CELEX: 51985PC0759(02)
Language: en
Date: 1985-12-18
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) ESTABLISHING A COMMON ACTION FOR THE PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURE IN CERTAIN LESS-FAVOURED AREAS OF NORTHERN ITALY

31. 12. 85                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 358/5
              Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) establishing a common action for the promotion of
                                    agriculture in certain less-favoured areas of northern Italy
                                                         COM(85) 759 final
                                                           (85/C 358/02)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                              Whereas the threat to agricultural land by soil erosion makes
                                                                      it especially vital to protect soil and watercourses;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community,                                                   Whereas a specific system of aids for forestry schemes is
                                                                      especially important in less-favoured areas and whereas
                                                                      forestry contributes to agricultural employment and provides
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 of                additional agricultural income;
12 March 1985 on improving the efficiency of agricultural
structures (*), and in particular Article 18 thereof,
                                                                      Whereas the consolidation of agricultural land reduces its
                                                                      fragmentation and enables farm machinery to be used more
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                    efficiently;
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,              Whereas the prevention of soil erosion helps:
                                                                      — to preserve the soil, the countryside and surface and
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
                                                                           ground water flow,
Committee,
                                                                      — to maintain the recreational potential of an area;
Whereas, pursuant to Article 39 (2) (a) of the Treaty, the
social structure of agriculture and the structural and natural
disparities between the various agricultural regions must be          Whereas soil improvement can help to reduce production
taken into account in working out the common agricultural             costs;
policy;
                                                                      Whereas farmers' incomes can also be increased by
                                                                      supplementary activities in the field of rural tourism which
Whereas, in order to achieve the objectives of the common
                                                                      require the provision of collective infrastructures by local
agricultural policy set out in Article 39 (1) (a) and (b) of the
                                                                      authorities;
Treaty, special measures adapted to the situation in the
less-favoured agricultural areas should be enacted at
Community level;                                                      Whereas Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 797/85
                                                                      provides for the adoption of specific measures to encourage
                                                                      agriculture as a whole in the region concerned, in harmony
Whereas in northern Italy the less-favoured agricultural
                                                                      with any development schemes simultaneously undertaken in
areas, within the meaning of Council Directive 75 / 268 / EEC
                                                                      non-agricultural sectors and with the needs of environmental
of 28 April 1975 on mountain and hill farming and farming
                                                                      protection; whereas the Council, acting in accordance with
in certain less-favoured areas (2), as last amended by
                                                                      the procedure laid down in Article 43 of the Treaty, is to
Regulation (EEC) No 797/85, are in a particularly difficult
                                                                      decide on these measures;
situation;
                                                                      Whereas the achievement of these objectives should be
Whereas these areas are not covered by Council Regulation
                                                                      encouraged by a measure which combines these various
(EEC) No 2088/85 of 23 July 1985 concerning the
                                                                      elements within a single programme;
integrated Mediterranean programmes ( 3 );
                                                                      Whereas it is apparent from the foregoing that the
Whereas the rural infrastructure of these areas is very               abovementioned measures constitute a common measure
inadequate as regards public services such as electricity,            within the meaning of Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No
drinking water, farm roads and local roads, and the creation          797/85;
or improvement of such services is an important precondition
for the improvement of agricultural structures;
                                                                      Whereas it is for the Commission, having received the
H OJ NoL 93, 30. 3. 1985, p. 1.                                       opinion of the Standing Committee on Agricultural
(2) OJ No L 128, 19. 5. 1975, p. 1.                                   Structures, to decide whether to approve a programme
(3) OJ No L 197, 27. 7. 1985, p. 1.                                   submitted by the Italian Government,
 ---pagebreak--- No C 358/6                                Official Journal of the European .Communities                                       31. 12. 85
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                         3. land consolidation including the voluntary reparcelling
                                                                         of agricultural land and involving:
                                                                         — a lasting increase in the size of parcels so that, in
                             TITLE I                                          general, they increase by a factor of at least 3,
                                                                         — related operations such as surface grading and the
Measures to accelerate agricultural development in certain                    provision of drainage ditches;
             less-favoured areas of northern Italy
                                                                     4. the prevention, of soil erosion, involving:
                                                                         — the construction             of    small  dams,     dykes  or
                            Article 1                                         breakwaters,
                                                                         — the construction or repair of banks,
1.     In order to accelerate agricultural development in
certain areas of northern Italy, a common measure within the             — planting suitable varieties of               saplings along
meaning of Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 shall                     watercourses to improve the               soil's retaining
be introduced, to be implemented by Italy in order to bring
                                                                              capacity;
about a significant improvement in agricultural structures
and the productive potential of agriculture in the areas
concerned.                                                           5. improving privately-owned farmland according to an
                                                                         overall plan, including:
2.     The common measure shall apply to less-favoured                   — drainage,
areas, within the meaning of Directive 75/268/EEC, in the
regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Trentino-Alto                  — other soil improvement measures;
Adige, Lombardy, Valle d'Aosta and Piedmont.
