25. 4. 96 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 102/19 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 746/96 of 24 April 1996 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/52 of 30 June 1992 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside (), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2772/95 (3, and in particular Article 9 thereof, Whereas the scheme instituted by Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 is implemented by means of programmes drawn up by Member States and regions; Whereas experience gained during the initial stage of the preparation and implementation of the environmental programmes raised various general questions and revealed a number of administrative problems; whereas, in order to apply the measure effectively throughout the Community, it is necessary to regulate those matters by means of rules of application which will add detail to the framework provided by Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 itself; Whereas those rules of application should be restricted to those matters which currently need to be regulated at Community level, there being no desire to lay down exhaustive rules regarding all the problems arising during the preparation and implementation of  agri- environmental programmes; Whereas this Regulation does not prejudice the broad scope given to Member States by Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 to determine the agri-environmental measures which are most appropriate to the various situations and natural circumstances in their own agriculture and to define in detail the conditions for the granting of aid in conformity with Article 5 of the said Regulation; Whereas provision should be made to define certain conditions for the grant of aid which Member States must comply with when drawing up and implementing their agri-environmental programmes; whereas those conditions are based on the programme approval practice which the Commission has followed to date with the agreement of the Member States; Whereas pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92, the main undertakings to be given by farmers should No L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 8. No L 288, 1. 12. 1995, p. 35. normally go beyond the mere implementation of good farming practice, in particular by means of a substantial reduction in the use of inputs, without prejudice to the need, under specific conditions, to help farmers to continue farming in unfavourable areas, to respect new legal constraints with regard to the environment and to maintain environmental practices already introduced; Whereas consistency between the agri-environmental measures and other measures under the various Commu- nity policies must be ensured during the implementation of the agri-environmental programmes, in particular those environmental policies which affect agriculture and economic and social cohesion; whereas, in particular, any over-compensation owing to the combination of aid and any other inconsistency in the definition of undertakings must be avoided; Whereas the content of the agri-environmental programmes must take account of developments in the Community’s agricultural and environmental policies; Whereas definition of the minimum conditions to be respected by farmers in connection with the various undertakings will ensure a more balanced application of the measures, taking account of the objectives of Regula- tion (EEC) No 2078/92; Whereas the rules governing the cohesion of aid must be specified; Whereas several matters of a general nature have been raised by Member States regarding the performance of undertakings; whereas common rules should be adopted in this respect so as to guarantee the necessary flexibility, in particular to take account of events which could affect the five-year undertakings given, without, however, jeopar- dizing the effective implementation of the scheme; Whereas administrative provisions will permit better administration, monitoring and control of the agri- environmental measures; whereas in the interests of simplicity such provisions are based, as far as possible, on existing rules such as the integrated administration and control system set out in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3235/94 (*; () OJ No L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 1. () OJ No L 338, 28. 12. 1994, p. 16.