CELEX: 51988PC0084(01)
Language: en
Date: 1988-02-27
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) AMENDING REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 797/85 AND NO 1760/87 AS REGARDS THE SET-ASIDE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND AND THE EXTENSIFICATION AND CONVERSION OF PRODUCTION

N o C 84/18                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                     31. 3. 88
Whereas, in view of the medium-term outlook, production            in Article 3a of Regulation (EEC) No 1491/85 is hereby
levels in recent years and the foreseeable trend in demand,        fixed at 1 300 000 tonnes.
the maximum guaranteed quantity for the 1988/1989,
1989/1990 and 1990/1991 marketing years should be fixed                                        Article 2
at the level shown below,
                                                                   This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                       following its publication in the Official Journal of the
                                                                   European Communities.
                          Article 1                                It shall apply from 1 September 1988.
For each of the marketing years 1988/1989,1989/1990 and            This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
1990/1991, the maximum guaranteed quantity referred to             applicable in all Member States.
                  Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) amending Regulations (EEC) No 797/85 and
                    No 1760/87 as regards the set-aside of agricultural land and the extensification and
                                                   conversion of production
                                                       COM(88) 84 final
                            (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 25 February 1988)
                                                          (88/C 84/11)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                           Whereas arrangements for the set-aside of arable land may
                                                                   assist the various sectors, and in particular those with
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
                                                                   surplus production, to adjust to market requirements;
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 43
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                 Whereas the set-aside arrangements should cover all arable
                                                                   land since from one year to another the use made of such
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                       land varies with the rotation of crops; whereas, however,
                                                                   land so far used for crops not subject to a common
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
                                                                   organization of the market should be excluded from the
Committee,
                                                                   scheme; whereas, to achieve tangible results in terms of the
Whereas the situation of agricultural markets has changed,         stabilization of supply, it should be stipulated that at least
and will change further, as a result of the new direction          20 % of a farmer's arable land must be set aside for a period
imposed on the common agricultural policy by the need to           of at least five years, with provision for him to terminate his
secure a gradual drop in output in those sectors where there       commitment after three years;
is a surplus;
Whereas, in this context, structural policy must be used to        Whereas, given the greater need to protect the environment
help farmers adapt to this new situation and to cushion the        and to maintain the countryside, Member States should
effects that the new markets and prices policy is likely to        take the necessary measures to keep set-aside land in good
have on agricultural incomes in particular;                        agricultural condition and lay down the necessary
                                                                   provisions to protect the environment and natural
Whereas, in order that the objectives of the structural
                                                                   resources;
policy may be achieved, the common measure introduced
by Council Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 of 12 March 1985
on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures (1), as
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1760/87 (2), should            Whereas, in the interests of making efficient use of the
be adjusted and amplified;                                         Community's farming resources, Member States should be
                                                                   allowed, for a three-year experimental period, to authorize
                                                                   land which has been set aside to be used for grazing or for
(!) OJ No L 93, 30. 3. 1985, p. 1.                                 producing lentils, chick-peas or vetches; whereas, however,
(2) OJ No L 167, 26. 6. 1987, p. 1.                                in order not to provide incentives for products which are in
 ---pagebreak--- 31. 3. 88                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 84/19
surplus, the use of set-aside land for grazing should be          organizations in order to stabilize those markets; whereas
subject to certain conditions; whereas in both cases the          it should therefore be laid down that the schemes for land
amount of the aid should allow for the reduction in the loss      set-aside is to be considered as a common measure within
of income;                                                        the meaning of Article 6(1) of Council Regulation (EEC)
                                                                  No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the
                                                                  common agricultural policy (2), as last amended by
                                                                  Regulation (EEC) No 3183/87 (3), and as intervention
Whereas it should be left to the Member States to set the
                                                                  within the meaning of Article 3 of fhat Regulation and is
amount of the aid per hectare of land set aside, in the light
                                                                  thus to be financed in equal parts from the Guarantee and
of the income losses actually incurred and in accordance
                                                                  Guidance Sections of the European Agricultural Guidance
with criteria to be laid down within the framework of the
                                                                  and Guarantee Fund,
detailed rules for applying these arrangements; whereas,
on the one hand, the level of aid must be fixed so that it is
sufficiently high to provide farmers with a real incentive to     HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
set aside some of their land; whereas, on the other land, the
aid should not exceed the level necessary to offset the loss of
income resulting from the set-aside of the land; whereas, to                                  Article 1
this end, a framework should be laid down for setting
minimum and maximum amounts;
                                                                  Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 is hereby amended as
                                                                  follows:
Whereas, to provide an additional incentive to those
farmers who set aside large areas, that is, at least 30 % of
their arable land, such farmers should be exempted, in            1. In Article 1:
respect of a quantity of 20 tonnes, from the co-
responsibility levy provided for in Article 4 and the                  (a) the following subparagraph is added to paragraph 1:
additional co-responsibility levy provided for in Article
4b(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75 of 29                         'The common measure includes measures con-
October 1975 on the common organization of the market                      sidered to be intervention within the meaning of
in cereals (l), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No .../                Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70';
88;
                                                                       (b) the following subparagraph is added to paragraph 2:
Whereas, to take account of the different situations                       'In accordance with Title VIII, the Guidance and
obtaining in the various regions of the Community,                         Guarantee Sections of the European Agricultural
provision should be made for the modulation by tranches                    Guidance and Guarantee Fund, hereinafter referred
of the rate of reimbursement from the European Agricul-                    to as 'the Fund', shall make equal contributions to
tural Guidance and Guarantee Fund;                                         the measure referred to in paragraph 1 concerning
                                                                           the scheme for encouraging set-aside of land.'
