31.8.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 236/20
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1291/2006
of 30 August 2006
amending Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003
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 145(c) and (d) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 (2) introduces the implementing rules for the single payment scheme as from 2005.
(2) Experience of the administrative and operational implementation of that scheme at national level has shown that in certain respects further detailed rules are needed and in other respects the existing rules need to be clarified and adapted.
(3) In order to facilitate the transfer of payment entitlements to farmers the creation of fractions of entitlements without land and their transfer should be provided for.
(4) In case payment entitlements whose unit value has been increased by more than 20 % by reference amounts from the national reserve have not been used in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 42(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 only the increase of the value shall revert immediately to the national reserve.
(5) Entitlements allocated from the national reserve in case of administrative acts or court’s rulings in order to compensate farmers shall not be subject to the restrictions in accordance with Article 42(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.
(6) In order to facilitate the circulation of payment entitlements farmers may give up voluntarily payment entitlements to the national reserve.
(7) Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(8) Due to the fact that the cases addressed by Articles 1(2) and 1(4) may have occurred as from 1 January of respectively 2005 and 2006, it is appropriate to provide that these Articles apply retroactively from those dates.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Direct Payments,
Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 is amended as follows:
1. Article 3 is amended as follows:
(a) Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
(b) Paragraph 4 is deleted.
2. In Article 6(3), the third subparagraph is replaced by the following:
3. In Article 23(a) the following sentence is added:
4. In Article 24, the following paragraph is added:
5. Article 50 is replaced by the following:
(a) by 15 September of the first year of application of the single payment scheme at the latest and, in the following years, by 1 September at the latest, the total number of applications under the single payment scheme for the current year, together with the corresponding total amount of the payment entitlements which have been claimed for payments and the total number of accompanying eligible hectares;
(b) by 1 September at the latest, definitive data on the total number of applications under the single payment scheme accepted for the preceding year and the corresponding total amount of the payments which have been granted, after application, as the case may be, of the measures referred to in Articles 6, 10, 11, 24 and 25 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as well as the total sum of the amounts remaining in the national reserve by the 31 December of the preceding year.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply as of the date of entry into force, except Article 1(2) which shall apply from 1 January 2005 and Article 1(4) which shall apply from 1 January 2006.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.