Approval of RDPs by the Commission for the period 2000 to 2006

Approvazzjoni tal-PŻR mill-Kummissjoni għall-perijodu 2000-2006

-only partially ensured verifiability before approving RDPs (see paragraphs 32 to 35),

-assigurat il-verifikabilità parzjalment biss qabel ma approvat PŻR (ara paragrafi 32-35);

28. The Court analysed whether the Commission has ensured the verifiability of the agri-environment sub-measures before approving RDPs.

28. Il-Qorti analizzat jekk il-Kummissjoni kenitx assigurat il-potenzjal ta'verifika tas-sub-miżuri agro-ambjentali qabel ma approvat il-PŻR.

53. The design of the monitoring and evaluation system is set out in the legal basis, including for instance the inclusion in the RDPs of operational objectives and expected impacts, quantified where possible in terms of monitoring and evaluation estimates.

53. Id-disinn tas-sistema tal-monitoraġġ u ta'l-evalwazzjoni hija mniżżla fil-bażi legali, inkluż per eżempju l-inklużjoni fl-RDPs ta'l-objettivi tal-ħidma u l-impatti mistennija, ikkwantifikati fejn possibbli fit-termini ta'l-estmi tal-monitoraġġ u ta'l-evalwazzjoni.

27. A farmer who gives an AE undertaking relating to one part of a farm is required to adhere to at least the standard of usual good farming practice throughout the farm. Member States are required to define verifiable standards of GFP in their RDPs [18].

27. Bidwi li jimpenja ruħu skond l-AA għal parti minn għalqa huwa meħtieġ li jżomm ta'l-inqas ma'l-istandard ta'dik li hija prattika tajba abitwali ta'biedja fl-għalqa kollha. L-Istati Membri huma meħtieġa li jiddefinixxu standards tal-PBT li jistgħu jiġu vverifikati fil-PŻR tagħhom [18].

62. Compliance with a defined code of GFP throughout the beneficiary holding is a precondition for receiving AE payments. Such codes were introduced in RDPs for the period 2000 to 2006. It is required that the RDPs include verifiable standards, which entail compliance with general mandatory environmental requirements [37].

62. Il-ħarsien ta'kodiċi definit tal-PBT fl-ażjenda kollha tal-benefiċjarju hija kondizzjoni bil-quddiem biex jirċievi pagamenti AE. Kodiċi bħal dawn ġew imdaħħla fl-PŻRs għall-perijodu 2000-2006. Huwa meħtieġ li l-PŻRs jinkludu standards li jistgħu jiġu vverifikati, li jeħtieġu ħarsien tal-ħtiġijiet ambjentali obbligatorji ġenerali [37].

(b) The link between the Forestry Strategy and the individual projects co-financed by the EAGGF funds is ensured via the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs). The Commission verifies that programmes are in line with the Forestry Strategy. The national or regional authorities approve the individual projects on basis of the RDP.

b) Ir-relazzjoni bejn l-Istrateġija għall-Foresterija u l-proġetti individwali ffinanzjati b’mod konġunt mill-fondi ta'l-FAEGG hija żgurata permezz tal-Programmi ta'Żvilupp Rurali (RDPs). Il-Kummissjoni tivverifika li l-programmi jkunu konformi ma'l-Istrateġija għall-Foresterija. L-awtoritajiet nazzjonali jew reġjonali japprovaw il-proġetti individwali fuq il-bażi ta'l-RDP.

[28] Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 and Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 (OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1).[29] 69 operational programmes for Objective 1 regions plus the programme complements, 20 Objective 2 Single Programming Documents including EAGGF Guarantee measures, 68 RDPs EAGGF Guarantee and Leader +73 programmes.

65-69 Tisġir ta'art agrikola jiswa ħafna l-iktar minħabba l-kumpens għat-telf ta'introjtu fuq perjodu ta'għoxrin sena (Ekonomija)

31. For the period 2000-2006 the rural development programming consists of the following: 68 Rural Development Programmes – RDPs – (cofinanced by EAGGF-Guarantee), 69 Objective 1 regional programmes with rural development measures (EAGGF Guidance cofinanced) and 20 programmes for Objective 2 regions with rural development measures (EAGGF Guarantee cofinanced).

31. Fil-każ tal-perjodu 2000–2006, il-programmar ta'l-iżvilupp rurali jikkonsisti f’dan li ġej: 68 Programm ta'Żvilupp Rurali – jew RDPs – (ikkofinanzjati mit-taqsima Garanzija ta'l-EAGGF), 69 programm reġjonali tip Objettiv 1 b'miżuri ta'żvilupp rurali (ikkofinanzjati mit-taqsima Gwida ta'l-EAGGF) u 20 programm għal reġjuni tip Objettiv 2 b'miżuri ta'żvilupp rurali (ikkofinanzjati mit-taqsima Garanzija ta'l-EAGFF).

22. The Regulation also sets out how the programming of the rural development measures should be performed [14]. Member States design their RDP's according to specific needs and strategies. They should be drawn up at the geographical level deemed to be the most appropriate. Therefore the type of AE sub-measures and their weight in the RDPs can vary considerably.

