BETA

35 Amendments of Hynek FAJMON related to 2011/0280(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15

(15) The distribution of direct income support among farmers is characterised by the allocation of disproportionate amounts of payments to a rather small number of large beneficiaries. Due to economies of size, larger beneficiaries do not require the same level of unitary support for the objective of income support to be efficiently achieved. Moreover, the potential to adapt makes it easier for larger beneficiaries to operate with lower levels of unitary support. It is therefore fair to introduce a system for large beneficiaries where the support level is gradually reduced and ultimately capped to improve the distribution of payments between farmers. Such system should however take into account salaried labour intensity to avoid disproportionate effects on large farms with high employment numbers. Those maximum levels should not apply to payments granted to agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment since the beneficial objectives they pursue could be diminished as a result. In order to make capping effective, Member States should establish some criteria in order to avoid abusive operations by farmers seeking to evade its effects. The proceeds of the reduction and capping of payments to large beneficiaries should remain in the Member States where they were generated and should be used for financing projects with a significant contribution to innovation under Regulation (EU) No […] of the European Parliament and of the Council of….on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) [RDR].deleted

2012/07/18
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16

(16) In order to facilitate the implementation of capping, notably with regard to the procedures for granting direct payments to farmers and the corresponding transfers to rural development, net ceilings should be determined for each Member State to limit the payments to be made to farmers following the application of capping. To take into account the specificities of CAP support granted in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 247/2006 of 30 January 2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union and Council Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006 of 18 September 2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in favour of the smaller Aegean islands and amending Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, and the fact that these direct payments are not subject to capping, the net ceiling for the Member States concerned should not include those direct payments.deleted

2012/07/18
Committee: AGRI

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, James NICHOLSON, Hynek FAJMON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21 a (new)

(21a) Direct payments shall be distributed among Member States in such a way that each Member State receives, as a national ceiling, an amount corresponding to the number of hectares covered by direct- payment claims in 2013 multiplied by the average rate of direct payments in the whole of the European Union in 2013. Member States in which average direct payments per hectare exceed 110% of the average payments across the EU may apply additional payments from its national budget.

2012/07/18
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21 a (new)

(21a) Direct payments shall be distributed among Member States in such a way that each Member State receives, as an national ceiling, an amount corresponding to the number of hectares covered by direct-payment claims in 2013 multiplied by the average rate of direct payments in the whole of the European Union in 2013. Member States in which average direct payments per hectare exceed 110% of the average payments across the EU may apply additional payments from its national budget.

2012/07/18
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33

(33) Member States should be allowed to use part of their national ceilings for direct payments for coupled support in certain sectors in clearly defined cases. The resources that may be used for any coupled support should be limited to an appropriate level, while allowing such support to be granted in Member States or in their specific regions facing particular situations where specific types of farming or specific agricultural sectors are particularly important for economic, environmental and/or social reasons. Member States should be allowed to use up to 5 % of their national ceilings for this support, or 10 % in case their level of coupled support in at least one of the years of the period 2010- 2013 exceeded 5 %. However, in duly justified cases where certain sensitive needs in a region are demonstrated, and upon approval by the Commission, Member States should be allowed to use more than 10 establish their own level of support, which shall not exceed 15% of their national ceilings. Coupled support should only be granted to the extent necessary to create an incentive to maintain current levels of production in those regions or to support sectors or types of production that offer significant advantages in terms of environmental improvement, combating climate change or biodiversity. This support should also be available to farmers holding, on 31 December 2013, special payment entitlements allocated under Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 and who do not have eligible hectares for the activation of payment entitlements. As regards the approval of voluntary coupled support exceeding 10 % of the annual national ceiling fixed per Member State, the Commission should further be empowered to adopt implementing acts without applying Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point h

(h) ‘permanent grassland’ means land used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and that has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for ~~five~~ten years or longer; it may include other species suitable for grazing provided that the grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant;

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, James NICHOLSON, Hynek FAJMON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Direct payments shall be distributed among Member States in such a way that each Member State receives, as an national ceiling, an amount corresponding to the number of hectares covered by direct-payment claims in 2013 multiplied by the average rate of direct payments in the whole of the European Union in 2013. Member States in which average direct payments per hectare, calculated on the basis of payments in 2013, exceed 110% of the average payments across the EU may apply additional payments from its national budget in an amount not exceeding two- thirds of the difference between the average amount of the direct payments in those countries and the EU average in 2013.

