Common agricultural policy CAP: common rules for direct support schemes, and certain support schemes for farmers

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers.  

PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.

CONTENT: pursuant to Article 138 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (see CNS/2003/0006), to qualify for direct payments an animal shall be identified and registered in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000. Pursuant to this Regulation, each keeper of animals shall report to the competent authority all movements to and from the holding and all births and deaths of animals on the holding, along with the dates of these events, within a period fixed by the Member State of between three and seven days of the event occurring.

The aim of the proposal is to clarify the scope of the obligation of identifying and registering the animals for the purpose of granting the beef and veal payments, by amending Article 138 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.

As a result of the proposed amendment, an animal should be deemed eligible for the payment where the reporting obligations laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 have been eventually complied with at the latest at the time of the beginning of the animal's retention period, notwithstanding identification and registration requirements.

Furthermore, since the reference period established for the management of the payments at stake is the calendar year, this amendment should be applicable as from 1 January 2008 in order to apply to all those payments during the whole calendar year 2008.