26. 3. 96 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 76/29 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 28 February 1996 on a long-term national aid scheme to assist farmers in northern areas of Sweden (Only the Swedish text is authentic) (96/228/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, and in particular Article 142 thereof, Whereas in order to authorize Sweden to grant long-term national aid intended to ensure that agricultural activity is maintained in northern regions, those regions must be determined by the Commission; Whereas, in order to facilitate the administration of the scheme when determining those regions, it is appropriate to keep the communes and the four sub-regions defined in the Swedish system of aid to agriculture in northern areas in force before accession as the administrative units relevant for checking compliance with the determination criteria; " Whereas the regions selected are to cover the agricultural areas situated to the north of the 62nd parallel and some adjacent areas south of that parallel affected by compa- rable climatic conditions rendering agricultural activity particularly difficult; whereas, when determining those regions, account must be taken in particular of low popu- lation density, the agricultural area as a proportion of the overall surface area, and the agricultural area devoted to arable crops intended for human consumption as a proportion of the utilized agricultural area (UAA);, Whereas the foregoing elements lead, in the case of Sweden, to the list of administrative units in sub-regions 1, 2A, 2B and 3 provided for in this Decision, which units are either north of the 62nd parallel or adjacent to that parallel and affected by comparable climatic conditions rendering agricultural activity particularly difficult and have popultion densities of 10 inhabitants or fewer per square km, UAA considered to constitute 10 % or less of the overall surface area and a proportion 20 % or less of that UAA devoted to arable crops intended for human consumption; whereas it is appropriate that communes entirely surrounded by such areas be included in the list up to a maximum of two communes per enclave, even if they do not have the same characteristics; Whereas the northern area thus determined represents a UAA of 509 442 ha, which is 14 % of the total UAA in Sweden; Whereas on the basis of available national statistics, the reference period both for quantities and for the amount of support should be fixed as 1994 for the production of cows milk and of soft fruit and vegetables and as 1993 for other products; Whereas, for reasons of transparency, it is appropriate to indicate the volume of production per product in the abovementioned years; Whereas on 11 May 1995 Sweden submitted to the Commission details of the system of aid planned; whereas it subsequenty forwarded additional information; whereas this system provides for aid for cow’s milk, goats, pigs, laying hens and soft fruit and vegetables; whereas the level of aid planned means that the level of overall support applied during the selected reference period is not exceeded;