Council Regulation (EEC) No 1541/93 of 14 June 1993 fixing the non-rotational set-aside rate referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 1541/93 of 14 June 1993 fixing the non-rotational set-aside rate referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 of 30 June 1992, establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops (1), and in particular Article 7 (1) thereof,
Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 states that non-rotational set-aside may be permitted in return for a higher set-aside percentage rate than that required for rotational set-aside; whereas this percentage  must ensure a reduction in production comparable to that resulting from rotational set-aside; whereas a scientific study of the comparative effectiveness, as regards production control, of the two types of set-aside, shows that a variation of five  percentage points over the rate for rotational set-aside should enable the Community's objective to be obtained;
Whereas there are, in the Community, zones to be designated as vulnerable to the pollution of water by nitrates; whereas the protection of the waters in these areas or even in the whole of the territory of a Member State must comprise, when Council  Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (2) is applied, a compulsory scheme of limiting the use of fertilizers; whereas such a scheme may, under certain  conditions, amount to a significant reduction in the use of fertilizers as compared with normal practice and thus afford additional guarantees as concerns the way in which production is controlled; whereas, at the same time, the fact of encouraging  non-rotational set-aside to be carried out in these zones may make it easier to pursue the objectives of the said Directive; whereas, as a result, it is appropriate to set the variation as compared with rotational set-aside at three points for these  zones;
Whereas the various institutes which participated in the study took different hypotheses as their departure points in considering the influence of crop rotation on yield; whereas this study, conducted throughout one year, has not led to any definite  conclusion on this important matter; whereas it is therefore necessary to envisage a more detailed study under better conditions; whereas this new study should be carried out on a sufficiently large surface area, without, however, jeopardizing the  objective of production control; whereas a period of two years would be necessary to complete such a study; whereas in one Member State there exists an extreme case, both in terms of land which is to be entered into set-aside and in terms of the  apparent difference in effectiveness between rotation and non-rotation, which means that the experiment should take place in that Member State; whereas, in order to ensure major participation in non-rotational set-aside, on the one hand, and to create  the requisite conditions for the study, on the other, the additional rate should be lower than five points; whereas in this respect the said additional rate should be fixed at three points for each Member State in which, according to the latest  available estimates, the area to be entered into set-aside will exceed 13 % of the base area in the first year; whereas the best estimates available are to be found in the preliminary draft budget for 1994;
Whereas the provisions of this Regulation do not affect the obligations imposed upon Member States by Directive 91/676/EEC,