Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)^f1, and in particular Articles 51(4), 74(4) and 91 thereof,

Whereas:

Following the amendments to Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 of 21 April 2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system provided for in Council Regulations (EC) No 1782/2003 and (EC) No 73/2009, as well as for the implementation of cross compliance provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008^f2 the references to that Regulation contained in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006^f3 should be updated.

Furthermore, Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 of 19 January 2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 247/2006, (EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003^f4 is applicable from 1 January 2009. Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006 should therefore be adapted to take into account references to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009.

Experience has shown that there are gaps and obsolete provisions in Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006 that should be filled or deleted in order to ensure correct understanding and consistency of the text.

Certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004, such as those allowing the announcement of on-the-spot checks contained in Article 23a, those defining the exceptions from the application of reductions and exclusions laid down in Article 68 and those provided for in Article 71(2), should be made generally applicable for the purpose of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005.

For the sake of clarity, when applying the control rules concerning rural development support for certain measures under Axis 2 and Axis 4, as laid down in Part II, Title I, of Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006, reference should be made to the definition and principles of agricultural parcels contained in Regulation (EC) No 796/2004.

As regards on-the-spot checks relating to the measure set out in Article 36(a)(iv) of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, it should be clarified that the 5 % minimum requirement has to be achieved at the measure level.

Experience has shown that it is necessary to clarify certain provisions, especially as regards reductions in the case of over-declaration of certain area and animal-related measures and the accumulation of reductions.

For the sake of clarity, certain references to European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) year should be amended to refer to calendar year.

The provision of Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006 concerning selection of the control sample for verification of cross-compliance should be redrafted to take account of the amended Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004, and a new mechanism should be added to increase the effectiveness of the control system.

To make for consistent application of reductions in cases of negligence or intentional non-compliance, it is necessary to specify the area of cross-compliance in which the minimum requirements for fertilisers and plant protection product use referred to in Article 39(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 are to be classified.

The order of the reductions to be applied in cases of accumulation of reductions in the context of verification of cross-compliance should be amended to ensure a more consistent sequence.

In order to cover non-area or animal-related measures, the requirement of a control report should be included as regards on-the-spot checks of support under Axis 1 and Axis 3 and certain measures under Axis 2 and Axis 4.

Experience has shown that it is necessary to clarify annual notification requirements.

Information on the results of any type of controls should be made available to all paying agencies responsible for the management of the different support schemes so that, where the findings so justify, they can apply cross-compliance and eligibility reductions at the same time.

Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly.

In order to allow sufficient time for Member States to adjust their control procedures and to avoid accountability problems that could occur in case the application starts in the middle of the year, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2010. However, with a view to preserving legal certainty, the derogation on the reductions resulting from Article 138(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 of 29 October 2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as regards the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of that Regulation and the use of land set aside for the production of raw materials^f5, as applicable to the beneficiaries in Member States applying the single area payment scheme; should be maintained for aid applications relating to calendar year 2009.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Rural Development Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: