Commission Regulation (EC) No 1117/2008 of 11 November 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as regards the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of that Regulation and the use of land set aside for the production of raw materials

12.11.2008 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 301/5
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1117/2008
of 11 November 2008
amending Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as regards the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of that Regulation and the use of land set aside for the production of raw materials
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No 2019/93, (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001, (EC) No 1454/2001, (EC) No 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001 (1), and in particular Article 110b(2) and Article 145(r) second indent thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 (2) sets out the rules for the coupled support for cotton in conformity with the Court’s judgement C-310/04.
(2) In particular, Chapter 10a of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 provides for the possibility of direct aid being granted for the production of cotton. It is therefore necessary to adapt the corresponding detailed rules laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 (3).
(3) Article 110b(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 states that, in order to be eligible for the aid per hectare, the farmer must sow the area under cotton with approved varieties and grow the cotton on land authorised by the Member States. The criteria should therefore be specified for both the authorisation of land suitable for cotton production and the approval of varieties.
(4) In order to receive the aid per hectare for cotton, farmers must sow authorised lands. A criterion defining ‘sowing’ should be established. The Member States’ fixing of the minimum planting density on these lands based on soil and climate conditions and specific regional features must be an objective criterion for establishing whether sowing has been conducted properly or not.
(5) The Member States should approve inter-branch cotton producing organisations on the basis of objective criteria relating to their scale and internal organisation. The scale of an inter-branch organisation should be fixed, taking into account the requirement on the member ginning undertaking to be able to take delivery of sufficient quantities of unginned cotton.
(6) In order to avoid complications in managing the aid scheme, a producer may not be a member of more than one inter-branch organisation. For that same reason, where a producer belonging to an inter-branch organisation undertakes to supply the cotton he has produced, he should supply it only to the ginning undertaking belonging to that same organisation.
(7) The cotton aid scheme requires Member States to send their producers certain information on cotton growing, such as approved varieties, the objective criteria for authorising land and the minimum plant density. In order to inform the farmers in good time, the Member State should send them this information by a specific date.
(8) Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(9) Since the rules laid down in Chapter 10a of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 apply from 1 January 2009, the detailed rules to be established by this Regulation should apply from the same date.
(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Direct Payments,