Considerations on COM(2010)539 - Amendment of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2010)539 - Amendment of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the ... |
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| document | COM(2010)539  |
| date | September 30, 2010 |
2. As a consequence of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the powers conferred under Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 upon the Commission need to be aligned to Articles 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (the Treaty).
3. The Commission should have the power to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty in order to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009. The elements for which that power may be exercised should be defined, as well as the conditions to which that delegation is to be subject.
4. In order to guarantee a uniform application of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 in all Member States, the Commission should be empowered to adopt implementing acts in accordance with Article 291 of the Treaty. Save where explicitly provided otherwise, the Commission should adopt those implementing acts in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No XX/XXXX of the European Parliament and the Council on…
5. Some of the provisions on direct support schemes that have so far been adopted by the Commission under the powers conferred on it by Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 are considered of such importance that they should be incorporated in that Regulation. Those elements concern some of the detailed rules laid down in Commission Regulations No (EU) 1120/2009[6], No (EU) 1121/2009[7] and No (EU) 1122/2009[8].
6. In the light of the experience gained with the application of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 some of the provisions of that Regulation should be simplified, particularly regarding cross compliance requirements.
7. For reasons of legal certainty and clarity it is appropriate to provide for the definitions of arable land, permanent crops, permanent pasture and grassland.
8. Since permanent pasture has a positive environmental effect, measures are to be adopted to encourage the maintenance of existing permanent pasture to avoid a massive conversion into arable land. In order to ensure that Member States determine the ratio of permanent pasture and agricultural land that has to be maintained in a coherent way, the Commission should adopt implementing acts on the determination of the data necessary to establish this ratio.
9. In order to ensure an effective implementation of the farm advisory system provided for in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, so as to render such system fully operational, the Commission may adopt rules by means of implementing acts.
10. In order to ensure that the respect of cross compliance requirements can be verified, farmers are required to declare all agricultural areas of their holding. This also applies when the farmers do not apply for any area-based direct payment and only have small areas at their disposal. In those cases, for the sake of simplification, it should be made possible for the Member States not to require the declaration of those areas, provided the total area of the holding concerned does not exceed one hectare and provided that a reference to those areas is made in the aid application.
11. An effective implementation of cross compliance needs verification of respect of obligations at farmers' level. The Commission should, by way of implementing acts, adopt rules on the controls to be performed by the Member States, to ensure a uniform and sufficiently high level of performance of these verifications in particular with regard to selection of farms, execution of checks and reporting. Where a Member State decides to make use of the option to consider a non-compliance as minor or not to apply a reduction or exclusion where the amount concerned is less than EUR 100, the competent control authority should, in the following year, verify that the farmer remedies the findings of the non-compliance concerned. However, in order to ease the administrative burden, consideration should be given to simplifying the follow-up checks system.
12. The Member States have to implement an integrated administration and control system as provided for in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009. To ensure a uniform and sufficiently high level of performance of the different elements of that system with regard to the technical aspects, the Commission should adopt implementing acts on basic features, definitions and quality requirements on the system and its different elements.
13. In order to ensure a coherent and efficient administration of aid applications the Commission should adopt implementing acts pertaining to the aid application and to the application for payment entitlements. Those acts should ensure that sufficient time and all the necessary information is provided to allow the verification of the eligibility conditions. When duly justified certain flexibility should be given to the farmer. Furthermore, the eligibility rules such as retention periods of animals should not hinder the farmers from transferring their entire holding after the application is submitted but during this period. The conditions for such transfers should therefore be defined.
14. Verification of eligibility conditions should be carried out with a view to the protection of the Union Funds. To enable such verification of the fulfilment of the obligations linked to the payment by the farmers as well as to ensure a correct distribution of the funds to the entitled farmers the Commission should adopt implementing acts on the controls to be performed by the Member States. When appropriate, those acts should also lay down rules for the situation when other services, bodies or organisations than the competent authority are engaged in the administration of the payments .
15. Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides for minimum requirements to be respected, but the application of point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 28(1) is not appropriate for farmers who are still receiving direct payments under certain coupled schemes but do not hold any hectares. Those farmers are in the same situation as farmers holding special entitlements and in order to ensure the full effectiveness of the coupled schemes in question they should therefore be treated in the same way for the purposes of Article 28(1) of that Regulation. Also, when a Member State has selected a threshold in hectares as foreseen in Article 28(1)(b), farmers receiving specific support referred to in Title III, Chapter V who hold fewer hectares than the threshold selected by a Member State should be subject to the threshold in Euro selected by the Member State as foreseen in Article 28(1)(a).
16. Rules regarding the minimum size per holding for which the establishment of payment entitlements can be requested should be fixed.
17. In order to ensure the continuity of the direct payments system in case of extraordinary circumstances, the Commission should be allowed to adopt necessary and justified measures in order to overcome such eventualities.
18. In order to ensure the efficient administration of the single payment scheme provided for in Title III of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the use of agricultural areas for non agricultural activities should be defined.
19. To take into account the internal organisation of Member States, they should be allowed to administer the national reserve at regional level. Rules for such administration should be established.
20. Specific rules for the reversion by Member States to the national reserve of the unused payment entitlements should be fixed.
21. The rules regarding the limitation to the transfer of payment entitlements should be adapted in order to take into account particular transfer situations.
22. In order to ensure that the conditions for special entitlements continue to be met rules should be adopted on the calculation of livestock units.
23. To ensure equal treatment between operators the Commission should adopt implementing acts for the initial allocation of payment entitlements in the context of the implementation of the single payment scheme in the new Member States as provided for in Article 55 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009.
24. To ensure equal treatment between operators the Commission should adopt implementing acts for the calculation of livestock units for special entitlements as provided for in Article 44(2) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009.
25. To ensure equal treatment between operators the Commission should adopt implementing acts for the specific support measures concerning specific agricultural activities entailing additional agri-enviroment benefits, areas subject to restructuring and/or development programs, crop, animal and plant insurance measures as provided for in Article 68 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009. In the case of mutual funds for animal plants diseases and environment incidents, these rules should in particular include the minimum and maximum duration of the commercial loans eligible for a financial contribution and the obligation by member States to submit to the Commission an annual report on the implementation of Article 71 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009.
26. In order to ensure the efficient administration of the aid schemes provided for in Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, rules on the precise functioning of those regimes need to be established.
27. Rules concerning the limitations to the transfer of premium rights in the case of premiums in the sheepmeat and goatmeat sector should be established.
28. Rules concerning the minimum number of animals to be declared as regards the special premium and as regards the suckler cow premium should be established.
29. Rules concerning the limits to the transfer of suckler cow premium rights should be established.
30. To ensure a sound administration of the choices made by Member States concerning the coupled payments, the Commission should fix the ceilings corresponding to the single payment scheme, to the coupled measures within the specific support, the separate sugar payment, the separate fruit and vegetables payment, the separate soft fruit payment and the funds notified by the Member States in accordance with Article 69(6)(a).
31. Article 132 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 provides for the possibility in the new Member States of complementing direct aid paid to a farmer, subject to authorisation by the Commission. Complementary national direct payments paid not in conformity with the authorisation by the Commission should be qualified as unlawful aid.
32. Exchange of information between the Commission and the Member States is essential for a proper management of the funds. The Commission should by means of implementing acts adopt uniform rules on the exchange of information. These should in particular include rules on notifications of decisions by Member States and on statistics and reports to be sent by Member States.
33. Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.