Proposal for a Council Directive on the list of less- favoured farming areas within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 (Denmark)
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 11. 11. 1997 COM(97) 575 final 97/0308 (CNS) Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on the Hst of less-favoured farming areas within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 (Denmark) (presented by the Commission) EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM The Danish Government has sent the Commission, in accordance with Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 95()A>7, a list of islands suitable lor inclusion in the Community list of less-favoured farming areas and information on the particular features of these areas. The permanent natural and geographical handicaps existing in the Danish islands result in higher production and transport costs. The extra costs, estimated by the Danish authorities at more than ECU 0. 98 million, prevent farmers in these areas from obtaining from their production income on a level with that obtained by comparable farmers elsewhere in the Member State. The areas must be defined in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 950/97 under less-favoured areas with specific natural handicaps which (Article 25) where farming needs to be continued in order to preserve the countryside. islands can be deemed Incomes from farming in these less-favoured agricultural areas are low. Thirty Danish islands representing around 23 350 ha of farm land satisfy the two-fold requirement of remoteness and a farming income below the national average (87% to 90%). The application of these indices produces a cover of 0. 84% of the utilised agricultural area of Denmark. The areas with specific natural handicaps do not exceed 4% of the surface area of the country as provided for under Community rules (1. 1 %). The Community contribution towards expenditure on compensatory allowances (estimated at ECU 0. 25 million/year) will be taken into consideration as part of the overall amount provided for in respect of Objective 5(a) of the Structural Funds and the forecasts for aid applications drawn up in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1025/94 in respect of measures eligible under Regulation (EEC) No 950/97. ^ COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of on the Hst of less-favoured farming areas within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 (Denmark) (Only the Danish version is authentic) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 950/97 of 20 May 1997 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures1, and in particular Article 21(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2, Whereas the permanent natural and geographical handicaps existing in the Danish islands result in higher production and transport costs that prevent farmers in these areas from obtaining from their production income on a level with that obtained by comparable farmers elsewhere in the Member State; Whereas the Danish Government has sent the Commission, in accordance with Article 21(1) of Regulation (EC) No 950/97, a list of islands suitable for inclusion in the Community list of less- favoured farming areas and information on the particular features of these areas; Whereas, with a view to identifying the areas affected by specific natural handicaps that can be deemed less-favoured areas as referred to in Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97, all islands of less than 600 km2 on which adverse natural conditions contribute to a farming income below the national average have been selected; 1 OJNoL142, 2. 6. 1997, p. 1. 2OJNo all islands of less than 600 km2 on which adverse natural conditions contribute to a farming income below the national average have been selected; Whereas the total surface area of the relevant areas docs not exceed 4% of the total surface area of the Member State in question; Whereas the nature and level of the above indices used by the Government of Denmark to define the areas notified to the Commission correspond to the characteristics of the areas affected by specific handicaps referred to in Article 25 or Regulation (EC) No 950/97, HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: Article The list of less-favoured farming areas in Denmark shall be that contained in the Annex to this Directive and shall be included in the Community list of less-favoured farming areas within the meaning of Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97. Article 2 This Directive is addressed to the Kingdom of Denmark. Done at Brussels, For the Council The President LJ PROPOSED DANISH ISLANDS LESS FAVOURED AREAS REQUESTED Danske 0 er Island name Landarealer Land area Krn^ Landbrugsarealer UAA ha de SAU 1 SAMSO(l) 2 LAESO 3 FANO(3) Sub-total: 3 main ISLANDS 4 AGERSO (4), incl. Egholm 5 ANHOLT 6 ASKO, incl. Lilleo 7 AVERNAKO 8 BARSO 9 BIRKHOLM 10 BJORNO 11 BAAGO 12 DREJO 13 EGHOLM [NordjyIIandsamt. ](*) 14 ENDELAVE 15 FEJO (5), incl. SKALO 16FEMO(5) 17 FUR (2) 18 HJARNO 19 HJORTO 20 LYO 21 MANDO(3) 22 NEKSELO 23 OMO 24 ORO 25 SEJERO 26 SKARO 27 STRYNO 28 TUNO(l) 29 VENO (2) 30 AARO Sub-total OTHER ISLANDS TOTAL OF REQUEST TOTAL DK L. F. A. REQUEST in (%) 4% de 43 077 Km2 = / 723 Km2 (*) Islands in the same archipelago. 114,3 113,8 5^8 283,9 7,83 22,37 3,88 5,85 2,66 0,92 1,50 6,23 4,28 6,00 13,08 16,00 11,38 22,29 3,21 0,90 6,05 7,63 2,23 4,52 15,02 12,37 1,97 4,88 3,52 6,46 5,68 199 482,6 43 076,7 | 1,1% | 7 831 2466 929 11 226 709 4 215 289 232 84 158 566 235 448 800 1424 1009 1100 287 90 371 547 214 337 1200 557 112 340 270 372 150 12 120 23 346 2 770 000 0,84% FINANCIAL STATEMENT 1. TITLE OF OPERATION Proposal for a Council Directive on the list of less-favoured farming areas within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 (Denmark). 1. BUDCET HEADING INVOLVED (1996 NOMENCLATURE) Article B2-100 Items B2-1001 B2-1002 3. LECAL BASIS operations, Structural Community Support Frameworks. Objective 5(a) (outside 1 and 5(b) areas) Objective 5(a) (in 5(b) areas) EAGGF Guidance Section, Article 42 of the EC Treaty. Council Regulation (EC) No 950/97. 4. DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION Objectives The purpose of the proposal is to define the areas of Denmark affected by specific natural handicaps as referred to in Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97. These areas need to be defined specifically for the grant of the compensatory allowance in respect of the natural handicaps provided for in Articles 17, 18 and 19 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 and for the grant of specific aid for sheep farming and goat farming in certain less-favoured areas under Regulation (EEC) No 1743/91. Period covered In view of the permanent nature of the natural handicaps affecting the less-favoured areas, the duration of the proposed definition is not limited. 5. CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE Non-compulsory expenditure Differentiated appropriations 6. Type of expenditure involved Under the existing rules provision is made for part-financing of 25% of eligible public expenditure subject to the forecasts made for the period 1994-99 for Objective 5(a) expenditure in general and, under Regulation (EC) No 950/97 in particular, subject to the forecasts made pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1025/94. 7. FINANCIAL IMPACT The proposal is for the classification of 23 346 ha of utilised agricultural area of which 8 294 ha and 5 985 LU would be eligible for the compensatory allowances referred to in Articles 17, 18 and 19 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 on the basis of the estimates of the Danish Ministry of Agriculture. The average aid envisaged by Denmark is ECU 75/ha and ECU 60/LU. The eligible public expenditure arising from the application of the compensatory allowance scheme can be estimated at some ECU 0. 981 million per year, which would involve a cost to the Community budget of ECU 0. 245 million, broken down into Objective 5(a) in 5(b) regions (ECU 0. 245 million) and Objective 5(a) in 5(a) areas only (ECU 0. 00 million). The specific aid for sheep farming is detailed in the Annex. These amounts are subject to the general provisions lor the financial implementation of the Structural Funds, and in particular to Articles 29 to 38 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 and should be included with the amounts provided for under Regulation (EC) No 1025/94 on the expenditure forecasts for Objective 5(a) for the period 1994-99. Indicative schedule of appropriations Year Total amount granted Item B2-1001 Item B2-1002 (Ob. 5(a) in 5(a) areas) (Ob. 5(a) regions) in 5(b) 1998 1999 ECU 0. 98m ECU 0. 98m pm pm ECU 0. 25m ECU 0. 25m NB The specific aid lor sheep farming will be covered by the EA(i(il; Guarantee Section from 1999. For subsequent years, expenditure eligible for Community financing should be the same since no structural change is expected. 8. Fraud prevention measures The compensatory allowance scheme is subject to Articles 23 (financial control) and 24 (reduction, suspension and cancellation of assistance) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 on the coordination of the Structural Funds. Since structural assistance is involved, Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 on irregularities and the recovery of amounts unduly paid also applies. In addition, the compensatory allowance scheme under Article 19(l)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 950/97 is covered by the integrated administration and control system introduced by Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92. 9. Eléments of cost-effectiveness analysis Objectives of the operation Some Danish islands are affected by permanent natural and geographical handicaps resulting in higher production and transport costs that prevent farmers in these areas from obtaining from their production income on a level with that obtained by comparable farmers elsewhere. The final beneficiaries of compensatory allowances in Denmark are farmers in less- favoured areas. The number of eligible holdings is estimated by Denmark to be 996, each beneficiary receiving average compensatory aid of around ECU 1 090/year of which ECU 250 is borne by the Community budget. Grounds for the operation Regulation (EC) No 950/97 acknowledges that mountain and other less-favoured farming areas affected by permanent natural handicaps should be defined. The Danish Government has sent the Commission a list of islands suitable for inclusion in the Community list and information on their particular features. The nature and level of the indices used to define the areas notified to the Commission correspond to the characteristics of the areas referred to in Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97. Incomes from farming in these small Danish islands are low. On account of their remoteness the islands will be deemed less-favoured areas affected by specific handicaps where farming must be continued in order to conserve the countryside (Article 25). 8 Result The application of these indices produces a cover of 0. 84% of the utilised agricultural area of Denmark, i. e. around 23 346 ha. The areas with s|Xicific handicaps do not exceed 4% of the surface area of the country (1. 1%). Procedure The Commission is required, under Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 950/97, to forward a proposal to the Council. Strictly speaking, the operation is not a new one and, in accordance with the rules in force, there is no alternative to this form of assistance or Community financing. Monitoring and evaluation of the operation Since structural assistance is involved, Articles 25 (monitoring) and 26 (assessment) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 on the coordination of the Structural Funds apply. Coherence with financial programming Funding will be provided from the budget allocation of ECU 127 million (1994 prices) for the agricultural part of Objective 5(a) for the period 1994-99 in Denmark established in Commission Decision 94/279/EC. O ANNEX Specific aid for sheep farming and goat farming in certain less-favoured areas Specific aid for sheep farming and goat farming of ECU (A) 6. 641 per head is provided for under Regulation (EEC) No 1323/90, as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 363/93. Given a total of 399 sheep, the cost to the EAGGF Guarantee Section is ECU (A) 2 650 or ECU (B) 0. 003 million. This calculation assumes payment of the premium from the 1998 marketing year. On the basis of the traditional pattern of payments in Denmark, the premium will be paid after the end of the 1998 marketing year and the expenditure will be charged to the 1999 budget. Cost - 1998 and subsequent marketing years Budget (ECU million) ( 12 months) ECU 0. 007 m 1998 - 1999 0. 003 2000 etc. 0. 003 ISSN 0254-1475 COM(97) 575 final DOCUMENTS EN 03 13 Catalogue number : CB-CO-97-591-EN-C ISBN 92-78-26890-9 Office for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg •i-i