No L 269/38 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 10. 94 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 6 October 1994 amending Annex ] to Council Regulation (EEC) No 571/88 as regards Community surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings in the period 1995 to 1997 (94/677/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 571/88 of 29 February 1988 on the organization of Community surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings between 1988 and 1997 (), as last amended by Commission Deci- sion 93/156/EEC (3, and in particular Article 8 (1) thereof, Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 of 30 June 1992 on introducing support measures for the producers of certain agricultural crops (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 232/94 (%), provides for compensa- tory payments to be made to the producers of certain agricultural crops; whereas only those producers who have set aside a fixed percentage of their arable land have a claim to such payments; whereas those provisions thus create new forms of land use, in that agricultural utiliza- tion is linked with legal status, depending on whether or not the land qualifies for the aid; Whereas the structure of agricultural holdings has a major influence on farmers’ potential income, so that the effects of the new common agricultural policy measures on land () OJ No L 56, 2. 3. 1988, p. 1. () OJ No L 65, 17. 3. 1993, p. 12. () OJ No L 181, 1. 7. 1992, p. 12. (9 OJ No L 30, 3. 2. 1994, p. 7. use, production and economic potential of agricultural holdings need to be monitored ; Whereas the Community surveys on the structure of agri- cultural holdings laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 571/88 for the period 1988 to 1997 are the most appro- priate means of monitoring and analysing trends in statis- tical terms by relating the arable land set aside to other structural characteristics such as the age of the holder, the type of farming and holding size, the other crops and the number of livestock ; Whereas it is necessary, in view of the increasing demand for environmental information, to record set-aside arable land on the basis of an appropriate and harmonized clas- sification, binding on all Member States, in order to obtain statistical information ~which is comparable between Member States and over time; whereas it is therefore appropriate to add to the list of characteristics new survey characteristics concerning the agricultural areas for which farmers have obtained a compensatory payment ; Whereas the general structure of the list of characteristics should not be changed; whereas the areas for which a compensatory payment is granted may therefore need to be recorded both in the category corresponding to their agricultural use and in a separate category; Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Statistics,