Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (repealed)Dangos y teitl llawn

CHAPTER 12 U.K. BEEF AND VEAL PAYMENTS

Article 121 U.K. Scope of application

In case of application of Article 68, Member States shall grant, under the conditions set out in this Chapter, save as otherwise provided, the aid or aids chosen by the Member State concerned according to that Article.

Article 122 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a)

‘region’ shall mean a Member State or a region within a Member State, at the option of the Member State concerned,

(b)

‘bull’ shall mean an uncastrated male bovine animal,

(c)

‘steer’ shall mean a castrated male bovine animal,

(d)

‘suckler’ cow shall mean a cow belonging to a meat breed or born of a cross with a meat breed, and belonging to a herd intended for rearing calves for meat production,

(e)

‘heifer’ shall mean a female bovine animal from the age of eight months which has not yet calved.

Article 123 U.K. Special premium

1. A farmer holding male bovine animals on his holding may qualify, on application, for a special premium. It shall be granted in the form of an annual premium per calendar year and per holding within the limits of regional ceilings for not more than 90 animals for each of the age brackets referred to in paragraph 2.

2. The special premium shall be granted no more than:

(a) once in the life of each bull from the age of nine months, or

(b) twice in the life of each steer:

• (b) the first time at the age of nine months,

• the second time after it has reached the age of 21 months.

3. To qualify for the special premium:

(a) any animal covered by an application shall be held by the farmer for fattening for a period to be determined,

(b) each animal shall be covered until slaughter or until export by an animal passport referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products(1) containing all relevant information on its premium status or, if not available, an equivalent administrative document.

4. When in a given region the total number of bulls from the age of nine months and of steers from nine months to 20 months of age, for which an application has been made and which satisfy the conditions for granting the special premium exceeds the regional ceiling referred to in paragraph 8, the number of all eligible animals under paragraph 2(a) and (b) per farmer for the year in question shall be reduced proportionately.

Within the meaning of this Article, ‘regional ceiling’ shall mean the number of animals entitled to benefit, in a region and per calendar year, from the special premium.

5. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 4, Member States may:

• on the basis of objective criteria that are part of a rural development policy and only on the condition that they take into account environmental as well as employment aspects, change or waive the headage limit of 90 animals per holding and age bracket, and,

• where exercising this power, decide to apply paragraph 4 in such a way as to reach the level of reductions required to comply with the applicable regional ceiling, without applying such reductions to small farmers who, in respect of the year in question, did not submit special premium applications for more than a minimum number of animals determined by the Member State concerned.

6. Member States may decide to grant the special premium at the time of slaughter. In this case, for bulls the age criterion referred to in paragraph 2(a) shall be replaced by a minimum carcass weight of 185 kilograms.

The premium shall be paid or passed back to the farmers.

The United Kingdom shall be authorised to apply in Northern Ireland a system for granting the special premium which differs from that applied in the remainder of its territory.

7. The amount of the special premium shall be set at:

(a) EUR 210 per eligible bull;

(b) EUR 150 per eligible steer and age bracket.

[F1 8. The following regional ceilings shall apply:

a Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1454/2001.
b Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1452/2001.
c Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1453/2001.
d This ceiling shall be temporarily increased by 100 000 to 1 519 811 until such time as live animals under six months of age may be exported.]
Belgium	235 149
Bulgaria	90 343
Czech Republic	244 349
Denmark	277 110
Germany	1 782 700
Estonia	18 800
Greece	143 134
Spain	713 999 a
France	1 754 732 b
Ireland	1 077 458
Italy	598 746
Cyprus	12 000
Latvia	70 200
Lithuania	150 000
Luxembourg	18 962
Hungary	94 620
Malta	3 201
Netherlands	157 932
Austria	373 400
Poland	926 000
Portugal	175 075 c
Romania	452 000
Slovenia	92 276
Slovakia	78 348
Finland	250 000
Sweden	250 000
United Kingdom	1 419 811 d

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and the adjustments to the treaties on which the European Union is founded.

Article 124 U.K. Deseasonalisation premium

1. In case of application of Article 71 where, in a Member State the number of steers:

(a) slaughtered in a given year exceeds 60 % of total annual slaughterings of male bovine animals, and

(b) slaughtered during the period 1 September to 30 November in a given year exceeds 35 % of total annual slaughterings of steers,

farmers may qualify, on application, for an additional premium to the special premium (deseasonalisation premium). However, if both triggering rates referred to above are reached in Ireland or in Northern Ireland, the premium shall apply in Ireland and in Northern Ireland.

For the purpose of applying this Article in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland shall be regarded as a separate entity.

2. The amount of this premium shall be set at:

• EUR 72,45 per animal slaughtered during the first 15 weeks in a given year,

• EUR 54,34 per animal slaughtered during the 16th and 17th weeks in a given year,

• EUR 36,23 per animal slaughtered during the 18th to the 21st week in a given year, and

• EUR 18,11 per animal slaughtered during the 22nd and 23rd weeks in a given year.

3. Where the rate referred to in paragraph 1(b) is not achieved, taking into account the penultimate sentence of paragraph 1, Member States whose farmers have previously received the deseasonalisation premium may decide to grant this premium at the rate of 60 % of the amounts set in paragraph 2.

In such case, the Member State concerned:

(a) may decide to grant this premium for the first two or three of the periods in question only,

(b) shall ensure the measure is financially neutral in respect of the same budget year by accordingly reducing:

• (b) the amount of the second age bracket of the special premium applicable to steers granted in that Member State, and/or

• the additional payments to be made under Section 2, and shall inform the Commission of the reduction measure applied.

For the purpose of applying this measure, Ireland and Northern Ireland shall be regarded as one entity for the calculation of the rate referred to in paragraph 1(a) and consequently for qualification for the premium.

4. In order to establish whether the percentages referred to in this Article have been exceeded, account shall be taken of slaughterings carried out during the second year preceding that in which the animal qualifying for the premium was slaughtered.

Article 125 U.K. Suckler cow premium

1. A farmer keeping suckler cows on his holding may qualify, on application, for a premium for maintaining suckler cows (suckler cow premium). It shall be granted in the form of an annual premium per calendar year and per farmer within the limits of individual ceilings.

2. The suckler cow premium shall be granted to any farmer:

(a) not supplying milk or milk products from his farm for 12 months from the day on which the application is lodged.

The supply of milk or milk products directly from the holding to the consumer shall not, however, prevent grant of the premium,

(b) supplying milk or milk products whose total individual reference quantity as referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 does not exceed 120 000 kilograms. However, Member States may decide on the basis of objective criteria, which they determine, to change or waive this quantitative limit,

provided that the farmer keeps, for at least six consecutive months from the day on which the application is lodged a number of suckler cows at least equal to 60 % and of heifers at most equal to 40 % of the number for which the premium was requested.

For the purposes of determining the number of eligible animals under points (a) and (b) of the first paragraph of paragraph 2 of this Article, whether cows belong to a suckler herd or to a dairy herd shall be established on the basis of the beneficiary's individual reference quantity as defined in Article 95(2) and the average milk yield.

3. The farmers' entitlement to the premium shall be limited by the application of an individual ceiling as defined in Article 126.

4. Per eligible animal, the amount of the premium shall be set at EUR 200.

5. In case of application of Article 68(a)(i), Member States may grant an additional national suckler cow premium, up to a maximum of EUR 50 per animal, provided that no discrimination is caused between stockfarmers in the Member State concerned.

In respect of holdings located in a region as defined in Articles 3 and 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds(2), the first EUR 24,15 per animal of this additional premium shall be financed by the Guarantee Section of the European Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).

In respect of holdings located throughout the territory of a Member State, if in the Member State concerned the cattle population has a high proportion of suckler cows, representing at least 30 % of the total number of cows, and if at least 30 % of male bovine animals slaughtered belong to conformation classes S and E, the Guarantee Section of EAGGF shall finance the additional premium in total. Any overshoot of these percentages is established on the basis of the average of the two years preceding that for which the premium is granted.

6. For the purposes of this Article, only heifers belonging to a meat breed or born of a cross with a meat breed and belonging to a herd intended for rearing calves for meat production shall be taken into account.

Article 126 U.K. Individual ceiling for suckler cow

[F2 1. An aid shall be granted to each farmer of suckler cows within the limit of the individual ceilings established in application of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 or of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2.]

[F2 2. Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the sum of premium rights on their territory does not exceed the national ceilings set out in paragraph 5 and that the national reserves referred to in Article 128 may be maintained.

