Official Journal of the European Union

C 13/7

(Case C-152/09) (<span class="super">1</span>)

(Common agricultural policy - Integrated administration and control system for certain aid schemes - Single payment scheme - Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 - Calculation of payment entitlements - Article 40(5) - Farmers who were under agri-environmental commitments during the reference period - Article 59(3) - Regional implementation of the single payment scheme - Article 61 - Different per-unit values for hectares under permanent pasture and for any other hectare eligible for aid)

2011/C 13/11

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: André Grootes

Defendant: Amt für Landwirtschaft Parchim

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Verwaltungsgericht Schwerin — Interpretation of Article 40(5) of Council 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 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 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001 (<a href="./../../../../legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=OJ:L:2003:270:TOC">OJ 2003 L 270, p. 1</a>) — Circumstances in which farmers who were under agri-environmental commitments during the reference period are entitled to request that the reference amount be calculated on the basis of the year preceding the year of participation in those commitments

Operative part of the judgment

1.Article 40(5) of Council 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 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 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 319/2006 of 20 February 2006, must be interpreted as meaning that where, in the Member State in question, different per-unit values were fixed for hectares under pasture and for any other hectare eligible for aid under Article 61 of that regulation, a farmer who, on the reference date specified in that article, was under agri-environmental commitments pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 of 30 June 1992 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside, forming part of seamlessly ongoing agri-environmental commitments which had the objective of converting arable lands into permanent pastureland, is entitled to request that the entitlements referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 59(3) of Regulation No 1782/2003, as amended by Regulation No 319/2006, be calculated on the basis of the per-unit values fixed for eligible hectares other than hectares under pasture;

2.Article 40(5) of Regulation No 1782/2003, as amended by Regulation No 319/2006, read in conjunction with Article 61 of that regulation, as amended, must be interpreted as meaning that only where there is a causal link between the change of use of an area from arable land to permanent pastureland and participation in an agri-environmental measure may the fact that that area was being used as permanent pastureland, on the reference date specified in Article 61 of that regulation, as amended, be disregarded for the purposes of calculating payment entitlements;

3.Article 40(5) of Regulation No 1782/2003, as amended by Regulation No 319/2006, read in conjunction with Article 61 of that regulation, as amended, must be interpreted as meaning that its application is not contingent on the farmer who makes the single payment application also being the person who introduced the change of use of the area in question.

(<span class="super">1</span>) OJ C 167, 18.07.2009.