22. Ir-Regolament ifassal ukoll kif il-programmazzjoni ta'miżuri ta'żvilupp rurali għandhom isiru [14]. Stati Membri jfasslu l-PŻR tagħhom skond bżonnijiet speċifiċi u strateġiċi. Għandhom jiġu mfassla fil-livell ġeografiku li huwa meqjus bħala l-aktar xieraq. Għaldaqstant it-tip ta'sub-miżuri AA u l-piż tagħhom fil-PŻR jista'jvarja konsiderevolment.

(c) At the beginning of the present programming period only few Member States had developed national forest programmes. In the absence of such programmes, it seemed justified to accept RDPs or OPs as equivalent instruments, a possibility which was provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999. However, Member States made progress over the last years in the formulation and implementation of their national forest programmes.

c) Fil-bidu tal-perjodu ta'programmazzjoni preżenti kienu ftit l-Istati Membri li żviluppaw programmi nazzjonali għall-foresti. Fin-nuqqas ta'programmi bħal dawn, kien jidher ġustifikat li l-RDPs jew OPs jiġu aċċettati bħala strumenti ekwivalenti, possibbiltà li kienet maħsuba fir-Regolament (KE) Nru 1257/1999. Madankollu, l-Istati Membri matul l-aħħar snin għamlu progess fil-formulazzjoni u l-implimentazzjoni tal-programmi nazzjonali għall-foresti tagħhom.

2. In a decision of the European Parliament and the Council "Towards sustainability", the integration of environmental concerns into the common agricultural policy (CAP) was identified as a priority [2]. As a response to this, and to similar proposals in Agenda 2000, the Commission issued a statement declaring that its programme for the period 2000 to 2006 would include "strengthened agri-environment measures as compulsory elements" of rural development programmes (RDP) [3]. Agri-environment (AE) is the only rural development measure that Member States are obliged to include in their RDPs.

2. F’Deċiżjoni tal-Parlament Ewropew u l-Kunsill lejn sostenibilità, l-integrazzjoni ta'importanzi ambjentali fil-Politika Agrikola Komuni (CAP) kienet identifikata bħala prijorità [2]. Bi tweġiba għal dan, u għal proposti simili fl-Aġenda 2000, il-Kummissjoni ħarġet stqarrija biex tiddikjara li l-programm tagħha għall-perijodu 2000-2006 ser jinkludi miżuri msaħħa agro-ambjentali bħala elementi obbligatorji ta'Programmi ta'Żvilupp Rurali (PŻR) [3]. L-Agro-ambjent (AA) huwa l-unika miżura ta'żvilupp rurali li l-Istati Membri huma obbligati jinkludu fil-PŻR tagħhom.

[11] 1. Austria RDP, region selected: Burgenland. 2. France RDP, Contrats territoriaux d'exploitation, département selected: Côte d'Or. 3. Germany: RDP of Baden-Württemberg: MEKA II. 4. Italy: RDP of Veneto and 5. Luxembourg.

[11] 1. PŻR Awstrija, reġjun magħżul: Burgenland. 2. PŻR Franza. Contrats territoriaux d'exploitation, département magħżul: Côte D'Or. 3. Ġermanja: PŻR ta'Baden Württemberg: MEKA II. 4. Italja: PŻR tal-Veneto u 5. il-Lussemburgu.

108. The Commission only ensured to a limited extent the verifiability of the AE sub-measures at the RDP approval stage and thus, has not identified those which have a high control risk (paragraphs 32 to 35).

108. Il-Kummissjoni assigurat biss għal skop limitat, il-verifikabilità tas-sub-miżuri AA fl-istadju li fih kienu qed jiġu approvati il-PŻR, u għadaqstant ma ġewx identifikati dawk li għandhom riskju ta'kontroll għoli (paragrafi 32-35).

15. The following Member States and regions were selected for on the spot visits on the basis of their size in the random sample. Outside Objective 1 regions [7]: France (national RDP), Germany (Niedersachsen), Italy (Emilia Romagna), the Netherlands (national RDP) and Spain (Catalonia). In Objective 1 regions: Germany (Brandenburg), Italy (Campania), Portugal (Lisboa Vale do Tejo) and Spain (National OP). The visits took place in the period June to October 2005.

15. L-Istati Membri u r-reġjuni li ġejjin intgħażlu fi żjarat fuq il-post fuq il-bażi tad-daqs tagħhom fil-kampjun meħud mingħajr regoli. Barra r-reġjuni ta'Objettiv 1 [7]: Franza (RDP nazzjonali), il-Ġermanja (Niedersachsen), l-Italja (Emilia Romagna), l-Olanda (RDP nazzjonali) u Spanja (Katalunja). Fir-reġjuni ta'Objettiv 1: il-Ġermanja (Brandenburg), l-Italja (Campania), il-Portugall (Lisboa Vale do Tejo) u Spanja (OP Nazzjonali). Iż-żjarat seħħew fil-perijodu Ġunju sa Ottubru 2005.