Except in cases where Article 143b is applied, the new Member States shall allocate individual ceilings to producers and shall set up the national reserves from the overall number of rights to the premium reserved for each of these Member States as set out in paragraph 5, no later than one year after the date of accession.

After the end of the period of application of the single area payment scheme according to Article 143b and where Article 68(2)(a)(i) is applied, the allocation of the individual ceilings to producers and the setting up of the national reserve referred to in the second subparagraph shall take place no later than the end of the first year of the application of the single payment scheme.]

3. Where the adjustment referred to in paragraph 2 requires a reduction of individual ceilings held by farmers, it shall be carried out without compensatory payment and decided on the basis of objective criteria, including, in particular:

• the rate at which farmers have used their individual ceilings during the three reference years prior to the year 2000,

• the implementation of an investment or extensification programme in the beef and veal sector,

• particular natural circumstances or the application of penalties, resulting in a non-payment or a reduced payment of the premium for at least one reference year,

• additional exceptional circumstances having the effect that the payments made for at least one reference year do not correspond to the actual situation as established during the previous years.

4. Premium rights which have been withdrawn pursuant to the measure provided for in paragraph 2 shall be abolished.

[F1 5. The following national ceilings shall apply:

a Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1454/2001.
b Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1452/2001.
c Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1453/2001.]
Belgium	394 253
Bulgaria	16 019
Czech Republic	90 300
Denmark	112 932
Germany	639 535
Estonia	13 416
Greece	138 005
Spain a	1 441 539
France b	3 779 866
Ireland	1 102 620
Italy	621 611
Cyprus	500
Latvia	19 368
Lithuania	47 232
Luxembourg	18 537
Hungary	117 000
Malta	454
Netherlands	63 236
Austria	375 000
Poland	325 581
Portugal c	416 539
Romania	150 000
Slovenia	86 384
Slovakia	28 080
Finland	55 000
Sweden	155 000
United Kingdom	1 699 511

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and the adjustments to the treaties on which the European Union is founded.

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.

Article 127 U.K. Transfer of suckler cow premium rights

1. When a farmer sells or otherwise transfers his holding, he may transfer all his suckler cow premium rights to the person who takes over his holding. He may also transfer, in whole or in part, his rights to other farmers without transferring his holding.

In the case of transfer of premium rights without transfer of the holding a part of the transferred rights, which shall not exceed 15 %, shall be returned without compensatory payment to the national reserve of the Member State where the holding is situated for redistribution free of charge.

2. The Member States:

(a) shall take the necessary measures to prevent premium rights being transferred outside sensitive areas or regions where beef and veal production is particularly important for the local economy;

(b) may provide either that the transfer of rights without transfer of the holding is carried out directly between farmers or that it is carried out through the intermediary of the national reserve.

3. Member States may authorise, before a date to be determined, temporary transfers of part of the premium rights which are not intended to be used by the farmer who holds them.

Article 128 U.K. National reserve of suckler cow premium rights

1. Each Member State shall maintain a national reserve of suckler cow premium rights.

2. Any premium rights withdrawn pursuant to Article 127(1) or other Community provisions shall be added to the national reserve, without prejudice to Article 126(4).

3. The Member States shall use their national reserves for allocating, within the limits of those reserves, premium rights in particular to newcomers, young farmers and other priority farmers.

Article 129 U.K. Heifers

1. By way of derogation from Article 125(3), Member States where more than 60 % of suckler cows and heifers are kept in mountain areas within the meaning of Article 18 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 may decide to manage the granting of the suckler cow premium for heifers separately from that for suckler cows within the limits of a separate national ceiling to be set up by the Member State concerned.

Such separate national ceiling shall not exceed 40 % of the national ceiling of the Member State concerned set out in Article 126(5). That national ceiling shall be reduced by an amount equal to the separate national ceiling. When in a Member State exercising the power provided for in this paragraph, the total number of heifers, for which an application has been made, and which satisfy the conditions for granting the suckler cow premium, exceeds the separate national ceiling, the number of eligible heifers per farmer for the year in question shall be reduced proportionately.

2. For the purpose of this Article, only heifers belonging to a meat breed or born of a cross with a meat breed shall be taken into account.