                                                                     6. the improvement or setting up of collective
3.     In accordance with Title II, the Community may                    infrastructures to encourage rural tourism in villages
contribute to the common measure by financing, through the               which depend chiefly on agriculture and which offer
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund,                       good potential for tourism.
Guidance Section, hereinafter referred to as 'the Fund', the
measures in support of agriculture which are set out in one or
more programmes drawn up by the Italian Government or
other authorities designated at the relevant geographical level                                      Article 3
and approved by the Commission. The aim of such
programmes shall be the joint and concerted use of the               1.     Any programme as provided for in Article 1 (3) shall
various Community and national financial instruments for             include at least the following details:
structural purposes, so that they may be concentrated
effectively on priority objectives.                                  (a) a description of the problems in each sector, the areas
                                                                          affected and the various measures to be adopted under
                                                                          the common measure in order to solve them, an estimate
                                                                          of the costs involved and the method of financing;
                            Article 2
                                                                     (b) the expected timetable for completion of the various
                                                                          measures and evidence that the Community measures
The common measure in the areas defined in Article 1 (2)                   are in addition to national ones;
shall concern schemes for:
                                                                     (c) the arrangements for coordinating the programme with
                                                                          all thp
                                                                              the other programmes
                                                                                         n r n p r a m m e s and provisions
                                                                                                                 nrnvisionS which
                                                                                                                              which may
1. improving the rural infrastructure, including:
                                                                          influence the development of agriculture in the area
    — supplying the holdings and villages whose                           concerned;
         inhabitants depend chiefly on agriculture with
         electricity and drinking water,                             (d) evidence that the measures contemplated are compatible
                                                                          with the protection of the environment.
    — building and improving farm roads and local roads
         used chiefly for agricultural purposes;                     2.     The programme shall last at least for the duration of
                                                                     the common measure.
2. forestry improvements, including:
    — afforestation,
                                                                                                     Article 4
    — improvement of deteriorated woodlands,
                                                                     1.     All programmes shall be forwarded to the Commission
    — other supporting measures;                                     by the Italian Government.
 ---pagebreak--- 31. 12. 85                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 358/7
2.     All programmes and any amendments thereto shall be             — 40 million ECU for forestry improvements and
approved in accordance with the procedure laid down in                    supporting measures pursuant to Article 2 (2), within the
Article 10 after the Fund Committee has been consulted on                 eligibility limits per hectare set out in the first four indents
the financial aspects.                                                    of Article 11 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 269/79
                                                                          of 6 February 1979 establishing a common measure for
                                                                          forestry in certain Mediterranean zones of the
                                                                          Community ( 2 ),
                           TITLE II                                   — 600 ECU per hectare affected within an overall limit of
                                                                          15 000 hectares with respect to the land consolidation
               General and financial provisions                           operations referred to in Article 2 (3),
                                                                      — 40 million ECU for the operations referred to in Article 2
                                                                          (4),
                           Article 5
                                                                      — 900 ECU per hectare affected within a limit of 30 000
                                                                          hectares with respect to the operations referred to in
Expenditure on the prevention of soil erosion, forestry
                                                                          Article 2 (5),
activities on agricultural land and the improvement of
agricultural land which receive aid, pursuant to Article 17 or        — 10 million ECU with respect to the operations referred to
20 or Regulation (EEC) No 797/85, or which may receive                    in Article 2(6); however, the financial contribution from
Community aid in connection with other common measures,                   the recipient municipalities must be no less than 3 0 % .
within the meaning of Article 6 (1) of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 729/70 (*), shall not be covered by this                     3.     At the request of Italy relating to the updating of any
Regulation.                                                           programme, the Commission may, in accordance with the
                                                                      procedure laid down in Article 10, approve an amendment to
                                                                      the limits laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article, provided
                                                                      that it does not exceed the total amount referred to in Article
                           Article 6                                  6(3).