In Catalonia, until 2005 priority criteria were not applied for the measure improving the processing and marketing of agricultural products, and all eligible applications were co-financed. Because the funds were insufficient to do so at the public co-financing rate foreseen in the RDP, the rate was reduced significantly to an average of 15%. This increased the likelihood of deadweight — the beneficiaries had to finance 85% themselves. For two of the three companies visited, the annual accounts for the years after completion of the EU co-financed project showed that the companies had made additional investments for amounts exceeding the EU co-financed investments.

F’Katalonja, sa'l-2005 l-kriterji ta'prijorità ma kienux applikati għall-miżura li ttejjeb l-ipproċessar u l-bejgħ tal-prodotti agrikoli, u l-applikazzjonijiet eliġibbli kollha kienu koffinanzjati. Minħabba li l-fondi ma kienux biżżejjed sabiex jagħmlu dan ir-rata tal-koffinanzjar pubblika prevista fl-RDP, ir-rata tnaqqset b’mod sinifikanti għal medja ta'15%. Dan żied il-probabilità tad-deadweight — il-benefiċjarji kellhom jiffinanzjaw 85% innifishom. Għal tnejn minn tlieta mill-kumpaniji li żorna, il-kontijiet annwali għas-snin wara t-tlestija tal-proġett koffinanzjat ta'l-UE wrew illi l-kumpaniji għamlu investimenti oħra għall-ammonti li jaqbżu l-investimenti koffinanzjati mill-UE.

Reparcelling is generally considered as the rearrangement of parcels to improve farm structures and thus the economic viability of holdings. Under the Dutch RDP, this Article 33 indent is the financially most important measure. The lack of a detailed description in the Rural Development Regulation enables the Netherlands to use this indent as a means for the State to buy land for the purpose of nature development. The Commission approved RDP shows that from the amount allocated to this indent, 87 million euro should contribute to the objective of sustainable agriculture and 16 million euro to the objective of nature and landscape. However, the Court’s audit showed that in reality 86% of the funds had as main objective nature development and only 14% for sustainable agriculture. The flexibilty of the Regulation allows this situation. The consequence is a policy where it is unknown to which objective the funds have contributed.

It-tqassim mill-ġdid b’mod ġenerali jitqies bħala l-arranġament mill-ġdid tal-pakketti sabiex tittejjeb l-istruttura tar-razzett u b’hekk il-vijabilità ekonomika ta'l-intrapriżi. Skond l-RDP Olandiż, dan l-Artikolu 33 huwa l-miżura l-aktar importanti b’mod finanzjarju. In-nuqqas ta'deskrizzjoni dettaljata fir-Regolament ta'l-Iżvilupp Rurali jgħin l-Olanda tuża dan l-inċiż bħala mezz għall-Istat sabiex jixtri l-art għall-iskop ta'l-iżvilupp tan-natura. L-RDP approvat tal-Kummissjoni juri li mill-ammont allokat għal dan l-inċiż, 87 miljun euro għandhom jingħataw għall-objettiv ta'agrikoltura sostenibbli u 16-il miljun euro għall-objettiv ta'l-agrikoltura sostenibbli u pajsaġġi. Madankollu, il-verifika tal-Qorti turi li fir-realtà 86% tal-fondi kellha bħala objettiv prinċipali l-iżvilupp tan-natura u 14% biss għall-agrikoltura sostenibbli. Il-flessibilità tar-Regolament tippermetti din is-sitwazzjoni. Il-konsegwenza hija politika fejn mhuwiex magħruf għal liema objettiv taw kontribut il-fondi.

RDP rural development programme.

RDP Programm ta'l-Iżvilupp Rurali.

35. In order to fulfil its responsibilities, the Commission should evaluate the verifiability of the sub-measures when approving the RDP's. Unless the Commission does so, it has no assurance that Member States can administer the scheme correctly and ensure that those receiving AE compensatory payments farm in the ways they undertook to do. This evaluation would also identify those sub-measures with high control risks.

35. Biex taderixxi mar-responsabbiltajiet tagħha, il-Kummissjoni għandha tivvaluta l-verifikazzjoni tas-sub-miżuri meta tapprova l-PŻR. Jekk il-Kummissjoni ma tagħmilx hekk, m’għandha l-ebda assigurazzjoni li l-Istati Membri jistgħu jamministraw l-iskema kif suppost u jassiguraw li dawk li qegħdin jirċievu ħlas ta'kumpens AA jkomplu jaħdmu r-raba'bil-modi li mpenjaw irwieħom bihom. Din il-valutazzjoni tidentifika ukoll dawk is-sub-miżuri li għandhom riskji għolja ta'kontroll.

32. In 2000 and 2001 the Commission carried out analyses of the RDP's submitted by the Member States for the period 2000 to 2006. However, the analysis only included to a limited extent ensuring that the AE sub-measures proposed could be effectively and efficiently verified.

32. Fl-2000 u l-2001 il-Kummissjoni għamlet analiżi tal-PŻR sottomessi mill-Istati Membri għall-perijodu 2000-2006. Madanakollu, l-analiżi kienet tinkludi biss għal skop limitat li wieħed jassigura li s-sub-miżuri AA proposti setgħu jiġu vverifikati b’mod effettiv u effiċjenti.