Article 130 U.K. Slaughter premium

1. A farmer keeping bovine animals on his holding may qualify, on application, for a slaughter premium. It shall be granted on slaughter of eligible animals or their export to a third country and within national ceilings to be determined.

The following shall be eligible for the slaughter premium:

(a) bulls, steers, cows and heifers from the age of eight months,

(b) calves of more than one and less than eight months old and of carcass weight up to 185 kg,

provided they have been held by the farmer for a period to be determined.

2. The amount of the premium shall be set at:

(a) EUR 80 per eligible animal as specified under paragraph 1(a);

(b) EUR 50 per eligible animal as specified under paragraph 1(b).

3. The national ceilings referred to in paragraph 1 shall be established per Member State and separately for both groups of animals as specified in (a) and (b) thereof. Each ceiling shall be equal to the number of animals of each of these two groups which in 1995 were slaughtered in the Member State concerned to which are added those animals exported to third countries, according to Eurostat data or any other published official statistical information for that year accepted by the Commission.

[F1 For the new Member States the national ceilings shall be those contained in the following table.:

	Bulls, steers, cows and heifers	Calves more than 1 and less than 8 months old and of carcass weight up to 185 kg
Bulgaria	22 191	101 542
Czech Republic	483 382	27 380
Estonia	107 813	30 000
Cyprus	21 000	—
Latvia	124 320	53 280
Lithuania	367 484	244 200
Hungary	141 559	94 439
Malta	6 002	17
Poland	1 815 430	839 518
Romania	1 148 000	85 000
Slovenia	161 137	35 852
Slovakia	204 062	62 841]

4. When in a given Member State the total number of animals, for which an application has been made in respect of one of the two groups of animals specified in (a) or (b) of paragraph 1, and which satisfy the conditions for granting the slaughter premium exceeds the national ceiling laid down for that group, the number of all eligible animals under that group per farmer for the year in question shall be reduced proportionately.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and the adjustments to the treaties on which the European Union is founded.

Article 131 U.K. Stocking density

1. In case of application of Article 71, the total number of animals qualifying for the special premium and the suckler-cow premium shall be limited by the application of a stocking density on the holding of two livestock units (LU) per hectare and calendar year. The stocking density shall be 1,8 LU from 1 January 2003. This stocking density shall be expressed in LU per unit of forage area of the holding used for the animals carried on it. However, a farmer shall be exempt from the application of the stocking density if the number of animals held on his holding and to be taken into account for determining the stocking density is not more than 15 LU.

2. For determining the stocking density on the holding, account shall be taken of:

the male bovine animals, suckler cows and heifers, sheep and/or goats for which premium applications have been submitted, as well as the dairy cows needed to produce the total reference quantity of milk allocated to the farmer. The number of animals shall be converted to LU by reference to the following conversion table:
Male bovine animals and heifers older than 24 months, suckler cows, dairy cows	1,0 LU
Male bovine animals and heifers from six months to 24 months	0,6 LU
Sheep	0,15 LU
Goats	0,15 LU

(b) the forage area, meaning the area of the holding available throughout the calendar year for rearing bovine animals and sheep and/or goats. The forage area shall not include:

• (b) buildings, woods, ponds, paths,

• areas used for other crops eligible for Community aid or for permanent crops or horticultural crops, except permanent pasture for which area payments are granted pursuant to Article 136 or, as the case may be, Article 96,

• areas qualifying for the support system laid down for the farmers producing certain arable crops, used for the aid scheme for dried fodder or subject to a national or Community set-aside scheme.

Forage area shall include areas in shared use and areas which are subject to mixed cultivation.

Article 132 U.K. Extensification payment

1. In case of application of Article 71, farmers receiving the special premium and/or the suckler cow premium may qualify for an extensification payment.

2. The extensification payment shall be EUR 100 per special premium and suckler cow premium granted, provided that in respect of the calendar year concerned the stocking density on the holding concerned is less than or equal to 1,4 LU per hectare.

However, Member States may decide to grant the extensification payment at an amount of EUR 40 for a stocking density of 1,4 LU per hectare or more and less or equal to 1,8 LU per hectare, and at an amount of EUR 80 for a stocking density of less than 1,4 LU per hectare.

