Commission Regulation(EC) No 817/2004 of 29 April 2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)
Modified by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1360/2005of 18 August 2005amending Regulation (EC) No 817/2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), 305R1360, August 19, 2005
Commission Regulation (EC) No 817/2004of 29 April 2004laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain RegulationsOJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 (OJ L 91, 30.3.2004, p. 1)., and in particular Articles 34, 45 and 50 thereof,Whereas:(1)Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 established a single legal framework for EAGGF support for rural development. In particular, Title II thereof specifies the measures eligible for support, their objectives and the criteria for eligibility. This legal framework applies to support for rural development throughout the Community.(2)To supplement this framework, Commission Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 of 26 February 2002 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)OJ L 74, 15.3.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 963/2003 (OJ L 138, 5.6.2003, p. 32). has been adopted, taking account of experience gained using the instruments applied under the various Council regulations repealed by Article 55(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.(3)Commission Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 of 26 February 2002 has been substantially amended. In addition, when Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 was amended, four new measures were introduced for which detailed rules are needed. Moreover, in view of the experience gained since the beginning of the programming period, certain provisions should be clarified, in particular those relating to the procedure for amending programming documents, to the financial management of programmes and to the controls. In the interests of clarity and rationality, therefore, a new regulation laying down detailed rules should be adopted and Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 should be repealed.(4)Those rules should follow the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and should therefore be restricted to what is necessary for the attainment of the aims being pursued.(5)With respect to the eligibility criteria, Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 lays down three basic conditions for support for investments in agricultural holdings and processing plants and support for young farmers. The time at which those conditions must be fulfilled should be specified, including the duration of the period of grace that Member States may grant to certain beneficiaries in which to comply with minimum standards in cases where an investment is carried out with a view to meeting those standards.(6)Community support for investments in holdings and processing plants is subject to the condition that normal market outlets can be found for the products concerned. Detailed rules should be laid down for assessing such market outlets.(7)Support for vocational training should not cover normal agricultural and forestry education.(8)As regards the conditions for early retirement support, specific problems arising where a holding is transferred by several transferors or by a tenant farmer should be solved.(9)Compensatory allowances payable in less-favoured areas for land used jointly by several farmers should be paid to each farmer concerned in proportion to the degree to which the farmer is entitled to its use.(10)The competences and resources required from the authorities and bodies selected for providing the farm advisory services should be specified.(11)As regards support for agri-environment and animal welfare, the minimum requirements to be met by farmers in connection with the various agri-environment and animal welfare commitments should ensure a balanced application of support that takes account of the objectives and will thus contribute to sustainable rural development.(12)As regards support for farmers participating in a food-quality scheme, the products concerned by this support and the types of fixed costs which may be taken into account for calculating the amount of assistance should be specified.(13)In order to ensure complementarity between the promotion measures set in Article 24d of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 and the regime concerning information and promotion actions established by Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 of 19 December 2000 on information and promotion actions for agricultural products on the internal marketOJ L 328, 23.12.2000, p. 2., detailed requirements for support for the promotion of quality products should be laid down, in particular as regards beneficiaries and eligible activities. In addition, in order to avoid the risk of double financing, information and promotion measures supported under Council Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 should not be eligible for rural development support.(14)The selection criteria for investments to improve the processing and marketing of agricultural products should be fixed. Experience shows that these selection criteria should be based on broad principles rather than sectoral rules.(15)The outermost regions of the Community should be exempt, subject to certain conditions, from the second indent of Article 28(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, under which no assistance may be granted for investments intended for the processing or marketing of products from third countries.(16)The forests not eligible for support pursuant to Article 29(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 should be defined in greater detail.(17)Detailed conditions should be laid down for support for the afforestation of agricultural land and payments for activities to maintain and improve the ecological stability of forests.(18)Pursuant to Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, support is granted for other measures relating to farming activities and their conversion and to rural activities not covered by any other rural development measure. Given the wide variety of measures which could be covered by this Article, it should be left primarily to the Member States to lay down the conditions for support as part of their programming.(19)Rules common to several measures should be laid down to ensure, in particular, that common standards of good farming practice are applied where measures refer to that criterion, and to guarantee the flexibility needed for long-term commitments to take account of events which might affect those commitments without jeopardising the effective implementation of the various support measures.(20)A clear dividing line should be drawn between financing rural development support and financing support under the common market organisations. Any exceptions to the principle that measures covered by support schemes under common market organisations should not be eligible for rural development support should be proposed by Member States in their rural development programming, according to their specific needs and following a transparent procedure.(21)Rural development support payments should be made in full to the beneficiaries.(22)Commission Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000OJ L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 39. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 448/2004, (OJ L 72, 11.3.2004, p. 66). lays down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural FundsOJ 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). as regards eligibility of expenditure under operations part-financed by the Structural Funds, and hence by the EAGGF Guidance Section. In the interests of consistency, Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000 should also apply to measures part-financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section, except where otherwise provided in Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, in Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policyOJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103. or in this Regulation.(23)Standard unit costs are frequently fixed for certain investments part-financed pursuant to the first, second and sixth indents of Article 30(1) and pursuant to Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999. In the interests of clarity and in order to simplify the management of those measures, beneficiaries should be exempt, from 2000, from the requirement to present invoices pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000. The conditions on which Member States may apply such standard costs should also be laid down in order to ensure efficient management.(24)Commission Decision 1999/659/EC of 8 September 1999 fixing an indicative allocation by Member States of the allocations under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Guarantee Section for rural development measures for the period 2000 to 2006OJ L 259, 6.10.1999, p. 27. Decision as amended by Decision 2000/426/EC (OJ L 165, 6.7.2000, p. 33). specifies the type of expenditure covered by the allocations made to the Member States. Moreover, under Commission Regulation (EC) No 2603/1999 of 9 December 1999 laying down rules for the transition to the rural development support provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999OJ L 316, 10.12.1999, p. 26. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2055/2001 (OJ L 277, 20.10.2001, p. 12)., payments arising from certain commitments made before 1 January 2000 may be included in rural development programming for 2000 to 2006 subject to certain conditions. It is therefore necessary to specify what is included in the overall amount of Community support fixed for each rural development plan under the single programming document approved by the Commission.(25)In order to ensure more flexible financial management, Member States which have opted for regionalised rural development programming should have the option of having the total amount of Community support granted to each regional programme set out in a separate decision containing a consolidated table for the entire Member State.(26)Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1259/1999 of 17 May 1999 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policyOJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 113. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 41/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 19). stipulates that the amounts accruing from penalties for infringement of environmental protection requirements or from modulation remain available to the Member States as additional Community support for certain rural development measures. Exactly what the Commission's approval covers in the case of such measures should be specified.(27)Detailed rules should be laid down for the presentation of rural development plans and their revision.(28)In order to facilitate the establishment of rural development plans and their examination and approval by the Commission, common rules should be laid down for the structure and content of these plans, based in particular on the requirements set out in Article 43 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.(29)Requirements should be set for amendments to rural development programming documents so as to enable the Commission to examine them quickly and efficiently.(30)Only amendments involving important changes to rural development programming documents should be subject to the management committee procedure. Other amendments should be decided by the Member States and communicated to the Commission.(31)To ensure effective and regular monitoring, the Member States should make a consolidated and updated electronic version of their programming documents available to the Commission.(32)Detailed rules should be laid down on financial planning and contributions to the financing of measures financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section pursuant to Article 35(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.(33)In this connection, Member States should report regularly to the Commission on the state of financing of rural development measures.(34)Steps should be taken to ensure that appropriations earmarked for rural development support are efficiently used, in particular by providing for the Commission to grant an initial advance payment to paying agencies and for allocations to be adjusted according to needs and in the light of past performance. It should also be possible to grant advances to certain categories of beneficiaries, under certain conditions, in order to facilitate the implementation of investment measures.(35)The general rules on budgetary discipline, in particular those relating to incomplete or incorrect declarations by Member States, should apply in addition to the specific rules laid down in this Regulation.(36)The detailed financial administration of rural development measures should be governed by the regulations implementing Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999.(37)The procedures and requirements for monitoring and evaluation should be based on the principles applicable to other Community support measures, in particular those laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.(38)The administrative rules should permit better administration, monitoring and control of rural development support. In the interests of simplicity, the integrated administration and control system foreseen in Title II, Chapter IV of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmersOJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 (OJ L 91, 30.3.2004, p. 1). for which the detailed implementing rules are laid down by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2419/2001OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 11. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 118/2004 (OJ L 17, 24.1.2004, p. 7). should be applied wherever possible.(39)Provision should be made for a system of penalties at both Community and Member State level.(40)Information on the situation regarding the implementation of former accompanying measures under Council Regulations (EEC) No 2078/92OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 85. Regulation repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999., (EEC) No 2079/92OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 91. Regulation repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999. and (EEC) No 2080/92OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 96. Regulation repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999. should be included in the annual report provided for in Article 48(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 where such measures form part of the financial programming for 2000 to 2006. The expenditure arising under such measures should also be included in the information which Member States are required to supply by 30 September each year.(41)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: