Aid shall be granted to farmers as a contribution to the maintenance of olive groves of environmental or social value according to the conditions laid down in this Chapter.
Payment of the aid shall be subject to the following conditions:
the olive grove shall be registered in the geographic information system referred to in Article 20(2);
only surfaces corresponding either to olive trees planted before 1 May 1998 , except for Cyprus and Malta, for which the date shall be 31 December 2001 , or to replacing trees or surfaces covered by a programme approved by the Commission shall be eligible for the aid;
the number of olive trees in the olive grove shall not differ by more than 10 % from the number registered on 1 January 2005 in the geographic information system referred to in Article 20(2);
the olive grove shall comply with the features of the olive grove category under which aid is claimed;
the aid applied for shall amount to at least EUR 50 per application.
1. The aid for olive groves shall be granted per olive GIS-ha. An olive GIS-ha shall be the area unit used in a common method to be established in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2) on the basis of data from the geographical information system for olive cultivation referred to in Article 20(2).
2. Within the maximum amounts established in paragraph 3, and after deduction of the amount withheld pursuant to paragraph 4, Member States shall fix an aid per olive GIS-ha of up to a maximum of five categories of olive grove areas.
These categories shall be established in accordance with a common framework of environmental and social criteria, including aspects related to landscape and social tradition, to be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2). In this context, particular attention shall be given to the maintenance of olive groves in marginal areas.
3. Where the coefficient of 0,4, resulting from the application of the coefficient of 0,6 laid down in Annex VII (H) is applied, the maximum amount of aid referred to in paragraph 2 shall be as follows:
| [F2(in EUR million) | |
| Spain | 103,14 |
| Cyprus | 2,93 |
| Malta | 0,07 |
| Slovenia | 0,17] |
Member States shall allocate the maximum amount between the different categories in accordance with objective criteria and in a non-discriminatory manner. For each category, the aid per olive GIS-ha may amount to, but may not exceed, the level of the maintenance costs excluding harvest costs.
Should Member States decide upon a decrease in the coefficient of 0,4 the maximum amount of the aid referred to in the above table, as well as the Annexes VIII and VIIIa, shall be adjusted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2).
The maximum amounts of aid set for Cyprus and Malta are provisional. They may be revised in 2005 after the introduction of the geographical information system referred to in Article 20(2), in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 144(2), to adjust the Cypriot and Maltese maximum amount of aid accordingly.
4. Member States may withhold up to 10 % of the amounts referred to in paragraph 3 to ensure Community finance of work programmes drawn up by approved operators' organisations pursuant to Article 8 of Council Regulation (EC) No 865/2004 of 29 April 2004 on the common organisation of the market in olive oil and table olives (1) .
However, should a Member State decide to apply a higher coefficient than 0,6 as laid down in Annex VII (H), it may withhold a maximum of 10 % of the olive oil component in the national ceiling referred to in Article 41 to ensure Community financing of the work programmes referred to in the first subparagraph. This maximum amount shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2).]
Textual Amendments
F2 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1156/2006 of 28 July 2006 establishing for 2006 budgetary ceilings for partial or optional implementation of the Single Payment Scheme, annual financial envelopes for the Single Area Payment Scheme and maximum amounts for granting separate sugar payments provided for under Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, and amending that Regulation.
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.
[F1See page 97 of this Official Journal.]
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.