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Aid shall be granted to farmers producing cotton, falling within CN code 5201 00 under the conditions laid down in this Chapter.
1. The aid shall be granted per hectare of eligible area of cotton. In order to be eligible, the area shall be located on agricultural land authorised by the Member State for cotton production, sown under authorised varieties and maintained at least until the boll opening under normal growing conditions.
However, if the cotton does not attain the stage of boll opening as a result of exceptional weather conditions recognised as such by the Member State, areas fully sown under cotton shall remain eligible for aid provided that the areas in question have up to the boll opening not been used for any other purpose than for the production of cotton.
2. Member States shall authorise the land and the varieties referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with detailed rules and conditions to be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2).
[F21. A national base area is hereby established for:
Bulgaria: 10 237 ha
Greece: 370 000 ha
Spain: 70 000 ha
Portugal: 360 ha.]
[F22. The amount of the aid per eligible hectare shall be in:
Bulgaria: EUR 263
Greece: EUR 594 for 300 000 hectares and EUR 342,85 for the remaining 70 000 hectares
Spain: EUR 1 039
Portugal: EUR 556.]
3. If the eligible area of cotton in a given Member State and in a given year exceeds the base area laid down in paragraph 1, the aid referred to in paragraph 2 for that Member State shall be reduced proportionately to the overrun of the base area.
However, for Greece the proportionate reduction shall be applied in respect of the amount of the aid fixed for the part of the national base area composed of the 70 000 hectares in order to respect the global amount of EUR 202,2 million.
4. Detailed rules for the implementation of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2).
Textual Amendments
1. For the purpose of this Chapter, an ‘ approved inter-branch organisation ’ shall mean a legal entity made up of farmers producing cotton and at least one ginner, aiming at, in particular, the supply of qualitatively suitable unginned cotton to the ginner. The Member State in whose territory the ginners are established shall approve the organisation that respects the criteria to be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2).
2. The approved inter-branch organisation shall be financed by its members.
1. The approved inter-branch organisation may decide that a maximum of half of the total amount of the aid to which its farmer-members are entitled on the basis of the areas eligible pursuant to Article 110b(1) is differentiated according to a scale fixed by it.
2. The scale referred to in paragraph 1 shall be approved by the Member State and shall respect the criteria to be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2). These criteria shall concern, in particular, the quality of the unginned cotton to be delivered, adapted to the environmental and economic conditions of the zones concerned.
1. Farmers shall be granted the aid per eligible hectare pursuant to Article 110c.
2. Farmers who are members of an approved inter-branch organisation shall be granted an aid per eligible hectare pursuant to Article 110c, increased by an amount of EUR 10. However, in case of differentiation, the aid shall be granted per eligible hectare pursuant to Article 110c adjusted in accordance with Article 110e(1). The adjusted amount shall be increased by an amount of EUR 10.]
Textual Amendments
F1 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 864/2004 of 29 April 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, and adapting it by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union.