Council Regulation (EC) No 1449/2001 of 28 June 2001 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1600/92 concerning specific measures for the Azores and Madeira relating to certain agricultural products as regards the structural measures

Council Regulation (EC) No 1449/2001
of 28 June 2001
amending Regulation (EEC) No 1600/92 concerning specific measures for the Azores and Madeira relating to certain agricultural products as regards the structural measures
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 37 and 299(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
Having regard to the opinion of Committee of the Regions,
Whereas:
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations(4) lays down rural development measures that may be granted Community support and sets out the conditions for obtaining such support. That Regulation acknowledges that, in the case of the outermost regions, adjustments and derogations may be envisaged to meet the specific needs of those regions.
(2) Article 299(2) of the Treaty recognises, moreover, the constraints affecting the outermost regions, which include the Azores and Madeira.
(3) Regulation (EEC) No 1600/92(5) seeks to remedy the handicaps due to the remote and insular nature of these regions.
(4) The structures of certain agricultural holdings or processing and marketing enterprises located in these regions show serious shortcomings and are beset with specific difficulties. Provision should accordingly be made for derogations for certain types of investments from the provisions limiting or preventing the grant of some structural aid provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.
(5) Article 29(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 restricts the grant of forestry support to forests and wooded areas belonging to private owners and municipalities and associations thereof. Part of the forests and wooded areas located in these regions belong to public authorities other than municipalities. Under these circumstances, the conditions laid down in the said Article should be made more flexible.
(6) The Community financial contribution for three of the accompanying measures referred to in Article 35(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 may amount in the outermost regions to up to 85 % of the total eligible cost. On the other hand, in accordance with the third indent of the second subparagraph of Article 47(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, the Community financial contribution for agri-environmental measures, which constitutes the fourth accompanying measure, shall be limited to 75 % for all areas covered by Objective 1. In view of the importance attributed to agri-environment within the context of rural development, the rate of the Community financial contribution should be harmonised for all accompanying measures in the outermost regions.
(7) Article 24(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 and the Annex thereto determine the maximum amounts per year eligible for Community agri-environmental aid. To take into account the specific environmental situation of certain very sensitive pasture areas in the Azores and the preservation of the landscape and traditional features of agricultural land, in particular the areas of terrace cultivation in Madeira, provision should be made for the possibility, in the case of certain specific measures, of increasing those amounts up to twofold.
(8) Pursuant to Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds(6), each plan, Community support framework, operational programme and single programming document shall cover a period of seven years, and the programming period shall begin on 1 January 2000. In the interests of cohesiveness and to avoid discrimination between beneficiaries of the same programme, the derogations provided for in this Regulation must, exceptionally, be applicable to the whole programming period,