3. For the purposes of the application of paragraph 2:

(a) by way of derogation from Article 131(2)(a), the stocking density of the holdings shall be determined by taking into account the male bovine animals, cows, and heifers present thereon during the calendar year concerned, as well as the sheep and/or goats for which premium applications have been submitted for the same calendar year. The number of animals shall be converted to LU by reference to the conversion table referred to in Article 131(2)(a);

(b) without prejudice to the third indent of Article 131(2)(b), areas used for the production of arable crops as defined in Annex IX shall not be taken as ‘forage area’;

(c) the forage area to be taken into account for the calculation of the stocking density shall consist of at least 50 % of pasture land.

‘Pasture land’ shall be defined by Member States. The definition shall include at least the criterion that pasture land shall be grassland which, following the local farming practices is recognised as being destined for grazing bovine animals and/or sheep. However, this shall not exclude the mixed use of pasture land during the same year (pasture, hay, grass silage).

4. Without prejudice to the stocking density requirements set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, farmers in Member States where more than 50 % of milk production takes place in mountain areas within the meaning of Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 and whose holdings are located in such areas, may receive extensification payments as set out in that paragraph for the dairy cows kept thereon.

5. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 144(2), the Commission shall if necessary, adjust the amounts set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, taking account, in particular, of the number of animals qualifying for the payment for the preceding calendar year.

Article 133 U.K. Additional payments

1. In case of application of Article 71, Member States shall, on a yearly basis, make additional payments to farmers in their territory totalling the global amounts set out in paragraph 3 of this Article. Such payments shall be made according to objective criteria including, in particular, the relevant production structures and conditions, and in such a way as to ensure equal treatment between farmers and to avoid market and competition distortions. Moreover, such payments shall not be linked to fluctuations of market prices.

2. Additional payments may be made in the form of headage payments and/or area payments.

[F2 3. The following global amounts shall apply:

(EUR million)
Belgium	39,4
Czech Republic	8,776017
Denmark	11,8
Germany	88,4
Estonia	1,13451
Greece	3,8
Spain	33,1
France	93,4
Ireland	31,4
Italy	65,6
Cyprus	0,308945
Latvia	1,33068
Lithuania	4,942267
Luxembourg	3,4
Hungary	2,936076
Malta	0,0637
Netherlands	25,3
Austria	12,0
Poland	27,3
Portugal	6,2
Slovenia	2,96478
Slovakia	4,500535
Finland	6,2
Sweden	9,2
United Kingdom	63,8]

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.

Article 134 U.K. Headage payments

1. Headage payments may be granted for:

(a) male bovine animals,

(b) suckler cows,

(c) dairy cows,

(d) heifers.

2. Headage payments may be granted as supplementary amounts per slaughter premium unit as set out in Article 130, except for calves. In the other cases, the grant of headage payments shall be subject:

(a) to the special conditions set out in Article 135,

(b) to specific stocking density requirements to be established by Member States.

3. The specific stocking density requirements shall be established:

• on the basis of the forage area referred to in Article 131(2)(b), with the exception of areas for which area payments are granted in accordance with Article 136,

• taking account of, in particular, the environmental impact of the type of production concerned, the environmental sensitivity of the land used for rearing cattle and the measures which have been implemented with a view to stabilise or improve the environmental situation of this land.

Article 135 U.K. Conditions for the headage payment

1. Headage payments for male bovine animals may be granted per calendar year for no more than a number of animals in a Member State:

• equal to the regional ceiling of the Member State concerned set out in Article 123(8), or

• equal to the number of male bovine animals for which premiums were granted in 1997, or

• equal to the average number of slaughterings of male bovine animals during the years 1997, 1998 and 1999 deriving from Eurostat statistics for these years or any other published official statistical information for these years accepted by the Commission[F2 , or]

• [F3 for the new Member States: equal to the ceilings set out in Article 123(8) or equal to the average number of slaughterings of male bovine animals during the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 deriving from Eurostat statistics for these years or any other published official statistical information for these years accepted by the Commission.]

Member States may also provide for a headage limit of number of male bovine animals per holding to be determined by the Member State on a national or regional basis.

Only male bovine animals from the age of eight months shall be eligible. If headage payments are made at the time of slaughter, Member States may decide to replace this condition by a minimum carcase weight of at least 180 kilograms.

