L 75/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 3. 1999 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 609/1999 of 19 March 1999 laying down detailed 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, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/98 of 25 May 1998 introducing special temporary measures for hops (%), and in particular Article 3 thereof, Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1350/72 of 28 June 1972 on rules for granting aid to hop produ- cers (*), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1136/ 98 (°), has been substantially amended on several occa- sions; whereas since further amendments are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity; Whereas Article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1037/ 72 of 18 May 1972 laying down general rules for granting and financing aid for hop producers (°), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1604/91 (’), provides for the intro- duction by the Member States of a system of declarations and registration of areas planted; whereas, with a view to ensuring that the systems in the various Member States are in conformity, the particulars to be shown in produ- cers’ declarations must be specified; Whereas Regulation (EC) No 1098/98 provides for compensation to be granted for the years 1998 to 2002 in respect of areas where temporary resting and/or grub- bing-up measures are applied; whereas such areas should therefore be declared in the same way as areas planted,; Whereas areas planted must be declared no later than 31 May of the year of harvest; whereas this poses problems in the United Kingdom because of developments in produc- tion methods, whereby plants propagated from cuttings NSO SN NN N < 175, 4. 8. 1971, p. 1. 208, 2. 8. 1997, p. 1. 157, 30. 5. 1998, p. 7. 148, 30. 6. 1972, p. 11. 157, 30. 5. 1998, p. 104. 118, 20. 5. 1972, p. 19. 149, 14. 6. 1991, p. 13. SN 35 ASASASASASASAS: | onll ol ol ol ol ol o8 can be harvested in the same year as planting; whereas planting finishes in June and not in May; whereas the harvesting of hops propagated by this method involves only a small percentage of the total area under hops in the United Kingdom; whereas care should nevertheless be taken to prevent discrimination against producers applying that method and losing the aid as a result; whereas, to that end, provision should be made for a derogation for the United Kingdom, involving fixing the deadline for declaring areas at 30 June of the year of harvest; Whereas methods for determining areas under hops can vary from region to region; whereas the concept of ‘area planted’ should therefore be defined at Community level to ensure that the areas on which production aid is payable are calculated in the same way; Whereas caution must increasingly be exercised in the administration of pesticides and growers should accord- ingly be able to spray the outer rows of hopfields towards the inside of plantations in order to avoid affecting other crops; whereas allowance should accordingly be made for an extra strip of land along each side of hopfields; whereas hop-growing is easier if the length of the two headlands located at the ends of the hop rows and needed for manoeuvring agricultural machinery are set at eight metres, since the machines used nowadays are longer and require more manoeuvring space; Whereas the aid should be payable on hop cones only and not on whole young plants grown in nurseries; Whereas aid payments should also be subject to condi- tions ensuring that only producers who have properly tended and harvested their hops are eligible; Whereas an effective system for ensuring that the aid is justified and no duplicate payments are made should be introduced along the lines of the system provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated administration and