Whereas the introduction of aid arrangements for the set-
aside of land necessitates certain changes in the aid             2. Title 01 is replaced by the following Titles 01, 02
arrangements for conversion and extensification as                     and 03:
introduced by Regulation (EEC) No 1760/87; whereas, for
the sake of clarity, adjustments should be made to the
provisions currently in force without altering in any
essential respect the existing aid arrangements for                                           TITLE 01
conversion and extensification;
                                                                                    Set-aside of agricultural land
Whereas, although a scheme for land set-aside falls within
the common measure for improving the efficiency of
                                                                                              Article la
 agricultural structures provided for in Regulation (EEC)
 No 797/85, its main aim is nonetheless to help in re-
 establishing the balance between output and the market's               1. Member States shall introduce an aid scheme
 capacity to absorb it;                                                designed to encourage the set-aside of agricultural land.
                                                                       2. Aid for set-aside may be granted for all arable land,
 Whereas the schemes are thus intended to supplement                   irrespective of the crops grown, provided that the land
 measures adopted by the Council under the various market              has in fact been cultivated for a reference period to be
                                                                   (2) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 1.
 (i) OJ No L 281, 1. 11. 1975, p. 1.                               (3) OJ No L 304, 27. 10. 1987, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 84/20                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                   31. 3. 88
   determined. Land growing crops not covered by a                           In the case of authorization as provided for in the
   common market organization are excluded from the                          third subparagraph of paragraph 3 of Article 1(a),
    scheme.                                                                  the amount of the aid shall take account of the
                                                                             reduction in the loss of income;
    3. The agricultural land withdrawn from production
                                                                         (b) the reference period referred to in paragraph 2;
    must represent at least 20 % of the arable land on the
    farm concerned. For a period of at least five years, with
    the possibility of termination after three years, such               (c) the undertaking to be given by the beneficiary for the
    land must be withdrawn from cultivation, that is:                        purposes of verifying that the area farmed has in fact
                                                                             been reduced.
   — left fallow with rotation possibilities,                           5. Producers who, for the land set aside, receive aid
                                                                        within the meaning of this Title may not receive aid
   — afforested, or                                                     within the meaning of Titles 02 or 03 for such land.
                                                                         6. Producers who set aside at least 30 % of their
   — used for non-agricultural purposes.                                 arable land shall be exempted, in respect of a quantity of
                                                                         20 tonnes, from the co-responsibility levy referred to in
    Member States shall take the necessary measures to                   Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75 and from the
    keep the land in good agricultural condition. They shall             additional co-responsibility levy (2) provided for in
    lay down the necessary provisions for managing the                   Article 4b(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75.
    land so that the environment and natural resources are
    protected.                                                           Detailed rules for applying this exemption shall be
                                                                         adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
                                                                         Articles 4a and 4b of Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75.
    The Member States may, on all or some of their
    territory, authorize the use of set-aside land for:                  7. The Commission, acting in accordance with the
                                                                         procedure laid down in Article 25, shall adopt detailed
    (a) grazing, provided:                                               rules for applying this Title, specifying in particular:
                                                                        — the minimum area to be set aside,
         — a maximum stocking rate per hectare, to be
             determined, is complied with;                              — in the case of authorization as provided for in the
                                                                             third subparagraph of paragraph 3, the maximum
         — fodder produced on the farm is not marketed;                      stocking rate per hectare of grazing and the rate by
                                                                             which the aid is to be reduced in accordance with the
                                                                             second subparagraph of paragraph 4(a),
     (b) growing lentils, chick-peas and vetches.
