3.—(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, as regards the implementation of control procedures as well as cross-compliance in respect of rural development support measures(1), is amended as follows.
(2) In Article 12 (on-the-spot checks)—
(a)omit paragraph 1;
(b)in paragraph 2, omit the words from “apply to on-the-spot” to “in this Article”;
(c)omit paragraphs 3 and 4.
(3) In Article 16 (area-related measures)—
(a)for paragraph 2 substitute—
“If, in respect of a crop group as referred to in Article 16(1), the area declared for the purposes of any area-related aid schemes or support measures exceeds or is less than the area determined in accordance with Article 50(3) of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004, the aid must be calculated on the basis of the area determined or the area declared, whichever is the lower.”;
(b)in paragraph 6, omit “in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 and”.
(4) In Article 18 (reductions and exclusions in the case of non-respect of eligibility criteria)—
(a)in paragraph 1, for “shall” substitute “may”;
(b)for paragraph 2 substitute—
“When deciding on the rate of refusal or withdrawal of support following the non-compliance with the commitments or other obligations referred to in paragraph 1 the relevant authority may take account of—
the circumstances that led to the non-compliance and whether it was caused by the intentional actions of the beneficiary or due to that person’s recklessness or negligence;
any steps taken by the beneficiary to report a change of circumstance or notify the relevant authority of the non-compliance within a reasonable period;
any failure on the part of the beneficiary to co-operate with an on-the-spot check;
any past conduct of the beneficiary during the period of the commitment and whether a similar non-compliance has previously occurred;
the nature of the non-compliance and whether it has caused widespread or irreparable damage;
the extent to which it is desirable, practicable or economic to permit the beneficiary to rectify the non-compliance;
the consequences of the non-compliance and whether it renders the purpose of the commitment unachievable within the timescales or finances of the commitment or to the standards agreed when the commitment was undertaken.”;
(c)in paragraph 3, for “shall” substitute “may”.
(5) In Article 26 (administrative checks), paragraph 4, omit the second subparagraph.
(6) In Article 27 (on-the-spot checks)—
(a)in paragraph 1, in the first place it occurs, for “shall” substitute “may”;
(b)omit paragraph 2.
(7) In Article 28 (content of on-the-spot checks), for paragraph 3 substitute—
“The on-the-spot checks may include a visit to the operation or, if the operation is intangible, to the operation promoter”.
EUR 2006/1975, as saved in respect of payment claims submitted before 1 January 2011 by Article 34 of EUR 2011/65.