CELEX: 51993PC0455
Language: en
Date: 1993-09-30
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) on the part-financing by the Community of remote sensing checks and amending Council Regulation (EEC) N° 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                             COM(93) 455 final
                                             Brussels» 30 September 1993
                              Proposal for a
                         COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
                        on the part-financing by the
  Community of remote sensing checks and amending Council Regulation
  (EEC) N° 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated
  administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes.
                      (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---                                        ~1-
                             Explanatory memorandum
Remote sensing, used to monitor areas under cultivation for which subsidies
are granted, was first tested by the Commission alone, starting in 1990,
then proposed on a cooperative basis to the Member States, which are nov
being asked to take over responsibility for it in their own countries, with
technical back-up from the Commission.
Official authorization for this monitoring technique was given by Article 8
of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1703/91 of 13 June 1991 introducing a
temporary set-aside scheme for arable land for the 1991/92 marketing
yearI 1 ) and subsequently by Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 3766/91 of 12 December 1991 establishing a support system for producers
of soya beans, rape seed and sunflower seed(2).
These provisions, which applied for a single marketing year, have now been
replaced by Article 8(4) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27
November 1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system
for certain Commmunity aid schemes^ 3 ). For 1993 approximately 35 000 files
will have been checked using remote sensing in 11 Member States, which is
equivalent to around one quarter of the minimum number of checks required
under the new Regulation. The rest, generally speaking, are being checked
using traditional methods.
 Since 1970 national budgets have had to bear the administrative cost of
 controls under Article 1(4) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of
 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy^ 4 ). The
 use of remote sensing is still a fairly new and complex technique, however,
 and although unit costs are falling rapidly, at the moment control by this
 method is still giving rise to considerable expenditure. The Commission
 considers that this should be part-financed out of Community funds in order
 to allow all the Member States which so wish to update their control
 systems more speedily. Part-financing could be limited, however, to the
 time required for the change-over.
 For that reason, as an exception to the general rule, Commission
 Regulations (EEC) Nos 2069/91<5) and 615/92(6) laying down detailed rules
 for the application of the temporary set-aside scheme for arable land and
 for a support system for producers of oilseeds respectively already
 provided for the possibility of financing checks carried out by remote
 sensing out of the Commission budget. This option was extended by
 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 laying down detailed rules for
 applying the integrated administration and control system^ 7 ).
 Steps should be taken moreover to remove any ambiguity in Article 10(1) of
 Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 between investment expenditure on the
  (1) OJNoL    162, 26. 6.1991, p. 1.
 (2)  OJ No L  356, 24.12.1991, p. 17.
  (3) OJ No L  355, 5.12.1992, p. 1.
  (4) OJ No L   94, 28. 4.1970, p. 13.
  (5) OJ No L  191, 11. 7.1991, p. 19.
  (6) OJ No L   67, 10. 3.1992, p. 11.
  (7) OJ No L  391, 31.12.1992, p. 36.
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 2 -
establishment of the integrated system and the costs of annual checks
carried out by aerial or satellite-borne means of remote sensing.
Experience has shown furthermore that negotiations for the purchase of the
necessary satellite pictures conducted at Community level together with the
joint management of archive pictures provide opportunities which are
unavailable to the Member States acting individually.
Remote sensing, lastly, is still developing and the Member States'
requirements regarding the checking of areas have not yet all been
identified, expressed or met. The Commission intends therefore to continue
carrying out specific tests related to checking requirements. Provision
should be made also for establishing a legal basis for their financing.
All these considerations have resulted in the proposal below which is for a
specific Regulation consolidating the provisions of Article 10 of Regulation
(EEC) No 3508/92 and Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 and
introducing a number of new provisions, namely:
        the part-financing of up to 50% of expenditure for a maximum of 5
        years ;
   -     specific technical support and test measures to be carried out by
        the Commission without a time limit;
        the centralized purchase of satellite pictures;
        the determination of a clear distinction between the establishment
        of the integrated system and the annual costs of remote sensing.
 ---pagebreak---                                      -3
                                 Proposal for
Council Regulation (EEC) No        /          on the part-financing by the
Community of remote sensing checks and amending Council Regulation (EEC)
No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated administration and
control system for certain Commmunity aid schemes
TUB COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Whereas Article 8(4) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November
1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system for
certain Commmunity aid schemes* provides that Member States may use remote
sensing to determine the area of agricultural parcels, identify crops and
verify their status;
Whereas, on account of its novelty and complexity, remote sensing is giving
rise to further major expenditure which should be covered partly out of
Community funds in order to enable all Member States who so wish to update
their control techniques more rapidly; whereas, however, provision should
be made for part-financing which is limited in time;
Whereas the part-financing must be granted only for techniques applied and
may not result in the charging to the Community budget of purely
administrative expenditure which, under Article 1(4) of Council Regulation
 (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural
policy^, is chargeable to national budgets;
Whereas provision should be made for the Commission to be consulted on the
technical and financial aspects of projects drawn up by the Member States
 and on the award of contracts in order to ensure satisfactory uniformity
 between Member States;
 Whereas since the funds available are limited, it is essential that
 provision be made for their fair distribution among the Member States on the
 basis of a maximum rate of part-financing and a distribution scale;
Whereas experience has shown that negotiations centralised at Community
 level, for the purchase of the necessary satellite pictures, and the joint
management of archive pictures, open up opportunités which are unavailable
to individual Member states;
 1  OJ Ito L 355, S.12.1992, p. 1.
 2  OJ M O L 94, 28. 4.1970, p. 13.
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas remote sensing is undergoing constant development; whereas,.