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Direct payments shall be distributed among Member States in such a way that each Member State receives, as an national ceiling, an amount corresponding to the number of hectares covered by direct-payment claims in 2013 multiplied by the average rate of direct payments in the whole of the European Union in 2013. Member States in which average direct payments per hectare, calculated on the basis of payments in 2013, exceed 110% of the average payments across the EU may apply additional payments from its national budget in an amount not exceeding two- thirds of the difference between the average amount of the direct payments in those countries and the EU average in 2013.

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1

Without prejudice to Article 8, the total amount of direct payments which may be granted in a Member State pursuant to Titles III, IV and V in respect of a calendar year, ~~after application of Article 11,~~ shall not be higher than the ceilings set out in Annex III to this Regulation.

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2

~~2. For each Member State and each year, the estimated product of capping as referred to in Article 11, which is ref~~delected by the difference between the national ceilings set out in Annex II, to which is added the amount available in accordance with Article 44, and the net ceilings set out in Annex III, is made available as Union support for measures under rural development programming financed under the EAFRD as specified in Regulation (EU) No […] [RDR].

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. No direct payments shall be granted to natural or legal persons, or to groups of natural or legal persons, wh~~ere one of the following applies:~~ose main purpose of business is not agricultural activities, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria laid down by the Member State.

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point a

~~(a) the annual amount of direct payments is less than 5 % of the total receipts they obtained from non-agricultural activities in the most recent fiscal year; or~~deleted

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point b

(b) their agricultural areas are mainly areas naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation and they do not carry out on those areas the minimum activity established by Member States in accordance with Article 4(1)(c).deleted

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 11

Article 11 Progressive reduction and capping of the payment 1. The amount of direct payments to be granted to a farmer under this Regulation in a given calendar year shall be reduced as follows: – by 20 % for the tranche of more than EUR 150 000 and up to EUR 200 000; – by 40 % for the tranche of more than EUR 200 000 and up to EUR 250 000; – by 70 % for the tranche of more than EUR 250 000 and up to EUR 300 000; – by 100 % for the tranche of more than EUR 300 000. 2. The amount referred to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated by subtracting the salaries effectively paid and declared by the farmer in the previous year, including taxes and social contributions related to employment, from the total amount of direct payments initially due to the farmer without taking into account the payments to be granted pursuant to Chapter 2 of Title III of this Regulation. 3. Member States shall ensure that no payment is made to farmers for whom it is established that, as from the date of publication of the Commission proposal for this Regulation, they artificially created the conditions to avoid the effects of this Article.deleted

2012/07/19
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. Farmers entitled to a payment under the basic payment scheme referred to in Chapter 1 ~~shall~~may apply for a payment for agricultural practises beneficial for the climate and the environment, provided they observe on their eligible hectares as defined in Article 25(2) the following agricultural practises beneficial for the climate and the environment:

2012/07/23
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Member States may decide that farmers shall be entitled to the payment referred to in this Chapter if they meet one or more of the following criteria: - 100 % certified sustainable farming, - farms participating in determined agro- environmental programmes with at least 50 % of their agricultural area, - farms with at least 50 % of their agricultural area situated in Natura 2000 zones with specific restrictions to agricultural use based on the object of the protection.

2012/07/23
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 5

5. The payment referred to in paragraph 1 shall take the form of an annual payment per eligible hectare declared according to Article 26 (1), to farmers who have decided to participate in the payment scheme for agricultural practises beneficial for the climate and the environment, the amount of which shall be calculated annually by dividing the amount resulting from the application of Article 33 (1) by the total number of eligible hectares declared in the Member State concerned according to Article 26.

2012/07/23
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 1

1. Where the arable land of the farmer covers more than ~~3 hectares~~1/3 of the average size of agricultural holding of the Member State and is not entirely used for grass production (sown or natural), entirely left fallow or entirely cultivated with crops under water for a significant part of the year, cultivation on the arable land shall consist of at least three different crops. None of those three crops shall cover less than 5 % of the arable land and the main one shall not exceed 70 % of the arable land. This obligation shall not apply to agricultural holdings where the area of grassland covers more than 70 % of the total area of the holding.

