CELEX: 51986PC0088
Language: en
Date: 1986-02-24
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) INTRODUCING A COMMON MEASURE FOR REPLANTING AND CONVERTING OLIVE GROVES IN CERTAIN REGIONS OF THE COMMUNITY WHICH WERE DAMAGED BY FROST IN 1985

25.3.86                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 70/3
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) introducing a common measure for replanting and
              converting olive groves in certain regions of the Community which were damaged by frost in
                                                             1985
                                                     COM(86) 88 final
                             (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 24 February 1986)
                                                        (86/C 70/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          Whereas the olive groves should be restored in such a
                                                                  way as to maintain the quality of production at a high
                                                                   level or, where required, to raise it to such a level by
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European              opting for the best varieties available;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43
thereof,
                                                                  Whereas in other areas which have been adversely
                                                                   affected by frost and which are suitable for other crops,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                producers should be encouraged to convert from olive
                                                                  growing to other forms of production which are more in
                                                                  keeping with market requirements and which can readily
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                 be disposed of, by introducing a scheme similar to that
liament,                                                          for restoring olive groves;
Whereas in order to attain the objectives of the common           Whereas the measures in question should, in order to
agricultural policy which are set out in Article 39 (1) (a)       achieve maximum effectiveness, form part of olive-tree
and (b) of the Treaty, assistance should be provided for          replanting and conversion schemes introduced by the
the structural improvement of agriculture in regions              Member States concerned, at the most suitable regional
which are facing major problems;                                  level;
Whereas particularly severe and protracted frosts have            Whereas it should be provided that these schemes
destroyed or caused considerable damage to olive groves           constitute a common measure within the meaning of
in certain regions of the Community, especially in hill           Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 ('), as
and mountain areas;                                               last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3769/85 (2);
                                                                  whereas the costs incurred by Member States should be
                                                                  financed by the Community, subject to a limit of 30 %
Whereas in those hill and mountain areas in particular,           in the case of the replanting of olive groves and 60 % in
olive growing is unlikely to be replaced by other crops           the case of schemes to convert from olive-growing to
and whereas, accordingly, the replanting of olive groves          products which can readily be disposed of on the
should, subject to certain conditions, be encouraged in           market;
order to ensure the survival of farming, prevent soil
erosion and disruption of the hydrological cycle, protect
the environment and preserve the countryside;                     HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Whereas the replanting should be encouraged by means                                         Article 1
of investment aid, accompanied by a supplementary-aid
scheme which takes account of the specific objectives             1.     A common measure within the meaning of Article 6
and conditions pertaining to the type of conversion               of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 is hereby introduced in
required;                                                         order to make good the damage to olive growing caused
                                                                  by frosts in 1985.
Whereas olive growing should be restored in such a way
as to encourage mechanization and lower production
costs and whereas this can best to be achieved under              (') OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.
collective schemes involving several holdings;                    (2) OJ No L 362, 31. 12. 1985, p. 17.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 70/4                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                     25. 3. 86
2.    The common measure shall be implemented in                    — the area covered by conversion schemes and the
areas where:                                                             measures to be implemented in order to ensure that
                                                                         production         more       closely matches     market
— olive growing accounts for a major share of agri-                      requirements,
    cultural production,
                                                                    — the conversion premiums payable in respect of each
— at least 50 % of the olive trees suffered            severe            of the replacement crops concerned,
    damage as a result of frost in 1985.
                                                                    — the ancillary measures required in order to implement
3.    The Community may, in accordance with Article 5,                  the conversion schemes, in particular those concerned
make a contribution towards the common measure by                       with the preparation of the soil, levelling, irrigation,
financing, via the Guidance Section of the European                     the drainage of individual plots and reparcelling
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, hereinafter                    aimed at ensuring that the plots are better suited to
referred to as 'the Fund', measures involving:                          the new type of farming,
(a) collective schemes      for   replanting    olive  groves       — the estimated cost for each type of measure, the
     damaged by frost;                                                  economic factors which justify implementing the
                                                                        schemes in question, and the financial resources
(b) schemes to convert olive groves to other crops which                required, specifying the proposed schedule of
     are more in keeping with market requirements;                      payments,
(c) aid granted to farmers in the light of the specific             — the measures adopted for the purpose of financing
     objectives of the work referred to in (a) and (b),                 the programme and the aid to olive growers within a
     provided the said work is carried out in respect of an             suitable period.
     area of not less than 0,5 hectares and meets the
     requirements laid down in the fourth indent of                 2.     All programmes and any updating amendments
    Article 5 (1) in the case of replanting schemes, and            thereto shall be forwarded to the Commission by the
    Article 5 (2) in the case of schemes to convert olive           Government of the Member State concerned.
     groves to other crops which are more in keeping
     with market requirements.