2. Headage payments for suckler cows and heifers qualifying for suckler cow premium under Article 125(4) and Article 129 may only be granted as a supplementary amount per suckler cow premium unit as set out in Article 125(4).

3. Headage payments for dairy cows may only be granted as amount per tonne of reference quantity eligible for premium available on the holding to be established in accordance with Article 95(2).

Article 134(2)(b) shall not apply.

4. Headage payments for heifers other than those referred to in paragraph 2 may be granted per Member State and calendar year for no more than a number of heifers equal to the average number of slaughterings of heifers during the years 1997, 1998 and 1999 deriving from Eurostat statistics for these years or any other published official statistical information for these years accepted by the Commission.[F3 For the new Member States the reference years shall be 2001, 2002 and 2003.]

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.

F3 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.

Article 136 U.K. Area payments

1. Area payments shall be granted per hectare of permanent pasture:

(a) which is available to a farmer during the calendar year concerned,

(b) which is not used to comply with the specific stocking density requirements referred to in Article 134(3), and

(c) in respect of which no payments under the support system laid down for farmers producing certain arable crops, under the aid system for dried fodder and under Community aid schemes for other permanent or horticultural crops are claimed for the same year.

2. The area of permanent pasture in a region for which area payments may be granted shall not exceed the relevant regional base area.

Regional base areas shall be established by Member States as the average number of hectares of permanent pasture available for rearing bovine animals during the years 1995, 1996 and 1997.[F3 For the new Member States the reference years shall be 1999, 2000 and 2001.]

3. The maximum area payment per hectare which may be granted, including, as the case may be, area payments pursuant to Article 96 shall not exceed EUR 350.

Textual Amendments

F3 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.

[F3 Article 136a U.K. Conditions of application in the new Member States

In the new Member States, the global amounts referred to in Article 133(3) and the maximum area payment per hectare at EUR 350 referred to in Article 136(3) shall be applied in accordance with the schedule of increments as set out in Article 143a.]

Textual Amendments

F3 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.

Article 137 U.K. Transmission of information

Any changes of national arrangements concerning the granting of additional payments shall be communicated to the Commission not later than one month after their adoption.

Article 138 U.K. Common provisions

To qualify for direct payments under this chapter, an animal shall be identified and registered in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000.

Article 139 U.K. Ceilings

The sum of the amounts of each direct payment claimed under this chapter shall not exceed a ceiling, fixed by the Commission in accordance with Article 64(2) corresponding to the component of each of these direct payments in the ceiling referred to in Article 41.[F3 However, for the new Member States, the ceiling fixed by the Commission in accordance with Article 64(2) shall correspond to the component of each of the direct payments concerned in the ceiling referred to in Article 71c.]

When the total amount of aid claimed exceeds the fixed ceiling, the aid per farmer shall be reduced proportionately in that year.

Textual Amendments

F3 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.

Article 140 U.K. Substances prohibited under Directive 96/22/EC

1. Where residues of substances prohibited under Directive 96/22/EC(3), or residues of substances authorised under the aforementioned act but used illegally, are detected pursuant to the relevant provisions of Directive 96/23/EC(4), in an animal belonging to the bovine herd of a farmer, or where a non-authorised substance or product, or a substance or product authorised under Directive 96/22/EC but held illegally is found on the farmer's holding in any form, the farmer shall be excluded, for the calendar year of that discovery, from receiving the amounts provided for under this Chapter.

In the event of a repeated infringement, the length of the exclusion period may, according to the seriousness of the offence, be extended to five years as from the year in which the repeated infringement was discovered.

2. In the event of obstruction on the part of the owner or holder of the animals when inspections are being carried out and when the samples are being taken which are necessary for the application if national residue-monitoring plans or when the investigations and checks provided for under Directive 96/23/EC are being carried out, the penalties provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply.

(1)

OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1.

(2)

OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1105/2003 (OJ L 158, 27.6.2003, p. 3).

(3)

Council Directive 96/22/EC of 29 April 1996 concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and of β-agonists, and repealing Directives 81/602/EEC, 88/146/EEC and 88/299/EEC (OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 3).

(4)

Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 April 1996 on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products and repealing Directives 85/358/EEC and 86/469/EEC and Decisions 89/187/EEC and 91/664/EEC (OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 10). Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1).