ANNEX IXPayment entitlements referred to in Article 33(1)(b)(iii)
A.Fruit and vegetables, ware potatoes and nurseries
1.For the purposes of this Annex, ‘fruit and vegetables’ shall mean the products listed in Article 1(1)(i) and (j) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, and ‘ware potatoes’ shall mean potatoes of CN code 0701 other than those intended for the manufacture of potato starch for which aid is granted under Article 77 of this Regulation.
Farmers shall receive a payment entitlement per hectare which is calculated by dividing the reference amount referred in point 2 by the number of hectares as calculated in accordance with point 3.
2.Member States shall determine the amount to be included in the reference amount of each farmer on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria such as:
(a)
the amount of market support received, directly or indirectly, by the farmer in respect of fruit and vegetables, ware potatoes and nurseries;
(b)
the area used to produce fruit and vegetables, ware potatoes and nurseries;
(c)
the amount of fruit and vegetables produced, ware potatoes and nurseries,
in respect of a representative period which could be different for each product, of one or more marketing years starting from the marketing year ending in 2001 and, in the case of the new Member States, from the marketing year ending in 2004, up to the marketing year ending in 2007.
The application of the criteria in this point may be varied between different fruit and vegetable products, ware potatoes and nurseries, if duly justified on an objective basis. On the same basis, Member States may decide not to determine the amounts to be included in the reference amount and the applicable hectares under this point before the end of a transitional three-year period ending on 31 December 2010.
3.Member States shall calculate the applicable hectares on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria such as the areas referred to in point (b) of the first subpoint of point 2.
4.A farmer whose production was adversely affected during the representative period referred to in point 2 by a case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances occurring before or during that reference period shall be entitled to request that the reference amount referred to in point 2 be calculated on the basis of the calendar year or years in the representative period not affected by the case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances.
5.If the whole reference period was affected by the case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, the Member State concerned shall calculate the reference amount on the basis of the closest marketing year prior to the representative period chosen in accordance with point 3. In such case, point 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
6.A case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, with relevant evidence to the satisfaction of the competent authority, shall be notified by the farmer concerned in writing to the authority within a deadline to be fixed by each Member State.