(1)

Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 defines the rules for the coupled support for fruit and vegetables. Chapters 10g and 10h of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 provide for transitional fruit and vegetable payments and the transitional soft fruit payment. It is therefore necessary to lay down detailed rules with regard to the granting of these aids.

(2)

Article 143c of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 allows new Member States to complement Community direct payments. A number of direct payments have been fully or partially included in the single payment scheme in all Member States other than those new Member States that are still applying the single area payment scheme. Having regards to such developments in the implementation of the single payment scheme, the experience with the application of the complementary national direct payments shows, that new Member States had encountered some difficulties applying the rules provided for in Article 143c of that Regulation. Therefore, for reason of increased clarity, it is appropriate to provide further precision to the meaning of certain terms used in Article 143c(2) and (7) of that Regulation.

(3)

Section I point E of Annex VIII to the Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania lays down the possibility to grant support to farmers eligible for complementary national direct payments in Bulgaria and Romania as part of the temporary additional rural development measure. It is appropriate, that in case of Community contribution, Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 (2), which has laid down detailed rules for the implementation of cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, applies to such complementary national direct payments. Such provision should apply from the date of accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union.

(4)

Paragraph 3 of Article 110u and paragraph 2 of Article 110v of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 provide that the aids provided for in those Articles are granted on the condition that processing contract is concluded. For that purpose, it is appropriate to require that a contract must be concluded with respect to the agricultural raw materials concerned, between, on the one hand, an approved first processor, and, on the other hand, a producer or a recognised producer organisation representing him or, in the case of the transitional fruit and vegetables payments and the transitional soft fruit payment, an approved collector representing the producer.

(5)

To ensure that the raw material benefiting from the transitional fruit and vegetable payments and the transitional soft fruit payment is finally processed, it appears appropriate to set up a system of approval of first processors and collectors. Such authorised operators would have to comply with minimum requirements and would be sanctioned in case of non-compliance with their obligations, according to detailed rules to be set up at national level by the competent authorities.

(6)

In order to be able to manage the financial envelope for transitional fruit and vegetable payments appropriately, Member States should fix early in the year an indicative aid amount per hectare and, before the time period for payments, a final aid amount per hectare.

(7)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 (3) should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Direct Payments,

1.

In Article 1(1), the following point (t) is added:

2.

Article 2(1) is replaced by the following:

3.

In Article 2(2), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘The direct payment referred to in Article 1(a), (b), (c), (h) (j) and (t) shall be granted only for the areas entirely sown or planted and on which all normal cultivation conditions have been performed in accordance with local standards.’;

4.

In Article 3(1)(e) the following point (v) is added:

5.

After Article 139, the following Article is inserted:

6.

Article 140(1) is replaced by the following:

7.

After Chapter 17c, the following Chapter 17d is inserted:

(*1)   OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 29."

(*2)   OJ L 273, 17.10.2007, p. 1.’ "