1.Areas set aside must so remain for a period commencing on 15 January at the latest and ending on 31 August at the earliest. However, Member States shall lay down the conditions under which producers may be authorised to sow seed from 15 July for harvesting in the following year and the conditions to be met for grazing to be authorised from 15 July or, in case of exceptional climatic condition, from 15 of June in Member States where transhumance is practised traditionally.
2.Member States shall apply suitable measures compatible with the specific situation of areas set aside in order to ensure they are maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition and that the environment is protected.
Such measures may involve green cover. In that case, the measures shall ensure that the green cover cannot be used for seed production and that it cannot be used for agricultural purposes before 31 August or, before 15 January thereafter, to produce crops for marketing.
3.Paragraph 2 shall not apply to areas set aside or afforested pursuant to Articles 22, 23, 24 and 31 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999(1) and counting for the purposes of compulsory set-aside, where the measures referred to in paragraph 2 prove to be incompatible with the environmental or afforestation requirements laid down in those Articles.
[F14. For the purposes of Articles 54(2) and 61 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, land under permanent pasture in 2003 shall be:
(a) land declared by a farmer in his aid application for 2003 as being under permanent pasture, and
(b) land not declared by a farmer in his aid application for 2003, unless it can be shown that that land was not under permanent pasture in 2003.
However, Member States may provide that land under permanent pasture in 2003 shall be land declared in the aid application for 2003 and in the aid applications for at least the five consecutive years prior to 2003 as land used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage.
[F2Where areas were newly allocated in the framework of a national reparcelling scheme between the date for the aid application for 2003 and the date of application for the single payment scheme in the first year of implementation, the Member State concerned shall determine which areas are to be considered as permanent pasture for the purpose of articles 54(2) and 61 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. In these cases Member States shall take into account the situation existing at farmer's level before the reparcelling by minimising, to the maximum extent, any effect on the farmer's possibilities to use the payments entitlements. In doing so Member States shall take action to prevent, in the area affected by the reparcelling scheme, any significant increase of the total area eligible to set aside entitlements as well as any significant decrease of permanent pasture.] ]
[F35. In cases as referred to in Article 40(4) (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, Member States may authorise all producers affected to use land declared as set aside for animal feed purposes for the year of the single application. Member States shall take all necessary measures to ensure that the set-aside area subject to the authorisation is not used for lucrative purposes, and in particular that no fodder produced on that set-aside land is sold.
Member States shall notify to the Commission their decision on the authorisation and its justification.]
Textual Amendments
F1 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1974/2004 of 29 October 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers.
F2 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1085/2005 of 8 July 2005 amending Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers.
F3 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2002/2006 of 21 December 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 795/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the single payment scheme provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers.
For the purpose of applying Article 54(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, Member States may derogate from the first sub paragraph of paragraph 2 of that Article only under the following situations and conditions:
For areas subject to a restructuring programme, defined as a ‘change to the structure and/or eligible area of a holding imposed by the public authorities’,
In case of one or other form of public intervention, where such intervention results in a farmer setting-aside land previously regarded as ineligible in order to continue his normal agricultural activity and the intervention in question means that land originally eligible ceases to be so with,
Where farmers are able to give relevant and objective reasons for exchanging ineligible land for eligible land on their holdings,
In these cases, Member States shall take action to prevent any significant increase in the total area eligible to set aside entitlements. This may in particular involve deeming previously eligible areas ineligible as an offsetting measure. Areas newly declared eligible by the Member States must not exceed the area newly declared ineligible by more than 5 %. The Member States may provide for a system for the prior notification and approval of such exchanges.
1.The exemption from set-aside provided for in Article 55 (a) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall apply for a number of hectares not higher than the number of set-aside entitlements which a farmer received in the first year of application of the single payment scheme.
2.In case of transfer of set-aside entitlements with land, paragraph 1 shall not apply under the condition that Article 55 (a) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 is respected.