2012/07/23
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1

~~Farmers shall maintain as permanen~~Member States shall ensure that agr~~assland the areas of their holdings declared as such in the application ma~~icultural land which was under p~~ursuant to Article 74(1) of Regulation (EU) No XXX (HZ) for claim year 2014, hereinafter referred to as ‘reference areas~~ermanent grassland for claim year 2014 is maintained under permanent grassland’.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new)

Farmers shall be allowed to renew their permanent grassland through cultivation. For the purpose of this paragraph, "permanent grassland" means land defined in Article 4(1)(h) which has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for 10 years or longer.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 3

3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 55 laying down rules concerning the increase of reference areas under permanent grassland as laid down in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, ~~the renewal of permanent grassland,~~ the reconversion of agricultural area into permanent grassland in case the authorised decrease referred to in paragraph 2 is exceeded, as well as the modification of the reference areas under permanent grassland in case of transfer of land.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 3

3. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 and to the application of financial discipline, ~~progressive reduction and capping,~~ linear reduction as referred in Article 7, and any reductions and exclusions imposed pursuant to Article 65 of Regulation (EU) No […] [HZR], the payment referred to in paragraph 1 shall be granted annually per eligible hectare situated in the areas to which Member States decided to grant a payment in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article and shall be paid upon activation of payment entitlements on those hectares held by the farmer concerned.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 1

1. Member States ~~shall~~may grant an annual payment to young farmers who are entitled to a payment under the basic payment scheme referred to in Chapter 1.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 3

3. Without prejudice to the application of financial discipline, ~~progressive reduction and capping,~~ linear reductions as referred in Article 7, and any reductions and exclusions imposed pursuant to Article 65 of Regulation (EU) No […] [HZR], the payment referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be granted annually upon activation of payment entitlements by the farmer.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2

Coupled support may be granted to the following sectors and productions: cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, grain legumes, fodder legumes, soya, flax, hemp, rice, nuts, starch potato, milk and milk products, seeds, sheepmeat, pork meat and goatmeat, beef and veal, olive oil, silk worms, dried fodder, hops, sugar beet, cane and chicory, fruit and vegetables and short rotation coppice.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2

Coupled support may be granted to the following sectors and productions: cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, grain legumes, flax, hemp, rice, nuts, starch potato, milk and milk products, seeds, sheepmeat and goatmeat, beef and veal, pork, olive oil, silk worms, dried fodder, hops, sugar beet, cane and chicory, fruit and vegetables and short rotation coppice.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 1

1. In order to finance the voluntary coupled support, Member States may decide, by 1 August of the year preceding the first year of implementation of such support, to use up to 15 % of their annual national ceiling set out in Annex II.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

2. ~~By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide to use up to 10 % of the annu~~Member States should be allowed to establish their own level of support, which shall n~~ational~~ot exceed the ceiling ~~set~~of 15% out lin ~~Annex II provided that:~~ed in (1).

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide to use up to 105 % of the annual national ceiling set out in Annex II provided that:

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 2 – point a

(a) they applied, until 31 December 2013, the single area payment scheme as laid down in Title V of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, or financed measures under Article 111 of that Regulation, or are concerned by the derogation provided for in Article 69(5), or, in the case of Malta, in Article 69(1) of that Regulation; and/ordeleted

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) they allocated, during at least one year in the period 2010-2013, more than 5 % of their amount available for granting the direct payments provided for in Titles III, IV and V of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, with the exception of Section 6 of Chapter 1 of Title IV, for financing the measures laid down in Section 2 of Chapter 2 of Title III of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the support provided for in points (i) to (iv) of paragraph 1(a) and paragraphs 1(b) and (e) of Article 68 of that Regulation, or the measures under Chapter 1, with the exception of Section 6, of Title IV of that Regulation.deleted

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 3

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Member States having allocated during at least one year in the period 2010-2013 more than 10 % of their amount available for granting the direct payments provided for in Titles III, IV and V of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, with the exception of Section 6 of Chapter 1 of Title IV, for financing the measures laid down in Section 2 of Chapter 2 of Title III of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the support provided for in points (i) to (iv) of paragraph 1(a) and paragraphs 1(b) and (e) of Article 68 of that Regulation, or the measures under Chapter 1, with the exception of Section 6, of Title IV of that Regulation may decide to use more than 10 % of the annual national ceiling set out in Annex II upon approval by the Commission in accordance with Article 41.deleted

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 47 – paragraph 2

2. PMember States may decide that payments under the small farmers scheme shall replace the payments to be granted pursuant to Titles III and IV.

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Proposal for a regulation
Article 47 – paragraph 4

4. Member States shall ensure that no payment is made to farmers for whom it is established that, as from the date of publication of the Commission proposal for this Regulation, they divide their holding with the sole purpose of benefiting from the small farmers scheme. This shall also apply to farmers whose holdings result from that division.deleted

2012/07/24
Committee: AGRI

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, James NICHOLSON, Hynek FAJMON

Proposal for a regulation
Annex II

[To be adjusted in accordance with the adoption/rejection of Article 6(1)]

2012/07/25
Committee: AGRI