1.In case of application of Article 66, Member States shall grant, under the conditions set out in this Chapter, save as otherwise provided, the aid chosen by the Member State concerned according to that Article, to farmers producing arable crops.
2.For the purposes of this Chapter:
the marketing year shall run from 1 July to 30 June,
‘arable crops’ are taken to mean those listed in Annex IX.
3.Member States where maize is not a traditional crop may make grass silage eligible for the arable crops area payments, under the same conditions as those applicable for arable crops.
The area payment shall be fixed on a per hectare basis and regionally differentiated.
The area payment shall be granted for the area which is down to arable crops or subject to set-aside in accordance with Article 107 of this Regulation and which does not exceed the total number of hectares of the regional base area or areas as fixed in Annex VI of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2316/1999(1), taking into account the application of Regulation (EC) No 1017/94.
[F1However, the regional base area or areas in the new Member States shall be fixed by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2) and within the limits of the national base areas listed in Annex XIb.]
A region in this sense shall be understood to mean a Member State or a region within the Member State, at the option of the Member State concerned. In case of application of Article 66 of this Regulation, the area or areas fixed in Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 2316/1999 shall be reduced by the number of hectares corresponding to the set-aside entitlements set up in accordance with Article 53 and 63(2) of this Regulation in the region concerned.
Textual Amendments
F1 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 of 22 March 2004 amending Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, (EC) No 1786/2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder and (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union.
1.When the sum of the areas for which payment is claimed under the arable crops' scheme, including the set-aside provided for under that scheme in case of application of Article 71, is in excess of the base area, the eligible area per farmer shall be reduced proportionately [X1for all the payments granted under this Chapter in the region] in question, during the same marketing year.
2.The sum of the payments claimed shall not be higher than the ceiling fixed by the Commission in accordance with Article 64(2). When the total amount of aid claimed exceeds the fixed ceiling, the aid per farmer shall be reduced proportionately in that year.
3.In case of application of Article 71, areas which are not the subject of an application for payment under this Chapter but are used to support an application for aid under Chapter 12 shall also be taken into account for the calculation of areas for which payment is claimed.
4.If a Member State makes grass silage eligible for the arable crops area payments, a separate base area shall be defined. If the base area for arable crops or grass silage is not reached in a given marketing year, the balance of hectares shall be allocated for the same marketing year to the corresponding base area.
5.Where a Member State has chosen to establish one or more national base areas, it may subdivide each national base area into sub-base areas according to objective criteria to be defined by the Member State.
For the purposes of applying this paragraph, the ‘Secano’ and ‘Regadío’ base areas shall be considered as national base areas.
Where there is an overshoot of a national base area, the Member State concerned may, in accordance with objective criteria, concentrate the measure applicable under paragraph 1 totally or partially on the sub-base areas for which the overshoot has been noted.
Member States which have decided to apply the possibilities provided for in this paragraph, shall notify farmers and the Commission by 15 September of their choices and the detailed rules for their application.
Editorial Information
X1 Substituted by Corrigendum 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 (Official Journal of the European Union L 270 of 21 October 2003).
The regionalisation plan established by Member States pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 shall apply.
[F1Alternatively, for any new Member State applying the single area payment scheme referred to in Article 143b in 2004 and opting for the application of Article 66, the regionalisation plan shall be established, according to objective criteria, not later than 1 August of the last year of application of the single area payment scheme. Where this is done, the combined regional base areas and the weighted average reference yield in the regions shall respect the limits of the national base area and reference yield as listed in Annex XIb.]
The regionalisation plan may be revised, according to objective criteria, by the Member State concerned at the request of the Commission or at the initiative of that Member State.
Textual Amendments
F1 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 of 22 March 2004 amending Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, (EC) No 1786/2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder and (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union.
1.The area payment shall be calculated by multiplying the basic amount per tonne by the average cereal yield determined in the regionalisation plan for the region concerned.
2.The calculation mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be made using the average cereals yield. However, where maize is treated separately, the 'maize' yield shall be used for maize and the ‘cereals other than maize’ yield shall be used for cereals, oilseeds, linseed and flax and hemp grown for fibre.
3.The basic amount for arable crops and, in case of application of Article 71, for set-aside shall be fixed at EUR 63,00/t from the 2005/2006 marketing year onwards.
1. A supplement to the area payment of
EUR 291/ha for the marketing year 2005/06,
EUR 285/ha for the marketing year 2006/07 and onwards
shall be paid for the area down to durum wheat in the traditional production zones listed in Annex X, subject to the following limits:
| Greece | 617 000 ha |
| Spain | 594 000 ha |
| France | 208 000 ha |
| Italy | 1 646 000 ha |
| Cyprus | 6 183 ha |
| Hungary | 2 500 ha |
| Austria | 7 000 ha |
| Portugal | 118 000 ha. |
2. Should the total of the areas for which a supplement to the area payment is claimed be greater than the limit referred to in paragraph 1 during the course of a marketing year, the area per farmer for which the supplement may be paid shall be reduced proportionately.
However, subject to the limits per Member State laid down in paragraph 1, Member States may distribute the areas indicated in that paragraph among the production zones as defined in Annex X, or, for the Member States of the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004 , if necessary, the production regions of the regionalisation plan, according to the extent of the production of durum wheat during the period 1993 to 1997. Where this is done, should the total of the areas within a region for which a supplement to the area payment is requested be greater than the corresponding regional limit during the course of a marketing year, the area per farmer in that production region for which the supplement may be paid shall be reduced proportionately. The reduction shall be made when, within a Member State, the areas in regions which have not reached their regional limits have been distributed to regions in which those limits have been exceeded.