1.     The common measure shall last no longer than six
years from the date of approval of the programme referred to
in Article 1 (3).                                                                                  Article 8
                                                                      When approving the programme referred to in Article 1 (3),
2.     In the course of the third and fifth years, the
                                                                      the Commission shall establish, by agreement with Italy, the
Commission shall submit a report on the progress of the
                                                                      procedures whereby it shall be informed of the progress of the
common measure. Before the six-year period expires, the
                                                                      development programme.
Council shall decide, on a proposal from the Commission,
whether the measure should be extended.
3.     The cost of the common measure to be met by the Fund                                        Article 9
is estimated at 78,4 million ECU.
                                                                      1.     Applications for refunds shall relate to expenditure by
                                                                      Italy in the course of one calendar year and shall be submitted
4.     Article 6 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 shall
                                                                      to the Commission before 1 July of the following year.
apply.
                                                                      2.     The contribution from the Fund shall be decided on in
                                                                      accordance with Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No
                           Article 7                                  729/70.
1.     Expenditure by the Italian Government or by the local          3.     Advance payments may be granted by the Fund
authorities affected by the common measure shall be eligible          according to the financing procedures adopted by Italy and
for aid from the Fund not exceeding the amounts specified in          according to the progress made by the programme.
paragraph 2. The Fund shall refund to the Italian
Government or the authorities designated at the relevant              4.     Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be
geographical level 40 % of the eligible expenditure.                  adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
                                                                      Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.
2.     The Fund shall refund to Italy its actual expenditure up
to a maximum eligible of:
                                                                                                  Article 10
— 70 million ECU for improving the rural or forestry
    infrastructure pursuant to Article 2 (1). However, the            1.     Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be
    financial contribution from the recipient must be at least        followed, the chairman shall refer the matter to the Standing
    10%,                                                              Committee on Agricultural Structures, either on his own
(>).OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.                                   (») OJNoL.38, 6.2. 1979, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 358/8                                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                              31. 12. 85
initiative or at the request of the representative of a Member                     communicated by the Commission to the Council. In that
State.                                                                             event the Commission may defer application of the measures
                                                                                   which it has adopted for not more than one month from the
2.     The chairman shall submit to the Committee a draft of                       date of such communication.
the measures to be adopted. The Standing Committee on
Agricultural Structures shall deliver its opinion on the draft                     The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down                                different decision within one month.
according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be
delivered by a majority of 45 votes, the votes of the Member
                                                                                                               Article 11
States being weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the
Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.                                               This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
                                                                                   following its publication in the Official Journal of the
3.     The Commission shall adopt measures which shall                             European Communities.
apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on                           This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
Agricultural Structures, they shall forthwith                           be         applicable in all Member States.
                                                                          ANNEX
                                                                                                                             (million ECU)
                                                                                       Total maximum                    Total cost
                                  Measures to be financed
                                                                                         eligible cost                 to EAGGF
               1. Improvement of rural infrastructure                                        70(i)                        28
               2. Forestry improvement                                                       40(M                         16
               3. Consolidation and connected work                                             9                           3,6
                                                                               (600 ECU/ha x 15 000 ha)
               4. Measures to combat erosion                                                 40(2)                        16
               5. Drainage and other land-improvement                                        27                           10,8
                   measures                                                    (900 ECU/ha x 30 000 ha)
               6. Improvement or establishment of collective                                 10                            4
                   infrastructures to encourage farm tourism
                                                                   Total                    196                           78,4
               (') The estimate is based on experience in connection with Regulations (EEC) No 1760/78 and (EEC) No 269/79 and indicators
                   making it possible to gauge the scope of the new scheme compared with the old and establish its cost.
               (2) The calculation is based on an area of 30 000 hectares and an average cost of 1 350 ECU per hectare.
               Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) establishing a common action for the promotion of
               agriculture in the Scottish islands off the northern and western coasts with the exception of the
                                                                       Western Isles
                                                                   COM(8S) 759 final
                                                                      (85/C 358/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                           Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                              Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 of                             Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
12 March 1985 on improving the efficiency of agricultural                          Committee,
structures (*), and in particular Article 18 thereof,
                                                                                   Whereas Article 39 (2) (a) of the Treaty provides that, in
H O J N o L 9 3 , 30. 3. 1985, p. 1.                                               working out the common agricultural policy, account is to be