Key Benefits:
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782 / 2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support regimes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending regulations (EEC) No. 2019 / 93, (EC) No. 1452 / 2001, (EC) No. 1453 / 2001, (EC) No. 1454 / 2001, (EC) No. 1868 / 94, (EC) No.
Considering Commission Regulation (EC) No. 796 / 2004 of 21 April 2004 amended on the terms and conditions for the application of conditionality, modulation and the integrated management and control system provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782 / 2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support regimes within the framework of common agricultural policy and establishing certain support regimes for farmers;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698 / 2005 of 20 September 2005 amended on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (FEADER);
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1974 / 2006 of 15 December 2006 on the modalities for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698 / 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (FEADER);
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1975/2006 of 7 December 2006 concerning the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 with respect to the application of control and conditionality procedures for measures to support rural development;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 479 / 2008 of 29 April 2008 concerning the joint organization of the wine market, amending regulations (EC) No 1493 / 1999, (EC) No 1782 / 2003, (EC) No 1290 / 2005 and (EC) No 3 / 2008 and repealing regulations (EEC) No 2392 / 86 and (EC) No 1493 / 1999;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 73 / 2009 of 19 January 2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers in the context of the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, amending regulations (EC) No 1290 / 2005, (EC) No 247 / 2006 and (EC) No 378 / 2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782 / 2003 and its texts (EC) No.
In view of Commission decision C (2007) 3446 approving the hexagonal rural development programme for the 2007-2013 programming period;
In view of the rural code, including books III and VI (regulatory party);
Given the environmental code, including its articles L. 214-1 to L. 214-6 and L. 214-8,
Decrete:
Section 4 of Chapter I of Title IV of Book III of the Rural Code (regulatory part) is amended as follows:
1° Section D. 341-14-1 is amended as follows:
(a) II is replaced by the following:
“II. ― Cases of non-compliance with the obligations set out in the 3rd of section D. 341-10 are classified by order of the Minister for Agriculture in two sub-assemblies relating to the fertilization and use of phytopharmaceutical products, which are respectively linked to the "environment" field and to the field of control "health-plant productions" defined in the II of section D. 615-57.
The decision referred to in the first paragraph affects non-compliance with a percentage value that takes into account their severity, extent and persistence.
Cases of minor non-compliance, as defined in the second paragraph V of Article D. 615-57, are determined in the same order and their specified compliance period. »
(b) After II, it is inserted a III as follows:
"III. ― Where, as part of the compliance control referred to in I and II, cases of non-compliance are found, the applicable reduction rate is determined as follows:
1° If, for a given subset, several cases of non-compliance are found, the applicable reduction percentage is that of the percentages assigned to these cases with the highest value.
However, for the same subset, where all cases of affected non-compliance of the highest and most relevant percentage for the operation are found, the reduction percentage for this subset is set at 5%;
2° In case of control of a single subset, the applicable reduction rate is the percentage of reduction determined under the conditions defined in 1°;
3° In the case of control of the two sub-assemblies, the applicable reduction rate is the highest of the percentages of reduction determined for each of them, under the conditions defined at 1°.
The Prefect shall apply the reduction rate to the amount of the annual payments referred to in Article D. 341-21, as defined in the second and third paragraphs of Article D. 615-59 and Article D. 615-61. »
2° Section D. 341-21 is amended as follows:
(a) In the first paragraph, after the words: "in section D. 615-45" are inserted the words: "and to meet the additional requirements relating to the fertilization and use of phytopharmaceutical products set by order of the Minister for Agriculture, on the whole of its operation";
(b) The second paragraph shall be replaced by the following:
"The compliance with management requirements and good agricultural and environmental conditions is monitored under the conditions set out in sections D. 615-52 to D. 615-56 and payments may be reduced under the conditions set out in sections D. 615-57 to D. 615-61.
These provisions are also applicable, subject to necessary modifications, to the monitoring of compliance with the complementary requirements relating to the fertilization and use of phytopharmaceutical products. The authorities referred to in I of Article D. 615-52 are designated as specialized monitoring bodies for the verification of compliance with the additional requirements for fertilization practices. The authorities referred to in the III of Article D. 615-52 are designated as specialized monitoring bodies for the verification of compliance with the additional requirements for the use of phytopharmaceutical products. »
Section 4 of Chapter V of Book VI title I of the Rural Code (regulatory part) is amended as follows:
1° Section D. 615-45 is replaced by the following provisions:
"Art.D. 615-45.-In accordance with sections 4 to 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 73 / 2009 of 19 January 2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers in the framework of common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, the perception of all direct payments referred to in Annex I to this Regulation is subject to compliance with the management requirements within the meaning of Article
2° Section D. 615-46 is replaced by the following provisions:
"Art.D. 615-46.-I. ― Farmers who request the aids referred to in Article D. 615-45 are required to establish a minimum area for environmental coverage.