                                                                         — the criteria to be applied by the Member States when
    Authorization by the Member States as provided for in                    fixing the aid,
    the preceding subparagraph shall be limited to three
    years from ... By then the Commission shall have                     — the criteria for determining the reference period
    reported to the Council on the results of such                           referred to in paragraph 2.
     authorization.
    4.    Member States shall determine:                                                         TITLE 02
     (a) the amount of the aid to be paid per hectare of land
                                                                                      Extensification of production
         set aside on the basis of the loss of income resulting
         from the land being set aside, whilst ensuring that
         the amount of the aid is sufficient to make it
         effective, on the one hand, and that is does not                                       Article lb
         provide excessive compensation, on the other,
         together with the way in which that aid is to be paid.
         The maximum amount of aid to be paid is set at 600               1. Member States shall introduce an aid scheme to
         ECU per hectare, per annum, and the minimum is set              promote extensification of the production of surplus
         at 100 ECU per hectare, per annum (*).                           products. Surplus products shall be defined as products
                                                                          for which there are consistently, at Community level, no
                                                                          normal unsubsidized outlets.
(!) The Commission can, in exceptional cases, in accordance with
     the procedure laid down in Article 25, set a higher maximum
     amount of 700 ECU per hectare, per annum.                       (2) Provision proposed by the Commission.
 ---pagebreak--- 31. 3. 88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                             No C 84/21
    Until 31 December 1989 Member States may restrict the             detailed rules for applying this Title, specifying in
    scheme to arable crops, beef and veal, and wine.                  particular the m a x i m u m a n d m i n i m u m a m o u n t s of
                                                                      yearly aid per hectare.
    2. Extensification shall be defined as a reduction of at
    least 20 %, for a period of at least five years, in the
    output of the product concerned without any increase in                                          TITLE 03
    other surplus production capacity. However, such an
    increase shall be permitted in proportion to any increase
                                                                                      C o n v e r s i o n of p r o d u c t i o n
    in the utilized agricultural area of the farm.
    3.    Member States shall determine:                                                            Article   lc
    (a) the conditions for granting the aid, including those          1. Member States shall introduce an aid scheme
        for reducing output of the various products. In the           designed to encourage the conversion of production
        case of beef and veal, it may be stipulated that, in          towards non-surplus products.
        order to achieve the reduction in output referred to
        in paragraph 2, the number of livestock units must            2. The Council, acting on a proposal from the
        be reduced by at least 20 % ; in the case of wine, it         Commission in accordance with the voting procedure
        may be stipulated that the yield per hectare must be          laid down in Article 43(2) of the Treaty, shall adopt a
        reduced by at least 20 % ;                                    list of products towards which production may be
                                                                      converted and shall lay down the conditions and
                                                                      procedures for the granting of the aid.
    (b)the amount of the aid, on the basis of the
        undertaking given by the beneficiary and the loses of         3. Producers who receive aid within the meaning of
        income incurred, and the way in which it is to be             this Title may not receive aid within the meaning of
        paid;                                                         Title 01 or 02 for the land in question.
    (c) the reference period for the product concerned, for           4. The Commission, acting in accordance with the
        the purposes of calculating the reduction;                    procedure laid down in Article 25, shall adopt detailed
                                                                      rules for applying this Title.'
    (d) the undertaking to be given by the beneficiary for the
        purposes of verifying that production has in fact          3. In the second subparagraph of Article 20(1), 'of the
        been reduced.                                                 extensification aid as established in Article la' is
                                                                      replaced by 'the aids to the set-aside of agricultural land
    4. Where the scheme is applied in the milk sector, the            and extensification established in Article la and l b ' .
    reduction in output shall be calculated on the basis of
    the reference quantity allocated under Regulation
    (EEC) No 804/68 on the common organization of the              4. In Article 26:
    market in milk and milk products (*), as last amended
    by Regulation (EEC) No 773/87 (2). Reference quan-                (a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
    tities suspended pursuant to this paragraph may not be
    reused or reallocated for the duration of the suspension.              ' 1 . The expenditure incurred by Member States in
                                                                           connection with the measures provided for in
                                                                           Articles l b , lc, 3 to 7, 9 to 17 and 19 to 21 shall be
    The eligible amount of the premium paid under Council
                                                                           eligible for aid from the Guidance Section of the
    Regulation (EEC) No 775/87 of 16 March 1987 (3)                        Fund. The expenditure incurred by Member States
    temporarily withdrawing a proportion of the reference                  in connection with the measures provided for in
    quantities mentioned in Article 5c(l) of Regulation                    Articles la shall be eligible for aid from the
    (EEC) No 804/68 shall be deducted from the eligible                    Guarantee and Guidance Section of the Fund.'
    amount of the aid.
                                                                      (b) In paragraph 2, the first sentence is replaced by the
    5. Producers who receive aid within the meaning of                     following:
    this Title may not receive aid within the meaning of
    Title 01 or 03 for the land affected by extensification.               'The Fund shall reimburse to Member States 25 % of
                                                                           their eligible expenditure on the measures provided
                                                                           for in Article l b , lc, 3 to 7, 13 to 17, and 19 to 21.'
     6. The Commission, acting in accordance with the
    procedure laid down in Article 25, shall lay down                  (c) The following subparagraph is added to para-
                                                                           graph 2:
(!) OJ No L 48, 28. 6. 1968, p. 13.                                         'The fund shall reimburse to Member States the
(2) OJ No L 78, 20. 3. 1987, p. 1.                                          eligible expenditure on the measures provided for in
(3) OJ No L 78, 20. 3. 1987, p. 5.                                          Article la. The following rates shall apply:
 ---pagebreak--- No C 84/22                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  31. 3. 88
        — 50 % for that portion of the aid which does not               ' 1. On receipt of a reasoned application, the Commis-
            exceed 200 ECU per hectare, per annum;                      sion, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down
                                                                        in Article 5, may authorize a Member State not to apply
            25 % for that portion of the aid between 200                the aid schemes provided for in Titles 01, 02 and 03 in
            ECU and 400 ECU per hectare, per annum;                     those regions or areas where, because of natural
            15 % for that portion of the aid between 400                conditions or the threat of depopulation, production
            ECU and 600 ECU per hectare, per annum;                     should not be reduced. In the case of Spain the
                                                                        Commission may also take account of the particular
         — and in the case of authorization as provided for in          socio-economic situations of certain regions or areas.
            the third subparagraph of paragraph 3 :
                                                                        The Commission, acting in accordance with the
            50 % for that portion of the aid which does not             procedure laid down in Article 25, shall adopt the
            exceed 100 ECU per hectare, per annum;                      criteria for defining the regions or areas referred to in
                                                                        the first subparagraph.
            25 % for that portion of the aid between 100
            ECU and 200 ECU per hectare, per annum;                     2. Portugal is hereby authorized not to apply the
            15 % for that portion of the aid between 200                schemes referred to in paragraph 1 until 31 December
                                                                         1995.'
            ECU and 300 ECU per hectare, per annum.
                                                                                               Article 2
5. In Article 32(1), the following subparagraph is inserted
     after the first subparagraph:                                  Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 1760/87 are
                                                                    hereby repealed.
     'Where Titles 01, 02 and 03 are concerned, Member
     States shall bring into force the measures necessary to
     comply with this Regulation before ... 1988 ( 1 ).'                                       Article 3
                                                                    This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
6. The following Article 32a is inserted:                           following its publication in the Official Journal of the
                                                                    European Communities.
                                                                    This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
(!) Three months from the entry into force of the proposed
                                                                    applicable in all Member States.
     Regulation.
                       Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 804/68
                            on the common organization of the market in milk and milk products
                                                         COM(88) 84 final
                              (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 25 February 1
                                                           (88/C 84/12)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            introduced for a period of five years, with the aim of
                                                                    restoring equilibrium on the milk market, an arrangement
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               for an additional levy on quantities of milk delivered or
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,           purchased exceeding a reference quantity established in
                                                                    respect of the milk producer or purchaser whereas it is now
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  clear that the results obtained from these arrangements will
                                                                    not suffice to achieve the objective of adaptation of supply
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                        to demand by the end of the five-year period; whereas the
                                                                    duration of the additional-levy arrangement must now be
Whereas Article 5c of Council Regulation (EEC) No 804/               extended to eight 12-month periods;
 68 (*), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No .../88,
                                                                     Whereas the guaranteed overall quantities for the sixth,
 (!) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 13.                                seventh and eight periods of application of the additional-