L 33/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 2. 98 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 317/98 of 6 February 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1350/72 on rules for granting aid to hop producers THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 of 26 July 1971 on the common organisation of the market in hops ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1554/97 (3, and in particular Article 13(4) thereof, Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 as amended has set the aid for a period of five years; whereas an annual Council Regulation will therefore no longer be required; whereas payment is in the same year as the harvest; whereas the time limit for submission of aid applications should therefore be shortened; whereas as in the past the aid is granted exclusively for hop-cone production and does not extend to whole plants grown in nurseries; whereas Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1350/72 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2640/91 (%) should therefore be amended; Whereas effective arrangements are required to ensure that aid is paid on the basis of proper entitlement and no double payments are made; whereas these should be modelled on the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an in- tegrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes (°), as last amended by Regula- tion (EC) No 820/97 (¥), and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 of 23 December 1992 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes ("), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2015/95 (), whereas Article 3 should therefore be amended accordingly; Whereas the date of 31 March given in Article 4 for Member States’ notifications relating to aid management by producer groups is no longer appropriate under the new market organisation and should therefore be altered; whereas some Member States need a transition period for 175, 4. 8. 1971, p. 1. 208, 2. 8. 1997, p. 1. 148, 30. 6. 1972, p. 11. 247, 5.9. 1991, p. 9. 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 1. 117, 7. 5. 1997, p. 1. 391, 31. 12. 1992, p. 36. 197, 22. 8. 1995, p. 2. o 2 N3 2aCs Sl o LL8282288 Slnlaiainiaials implementation of the administrative checks required on all hop parcels; whereas a derogation should therefore be made for the 1998 crop to allow these to be effected on a sample basis; whereas it is important that checks on the spot cover a significant sample of applications; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Hops, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EEC) No 1350/72 is amended as follows: 1. Article 1(1) is replaced by the following: ‘1. All hop producers shall declare the areas which they have planted by 31 May of the year of harvest’. 2. Article 2 is replaced by the following: Article 2 1. The application for aid shall be made by the indi- vidual producer not later than 31 October of the year of harvest or through the producer-group by a date set by the Member State. 2. Aid shall be granted only for areas that, for the harvest in question (a) were planted, as regards the areas referred to in Article 1(3)a), at a uniform density of at least: — 1 500 plants per hectare in the case of double staking, — 2000 plants per hectare in the case of single staking, (b) were declared as required pursuant to Article 1; (c) were cultivated and harvested in the normal way; this excludes hop plants cultivated principally as nursery products’. 3. In Article 3, (a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. The aid application shall include for the area in question at least the information required pursuant to Article 1(2) and a statement that the crop has been harvested.’;