The use of mineral or organic fertilizers as well as chemical pesticides on areas dedicated to environmental cover is prohibited.
When a watercourse passes or edges the farm surface of the farm, the environmental cover referred to in the first paragraph is priorityd along this watercourse, with the exception of areas bordered by multi-year, multi-year, sintered or wooded areas of a width of five metres or more.
II. ― An order of the Minister for Agriculture shall specify the conditions and terms and conditions for the application of this section, including the terms and conditions for calculating the minimum surface, the dates of implantation as well as the periods for maintaining the environmental cover, the minimum dimensions of the parcels for environmental cover, the types of watercourses and environmental cover. This order also defines cases in which the prefect may derogate from certain provisions that he or she sets or supplements them due to local circumstances.
In each department, the Prefect sets out the list of authorized environmental covers, the usual standards for the fixed elements of the landscape that can be taken into account in areas dedicated to environmental coverage. It also defines the width and maintenance rules of hedges that are not subject to usual standards and are part of the environmental cover, as well as the water courses taken into account in the department for the implementation of the obligations referred to in the third paragraph of the I.
When warranted by wildlife protection, the prefect may, by derogation from the treatment prohibition referred to in the second paragraph of the I, authorize specific adventitious control techniques for environmental cover, taking into account the various environmental issues. However, no derogation may be granted for surfaces referred to in the third paragraph of I.
In the event of exceptional climatic circumstances in the department and after the agreement of the Minister for Agriculture, the prefect may determine by order derogations from the obligations under this section for the areas concerned. »
3° Section D. 615-48 is replaced by the following provisions:
"Art.D. 615-48.-I. ― Farmers who request the aids referred to in Article D. 615-45 are required to ensure a diversity of crops on the useful agricultural area of their farm. The obligation referred to in the preceding paragraph does not apply to consecrated areas:
- the perennial and multi-year cultures that occupy the land for five years or more;
- permanent pastures and temporary grasslands in place for five years or more;
- the wooded surfaces referred to in the ii of the 2 of Article 34 of the aforementioned Regulation of 19 January 2009;
- to perennial or multi-year non-food crops under contract declared in industrial gel.
II. ― Where the farm does not meet the requirement for the diversity of crops referred to in I, the farmer is bound either to an obligation to cover the winter of the soil, or to an obligation to manage crop residues over the entire area of the farm determined in accordance with I.
III. ― An order of the Minister for Agriculture determines the content of the obligation relating to the diversity of crops, the obligations for the winter cover of soil and the management of crop residues referred to in II and the dates for the establishment of the covers. »
4° Article D. 615-49 is amended as follows:
(a) The words: "are held, when they seek help for their irrigated surfaces of oily cereals and proteins," are replaced by the words: "and that irrigate annual, multi-year or perennial crops are held";
(b) The words "L. 214-11" are replaced by the words "L. 214-6 and L. 214-8";
(c) After the first preambular paragraph, a second preambular paragraph was inserted: "An order by the Minister for Agriculture sets out the list of the irrigated crops concerned. »
5° Section D. 615-50 is replaced by the following provisions:
"Art.D. 615-50.-I.- Farmers who request the assistance referred to in Article D. 615-45 are required to comply with the land maintenance rules for each land category.
II.-A prefectural order defines for the following categories of earth the maintenance rules mentioned in I:
- for grass surfaces, the conditions of their maintenance by pasture or faluche;
―for olive groves, routing modalities and maintenance;
- for wooded lands that give rise to the payment of assistance to afforestation of agricultural lands or to sylvo-environmental payments referred to in Articles 45 and 47 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1698 / 2005 of 20 September 2005 concerning support to rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (FEADER), the modalities of their maintenance;
―for grass surfaces declared in temporary meadows, permanent or estive pastures, the maintenance rules are based on one or more of the following obligations: minimum loading, pasture as well as annual hawk, which is accompanied by the obligation to prove that the product of this hawk was removed from the plot.
III. ― The rules for the maintenance of annual, multi-year or perennial crops correspond to the rules for flowering or growing crops set by Regulation (EC) No 73 / 2009 of January 19, 2009. The rules for the maintenance of frozen lands, including lands excluded from the benefit of large crops under the voluntary freeze, are those set out in Regulation (EC) No 1782 / 2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers. These rules may be supplemented by an order of the Minister for Agriculture.
The Prefectural Order referred to in I lists all applicable community and national rules for these lands.
In the absence of community or national rules, the maintenance rules for the department's most important crops are consistent with good local practices.
IV. ― In the event of exceptional climatic circumstances in the department and after the agreement of the minister responsible for agriculture, the prefect may determine by order derogations from certain obligations relating to land maintenance for the areas concerned. »
6° In Article D. 615-55, the words: "23 of Regulation (EC) No. 1782 / 2003 of 29 September 2003" are replaced by the words: "20 of Regulation (EC) No. 73 / 2009 of 19 January 2009".