moreover, the Member States' requirements regarding the control of
agricultural areas have not yet all been identified, expressed or met?
whereas provision should be made therefore for specific tests related to
control requirements to be financed;
Whereas it is essential, for the satisfactory management of the funds, to
have currency exchange rates which remain fixed throughout the budget year;
Whereas steps should be taken to eliminate all ambiguity in Article 10(1) of
Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 between investment expenditure linked with the
establishment of the integrated system and the costs of the annual checks
carried out by aerial or satellite remote sensing,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                  Article 1
1. The Community may contribute, towards the costs incurred by the Member
States, in réponse to an annual request to the Commission, for the use of
aerial or satellite remote sensing during checks on agricultural areas
pursuant to Article 8(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
Without prejudice to Article 1(4) of that Regulation, for the purposes of
this Regulation "technical costs" means the costs of:
   acquiring satellite pictures or aerial photographs;
   the photointerpretation of the above;
-   the processing of documents or the use of techniques for locating parcels
   shown in applications for assistance for the purpose of surveying the
   areas under crops and measuring the areas declared.
2. The part-financing referred to in this Article may only be granted by
calendar year for a period of five consecutive years as from the date of
entry into force of this Regulation. It shall be granted within the limit
of the appropriations allocated for this purpose in the Community budget and
may not exceed 50% of the actual expenditure incurred by the Member State
concerned in respect of the relevant budget year.
The appropriations available shall be distributed among the  Member States in
accordance with the scale shown in the Annex, less, where    appropriate, the
costs and work expenditure referred to in Article 2 of      this Regulation.
Appropriations for which application has not been made may   be used again in
accordance with Article 2, or redistributed, without taking  into account the
distribution scale, among the Member States which satisfy    the requirements
of this Regulation.
3.   The grant of part-financing shall be conditional on:
-   the presentation of a declaration of intent from the Member State to be
   sent before a date to be determined by the Commission, prior to 1 January
   of the budget year concerned;
 ---pagebreak---    the submission before 15 January of a specification setting out in detail
   the work for which part-financing is requested. The Commission may
    request that changes be made to it;
-   the consultation of the Commission before 31 March, on the award of the
    contract, and on a budget estimate. Irrespective of the form given to
   this contract by the Member State, the Commission's consent to
   part-financing must be renewed annually.
In all three cases a negative opinion on the part of the Commission or
failure to consult within the prescribed period shall mean that part-
financing will be refused. The Commission may itself propose a specification
to those Member States that desire it. In which case, it is considered as
approved.
4. Community       payment shall be made upon     submission  of   supporting
documents. These shall comprise at least the principal components of the
agreement between the Member State and the supplier or suppliers of services
as well as the corresponding proof of payment. In order to be eligible for
reimbursement, proof of payment must reach the Commission at the latest on
15 June of the year following the budget year concerned.
5. The Commission may, on receipt of a duly substantiated request from a
Member State, advance all or part of the amounts covering the annual
payments referred to in the preceding paragraph.
6. The conversion into national currency of the amounts expressed in ecus
shall be made by applying the exchange rate in force on the first working
day of the calendar year concerned, as published in the C series of the
Official Journal of the European Communities.
                                   Article 2
The Commission may acquire and supply free of charge to the control
agencies, or to suppliers of services authorized by those agencies to
represent them, the satellite pictures required for the checks, the list of
which shall be agreed with the Member State in accordance with the
specification referred to in Article 1(3). The Commission shall continue to
own the pictures supplied and shall recover them on completion of the work.
 It may also see to it that work is carried out on perfecting the technique
and working methods for checking agricultural areas by remote sensing.
                                   Article 3
 The Community part-financing provided for in this Regulation, in the areas
 referred to in Articles 1 and 2, may not be aggregated with the financial
contribution provided for in other Regulations, in particular:
-    Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an
     integrated administration and control system for certain Commmunity aid
     schemes;
-    Council Regulation (EEC) No 307/91 of 4 February 1991 on reinforcing the
    monitoring of certain expenditure chargeable to the Guarantee Section of
    the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund3.
$   « l l M l 1? 9 »*a«t9»l, 9. 9.
 ---pagebreak---                                  Article 4
The Commission shall adopt detailed rules for the application of this
Regulation in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of
Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
                                 Article 5
In Article 10(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92, the words "and for the
acquisition of aerial photographs or satellite pictures and the analysis
thereof are hereby deleted.
                                 Article 6
                                                                    1
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. It shall
apply with effect from 1 January 1994. However, for expenditure incurred by
the Member States before the entry into force of this Regulation, the old
version of Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 shall continue to
apply.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.
Done at
For the Council
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                       s
                                                                ANNEX
Method of calculation
The maximum authorized appropriation is:
. ECU 15 million in the first year;
. ECU 20 million in the four subsequent years;
. ECU 3 million thereafter.
It is broken down as follows:
(1)     Part-financing: maximum reimbursement of ECU 12 million in 1994 and
        ECU 17 million for four years
        (50% of Member States' actual expenditure);
(2)     Ancillary services:
        -       satellite pictures or aerial photographs:
                ECU 2.5 million/year, based on expenditure in 1992 and 1993;
                technical assistance for Member States:
                estimated ECU 0.5 million/year.
(3)     Amendment of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92: neutral from budgetary
        point of view.
 ---pagebreak---                                            J
                                                                     ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(93) 455 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              03
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-502-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-59562-0
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