                                                                    3.     Member States shall, at the Commission's request,
                                                                    provide additional information concerning the items
                          Article 2                                 specified in paragraph 1.
1.     Member States or the regions concerned which
meet the requirements laid down in Article 1 (2) shall,             4.     The duration of the programmes shall be the same
before 1 July 1986, draw up one or more programmes,                 as that of the common measure.
to be forwarded to the Commission by the Government
of the Member State concerned, setting out the measures
                                                                    5.     The Commission shall, in accordance with the
which they regard as the most suitable for achieving the
                                                                    procedure laid down in Article 25 of Council Regulation
objectives described in Article 1.
                                                                    (EEC) No 797/85 of 13 March 1985 on improving the
                                                                    efficiency of agricultural structures (*), deliver an opinion
Programmes shall include the following information:                 in respect of each programme or updated version thereof
                                                                    after consulting the EAGGF Committee on the financial
— a description of the existing situation, the importance           aspects.
    of olive growing in terms of the region's gross agri-
    cultural product, and the damage caused by the frost,
    giving a breakdown by region,
                                                                                                  Article 3
— the total area covered by the collective replanting
    schemes, and the olive-tree varieties recommended               1.     For the purposes of this Regulation, 'collective
    for each region,                                                schemes for the replanting of olive groves' shall be taken
                                                                    to mean any replanting operation carried out by a group
— in the case of farmers taking part in collective                  of farmers in accordance with a binding agreement
    replanting schemes, a binding outline plan which                between the members of that group and the region
    meets the requirements laid down in this Regulation,            concerned or, where applicable, an agency designated by
                                                                    the latter.
— the amount of aid payable to farmers in respect of
    each type of replanting,                                        Collective replanting schemes must concern not less than
                                                                    5 000 olive trees and 25 farmers who are members of an
— a description of the ancillary measures which will be
    introduced, in particular those concerned with soil
    improvement and drainage in connection with
    collective replanting schemes,                                  (') O J N o L 9 3 , 30. 3. 1985, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- 25. 3. 86                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 70/5
olive-growers' cooperative or group or who belong to a                                            Article 5
recognized association with a similar purpose which shall
specify the measures required in connection with the                  1.    Expenditure incurred in connection with replanting
replanting. The said groups and associations shall be                 schemes under Article 1 (3) (a) and (c) shall be eligible
authorized to lay down additional rules with a view to                for aid from the Fund up to:
achieving more readily the aims set out in paragraph 2.
                                                                      — 4 300 ECU per hectare where all the trees are
                                                                          replanted, or 13 ECU per tree where replanting
                                                                          covers a major part of the area concerned, and
2.     Collective schemes for the replanting of olive
groves shall be eligible only if:                                     — 11 ECU per tree where the replanting scheme
                                                                          involves sawing the tree off at the base of the trunk,
(a) they help improve the countryside in typical olive-                   or
     growing areas, protect the environment, consolidate
     the soil and regulate the hydrological cycle;                    — 6 ECU per tree where the replanting scheme involves
                                                                          the sawing off of the main and secondary branches in
                                                                          the case of the schemes referred to in Article 1 (3)
(b) they contribute to a lasting improvement of working                   (a);
     conditions on the agricultural holdings concerned,
                                                                          However, the aids for replanting which are referred
     thus allowing labour incomes to increase;
                                                                          to in the first three indents shall not exceed the actual
                                                                          expenditure incurred.
(c) there is proper evidence that they will be effective
     from an economic point of view;                                  — 2 ECU on average per tree per year in the case of the
                                                                          aid referred to in Article 1 (3) (c), which may be
                                                                          granted in respect of not more than 10 hectares or
(d) it is clear that the olive oil produced will continue to              3 000 trees per individual holding, for up to:
     be of high quality or, where it has not yet reached a
                                                                          — five years in the case of replanting or where the
     satisfactory level, that it will improve.
                                                                               trees are sawn off at the base of the trunk,
                                                                          — three years where the            main  and    secondary
                                                                               branches are sawn off.
                            Article 4                                 The amounts        of   aid  may    be  paid  in   decreasing
                                                                      instalments.