3. In regions where the production of durum wheat is well established, other than those referred to in Annex X, special aid amounting to EUR 46/ha for the marketing year 2005/06 shall be granted up to a limit of the following number of hectares:
| Germany | 10 000 ha |
| Spain | 4 000 ha |
| France | 50 000 ha |
| Italy | 4 000 ha |
| Hungary | 4 305 ha |
| Slovakia | 4 717 ha |
| United Kingdom | 5 000 ha.] |
Textual Amendments
F2 Substituted by Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 of 22 March 2004 amending Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, (EC) No 1786/2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder and (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union.
For flax and hemp grown for fibre, the area payment shall be made only, depending on circumstances, when the contract is concluded or commitment made as referred to in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1673/2000.
For hemp grown for fibre, the area payment shall also be made under the conditions provided for in Article 52.
1.In case of application of Article 71, farmers applying for the area payment shall be subject to an obligation to set aside part of the land of their holding from production and shall receive compensation for this obligation.
2.The set-aside obligation for each farmer applying for area payments shall be fixed as a proportion of his area down to arable crops and for which a claim is made and left in set-aside pursuant to this Chapter.
The basic rate of compulsory set-aside is fixed at 10 % for the marketing years 2005/2006 and 2006/2007.
3.The land set aside may be used for:
producing materials for the manufacture within the Community of products not directly intended for human or animal consumption, provided that effective control systems are applied;
growing legume crops on a agricultural holding, managed for the totality of its production, in compliance with the obligations laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.
Member States shall be authorised to pay national aid up to 50 % of the costs associated with establishing multiannual crops intended for bio-mass production on set-aside land.
4.The quantity of by-products for feed or food uses likely to be made available as a result of the cultivation of oilseeds on land set-aside under paragraph 3 first indent shall be taken into account for the respect of the limit of 1 million tonnes referred to in Article 56(3).
5.Where different yields are set for irrigated and non-irrigated land, the payment for set-aside for non-irrigated land apply.
6.Farmers may be granted the set-aside payment on land voluntarily set aside in excess of their obligation. Member States shall allow farmers to set-aside up to at least 10 % of the area down to arable crops and for which a payment application is made, and left in set-aside pursuant to this Article. Higher percentages may be set by a Member State taking into account specific situations and ensuring sufficient occupation of farmland.
In case of application of Article 66, this paragraph shall apply according to detailed rules to be adopted by the Commission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2).
7.Farmers who make a payment application for an area no bigger than the area which would be needed to produce 92 tonnes of cereals, on the basis of the yields determined for their region, are not bound by the set-aside obligation. Paragraph 6 shall apply to these farmers.
8.Without prejudice to Article 108, areas:
set aside pursuant to agri-environment (Articles 22 to 24 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999), which are neither put to any agricultural use nor used for any lucrative purposes other than those accepted for other land set aside under this Regulation, or
afforested pursuant to afforestation (Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999),
as a result of an application made after 28 June 1995, may, up to any limit per holding which may be set by the Member State concerned, be counted as being set aside for the purposes of the set-aside requirement indicated in paragraph 1. Such limit shall be set only to the extent necessary to avoid a disproportionate amount of the available budget relating to the scheme in question being concentrated on a small number of farms.
However, on these areas, the area payment specified in Article 104 of this Regulation shall not be granted and the support granted under Article 24(1) or Article 31(1), second indent of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall be limited to an amount equal at most to the area payment for set aside specified in Article 104 of this Regulation.
Member States may decide not to apply the scheme provided for in this paragraph to a new applicant in any region in which there is a continuing risk of a significant overshoot of the regional base area.
9.Set aside areas shall not be less than 0,1 ha in size and 10 metres wide. For duly justified environmental reasons, Member States may accept areas at least 5 metres wide and 0,05 ha in size.
Applications for payments may not be made in respect of land which, at the date provided for the area aid applications for 2003, was under permanent pasture, permanent crops or trees or was used for non-agricultural purposes.
For the new Member States, applications for payments may not be made in respect of land which, on 30 June 2003 , was under permanent pasture, permanent crops or trees or was used for non-agricultural purposes.
Member States may, on terms to be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2), derogate from the first or second subparagraph of this Article provided that they take action to prevent any significant increase in the total eligible agricultural area.]
Textual Amendments
F2 Substituted by Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 of 22 March 2004 amending Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, (EC) No 1786/2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder and (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union.
In order to qualify for the area payment, a farmer shall by 31 May at the latest preceding the relevant harvest have sown the seed and by 15 May at the latest have lodged an application.
Detailed rules for the application of this Chapter shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2) and in particular:
those relating to the establishment and management of base areas,
those relating to the establishment of production regionalisation plans,
those relating to grass silage,
those relating to the granting of the area payment,
those relating to the minimum area eligible for payment; such rules shall take particular account of the monitoring requirements and of the desired effectiveness of the scheme in question,
those determining, for durum wheat, the eligibility for the supplement to the area payment and the eligibility requirements for the special aid, and in particular determination of the regions to be taken into consideration,
those relating to set-aside, and in particular those relating to Article 107(3); these conditions shall define the fodder legumes that may be grown on land set aside and, with regard to the first indent of the first paragraph of that paragraph, may include the growing of crops without compensation.
According to the same procedure, the Commission may:
either make the granting of payments subject to the use of:
specific seeds;
certified seed in the case of durum wheat and flax and hemp grown for fibre;
certain varieties in the cases of oilseeds, durum wheat, linseed and flax and hemp grown for fibre,
or provide for the possibility for Member States to make the grant of payments subject to such conditions,
allow the dates in Article 109 to be varied in certain zones where exceptional climatic conditions render the normal dates inapplicable.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2316/1999 of 22 October 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops (OJ L 280, 30.10.1999, p. 43). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1035/2003 (OJ L 150, 18.6.2003, p. 24).