7° In Article D. 615-56, the words: "III of the Regulations of 29 September 2003" are replaced by the words: "II of Regulation (EC) No 73 / 2009 of 19 January 2009".
8° Section D. 615-57 is replaced by the following provisions:
"Art.D. 615-57.-I. ― For the purposes of section 23 of the regulations of January 19, 2009 and chapters II and III of Title IV of the above-mentioned Regulations of April 21, 2004, an order of the Minister responsible for agriculture class by domain and sub-domain sub-divided, if any, in checkpoints all cases of non-compliance with the regulatory requirements for management referred to in section D. 615-45 or good agricultural and environmental conditions 2.
II. ― Cases of non-compliance with environmental requirements are classified as sub-domains related to:
– the conservation of wild birds, natural habitats and wildlife;
- protection of groundwater from pollution caused by certain hazardous substances;
― the protection of the environment, and especially soils, when using sludge in agriculture;
– protection of water from nitrate pollution from agricultural sources.
III. ― Cases of non-compliance with the "public health, animal and plant health" requirements are grouped into two control areas known as "vegetal health-productions" and "animal health-productions":
(a) Cases of non-compliance with the "health-vegetal" control requirements are classified as relative sub-domain:
- the use of phytopharmaceutical products;
- good practices ensuring the health safety of primary plant productions;
(b) Cases of non-compliance with the "health and animal production" control requirements are classified as related sub-areas:
good practices ensuring the health safety of primary animal productions;
― prohibiting the use of certain livestock substances;
- in the fight against animal diseases other than communicable spongiform encephalopathies;
- the prevention, control and eradication of communicable spongiform encephalopathies;
- the identification and registration of cattle, pigs, sheep and caprins respectively.
IV. ― Cases of non-compliance with the "protection and animal welfare" requirements are classified as related sub-areas:
- the rules concerning all livestock, except for calves and pigs;
- the rules concerning veal farms;
- the rules concerning pig farms.
V. ― The decision referred to in I affects cases of non-compliance a percentage value that takes into account their severity, extent and persistence. With respect to the "protective and animal welfare" domain, a separate percentage value is assigned to each control point of the same sub-domain, depending on the number of non-conformities found.
For the purposes of 2 of Article 24 of the aforementioned Regulation of 19 January 2009, the same Order shall determine, taking into account their seriousness, extent and persistence, the cases of non-compliance considered as minors and the time limit in which it may be corrected in accordance with 2 ter of Article 66 of the amended Regulation (EC) No 796 / 2004 of the Commission of 21 April 2004 relating to the application of the conditionality, »
9° Section D. 615-58 is replaced by the following provisions:
"Art.D. 615-58.-Where, for one or more of the areas referred to in section D. 615-57, cases of non-compliance are found during the monitoring of compliance with the good agricultural and environmental conditions referred to in subsection 2 and compliance with the regulatory requirements referred to in section D. 615-57 II, a percentage reduction is determined for each domain.
When, for a given domain, a number of cases of non-compliance are found, the applicable reduction percentage is the percentage of those cases with the highest value.
However, for the same area of control, where all cases of affected non-compliance of the highest percentage and relevant to the operation are found, the reduction percentage applicable to this area is set at 5%. »
10° Section D. 615-59 is amended as follows:
(a) The first two paragraphs are replaced by the following:
"The rate of reduction of direct payments under conditionality, as defined in the regulations of January 19, 2009 referred to above, is equal to the sum of the percentages of reduction by domain determined under the provisions of section D. 615-58, within the limit of 5%, except in case of repeated or intentional non-compliance.
Where a case of repeated non-compliance within the meaning of a of section 41 of the above-mentioned regulation of April 21, 2004 is found, the percentage assigned to this case is obtained by tripling the percentage referred to in the first paragraph of the V of section D. 615-57. This reduction rate is capped to 15% except in case of intentional abnormality. »
(b) In the third paragraph, the words: "The order referred to in section D. 615-57" are replaced by the words: "An order of the Minister for Agriculture".
11° Article D. 615-60 is deleted.
After the article R. 665-16 of the rural code, an article D. 665-17 is inserted as follows:
"Art.D. 665-17.-In accordance with sections 20 and 103 of Council Regulation (EC) No 479 / 2008 of 29 April 2008 concerning the joint organization of the wine market, the payment of assistance to the restructuring and conversion of the vineyards and the routing bonus referred to in Articles 11 and 98 of this Regulation is subject to compliance with the regulatory requirements for the management and good agricultural and environmental conditions referred to in Article 645
Compliance with these requirements is monitored under the conditions set out in sections D. 615-52 to D. 615-56 and payments may be reduced under the conditions set out in sections D. 615-57 to D. 615-61. »
The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for the execution of this Order, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done in Paris, April 30, 2009.
François Fillon
By the Prime Minister:
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries,
Michel Barnier