1.     For the purposes of this Regulation 'olive-grove
conversion scheme' shall be taken to mean any                         The Fund shall reimburse the Member State or region
conversion scheme implemented on an individual or                     concerned 30 °/o of the eligible expenditure referred to in
group-operated agricultural holding which provides for                this paragraph.
the grubbing-up of olive trees on an area of not less than
0,2 hectares.                                                         2.    Expenditure incurred in connection with the
                                                                      conversion schemes referred to in Article 1 (3) (b) shall
When conversion begins there must be at least 50 trees,               be eligible for aid from the Fund up to an amount not
healthy or otherwise, per hectare on the area concerned.              exceeding the actual expenditure incurred.
                                                                      The supplementary aid referred to in Article 1 (3) (c)
                                                                      shall be differentiated on the basis of the loss of income
2.     In order to be eligible, conversion schemes must:              and shall provide a substantial incentive to participate in
                                                                      a conversion scheme. The expenditure concerned shall be
(a) result in products which can be readily disposed of               eligible for aid from the Fund up to:
     on the market;
                                                                      — 2 000 ECU per hectare in the case of annual crops;
(b) make suitable provision for avoiding an increase in
                                                                      — 4 000 ECU in the case of multiannual                  crops,
     soil erosion.
                                                                          including afforestation schemes.
                                                                      Where the average number of olive trees grubbed-up per
3.     Operators who receive conversion aid must                      holding is less than 50 per hectare, the supplementary aid
undertake not to replant olive trees on olive-growing                 shall be reduced accordingly.
areas which do not qualify for aid under Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 1590/83 of 14 June 1983 on the                        The Fund shall reimburse 60 % of                 the   eligible
determination of areas planted with olive trees qualifying            expenditure referred to in this paragraph.
for aid for the production of olive oil (1).
                                                                      3.    In the case of afforestation            schemes, the
                                                                      compensatory allowance referred to in Article 15 (3) of
                                                                      Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 may be granted in
(') OJ No L 163, 22. 6. 1983, p. 39.                                  addition to aid referred to in paragraph 2.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 70/6                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                   25.3.86
4.    The estimated total cost to the Fund of the                                              Article 7
common measure is 60 million ECU.
                                                                    1.    Applications for reimbursement in respect of
5.    The period allowed for the implementation of the              expenditure incurred by the Member State or region
common measure shall be two years, beginning on the                 concerned during a given calendar year shall be
day on which the first scheme is approved, and shall                submitted to the Commission before 1 May the
expire on 1 July 1988 at the latest.                                following year.
                                                                    2.    Decisions on the granting of aid by the Fund shall
6.    On the basis of a progress report by the                      be taken in accordance with Article 7 (1) of Regulation
Commission on the implementation of the common                      (EEC) No 729/70.
measure, and following           a proposal from           the
Commission, the Council shall, before 1 April 1988, take            3.    Payments on account of up to 50 % in respect of
a decision on whether the duration of the common                    actual work may be made by the Fund in accordance
measure, as referred to in paragraph 5, should be                   with the financial arrangements adopted by the Member
extended.                                                           State or region concerned and the amount of work, as
                                                                    referred to in Article 1 (3) (a) and (b), actually done.
                          Article 6                                 4.    Detailed rules for the application of this Article
                                                                    shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid
When approving a programme pursuant to Article 2 the                down in Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
Commission shall, jointly with the Member State or
region concerned, lay down detailed rules regarding the                                        Article 8
information which must be provided at regular intervals
concerning the implementation of the programme. The                 This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
                                                                    following its publication in the Official Journal of the
Government of the Member State or the region
                                                                    European Communities.
concerned shall at the same time designate the agency or
body responsible for the actual implementation of the               This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
programme.                                                          directly applicable in all Member States.
              Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) laying down the procedures for the exercise of
                                     implementing powers conferred on the Commission
                                                       COM(86) 35 final
                                (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 3 March 1986)
                                                          (86/C 70/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            recourse should be limited; whereas certain rules should
                                                                    therefore be established to govern all provisions involving
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               procedures for the exercise of implementing powers
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235                   conferred by the Council on the Commission;
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  Whereas these procedures should be such as to ensure
                                                                    the efficiency of the decision-making process;
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
liament,
Whereas the Council, in rules which it establishes,                 Whereas certain procedures providing for committees of
confers powers of implementation on the Commission;                 national experts set up by the Commission to be
                                                                    consulted or asked for an opinion on proposed
Whereas it may be advisable in certain cases to make                implementing measures have proved appropriate in the
exercise of these powers subject to certain procedures              past; whereas these should therefore continue to
providing for collaboration between the Commission and              constitute the only procedures;
experts from the Member States;
Whereas, in order to facilitate Council decision-making             Whereas the Treaty has not provided the necessary
in this area, the types of procedure to which it may have           powers,