 November 2007.’;

2. Without prejudice of Article 12(1) of Regulation
for allocating payments entitlements
(EC) No 795/2004,
deriving from the integration of
fruits and vegetables
sector in the single payment scheme, Member States may
proceed to the identification of
the eligible farmers as
from 1 January 2008.

(b) in paragraph 2, the following subparagraph is added:

‘For the investments in the fruit and vegetable sector the
date referred to in the first
subparagraph shall be
1 November 2007.’;

As the case may be, Article 41(2) of Regulation
3.
(EC) No 1782/2003 shall apply to the value of all
the
payment entitlements existing before the integration of
fruit and vegetable support and to the reference amounts
calculated for fruit and vegetable support.

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The percentage of reduction fixed by the Member State
4.
in
Regulation
accordance with Article
(EC) No 1782/2003 shall apply to the reference amounts
corresponding to fruit and vegetable products integrated in
the single payment scheme.

42(1)

of

The five-year period provided for in Article 42(8) of
5.
for the
Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall not restart
reserve
payment entitlements coming from the national
whose amount has been recalculated or
increased in
accordance with Articles 48g and 48h of this Regulation.

For the purpose of

6.
the application of Article 7(1),
Articles 12 to 17, Article 20 and Article 27 of this Regu-
lation in relation to the fruit and vegetable sector, the first
year of application of the single payment scheme shall be the
year of
the
amounts and eligible hectares as referred to in point M of
Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, taking account
of the optional transitional three years' period referred to in
the third paragraph of that point.

the determination by the Member State of

Article 48g

Specific rules

1.
If the farmer does not own payment entitlements or
only owns set-aside entitlements or entitlements subject to
special conditions by the last date for applying for the estab-
lishment of payment entitlements fixed in accordance with
Article 12 of this Regulation, he shall receive payment en-
titlements calculated in accordance with Articles 37 and 43
of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 for fruit and vegetable.

etables by the number established in accordance with
point (a) of this paragraph.

Set-aside payment entitlements and payment entitlements
subject
shall not be taken into
account in the calculation referred to in this paragraph.

to special conditions

3.
Payment entitlements leased out before the date for
lodging an application under the single payment scheme
fixed in accordance with Article 12 shall be taken into
in the calculation referred to in paragraph 2.
account
However, payment entitlements leased out via a contractual
clause as referred to in Article 27 before 15 May 2004 shall
in the calculation referred to in
be taken into account
paragraph 2 of
the lease conditions
may be adjusted.

this Article only if

Article 48h

Regional implementation

for

Article

1. Where a Member State has made use of the option
provided
Regulation
in
farmers shall receive a number of
(EC) No 1782/2003,
payment entitlements equal to the number of new eligible
hectares under
fruit and vegetables, ware potatoes and
nurseries, pursuant to Article 59(4) of that Regulation.

59(1)

of

The value of
the payment entitlements is calculated in
accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 59 and
paragraph 3 of Article 63 of that Regulation.

The first subparagraph shall also apply when the farmer has
leased in payment entitlements between the first year of the
application of the single payment scheme and the year of the
integration of the fruit and vegetable sector.

The first year of application pursuant to Article 59(4) of that
Regulation shall be 2008.

If

the farmer has been allocated or has bought or
2.
received payment entitlements by the last date for applying
the establishment of payment entitlements fixed in
for
accordance with Article 12 of this Regulation,
the value
and number of the payment entitlements he owns shall be
recalculated as follows:

2.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of
paragraph 1, Member States may establish the additional
number of
farmer on the basis of
objective criteria in accordance with point M of Annex VII
to Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 for fruit and vegetables,
ware potatoes and nurseries.’;

entitlements per

(a)

the number of payment entitlements shall be equal to
the number of payment entitlements he owns, increased
by the number of hectares established in accordance with
Article 43 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 for fruit
and vegetables, ware potatoes and nurseries;

(b) the value shall be obtained by dividing the sum of the
value of
the payment entitlements he owns and the
reference amount calculated in accordance with Article
37 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 for fruit and veg-

5. the following Article 49b is inserted before Article 50:

‘Article 49b

Integration of fruits and vegetables

Member States shall communicate to the Commission, by
1 November 2008 at
the decision they have
the latest,
taken as regards the options provided for in Article 51 of
Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, broken down by product,
year and, where appropriate, regions.’

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Article 2

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2008. However, Article 1(3) shall apply as from 1 January 2007.

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

Done at Brussels, 19 December 2007.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission