COMMISSION DECISION of 12 January 1981 adjusting the boundaries of less-favoured areas within the meaning of Council Directive 75/268/EEC (Ireland) (Only the English text is authentic) (81/47/EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 75/268/EEC of 28 April 1975 on mountain and hill-farming and farming in certain less-favoured areas (1), as last amended by Directive 80/666/EEC (2), and in particular Article 2 (3) thereof,
Whereas Council Directive 75/272/EEC of 28 April 1975 concerning the Community list of less-favoured farming areas within the meaning of Directive 75/268/EEC (Ireland) (3), as amended by Commission Decision 77/5/EEC (4), identifies the areas in Ireland included in the Community list of less-favoured areas within the meaning of Article 3 (4) of Directive 75/268/EEC;
Whereas the Government of Ireland has applied under Article 2 (1) of Directive 75/268/EEC: - for adjustment of the boundaries of the areas listed in the Annex to Directive 75/272/EEC, as shown in the Annex hereto;
- for inclusion of a further area (the Slieve Felim area), totalling 31 583 ha UAA, in the list of areas within the meaning of Article 3 (4) of Directive 75/268/EEC which is contained in the Annex to Directive 75/272/EEC;
Whereas the areas resulting from the proposed adjustments, as the documents sent in and the declarations made by the Irish Government indicate, meet the criteria which were applied in Directive 75/272/EEC when fixing the less-favoured areas within the meaning of Article 3 (4) of Directive 75/268/EEC;
Whereas the new area applied for (the Slieve Felim area) does not fully meet the abovementioned criteria ; whereas, nevertheless, its specific disadvantages, especially its steep slopes, unfavourable natural conditions for farming and poor drainage, permit it to be classified as an area within the meaning of Article 3 (5) of Directive 75/268/EEC which may be ranked with less-favoured areas within the meaning of Article 3 (4) of the Directive ; whereas the area in question is only 0 753 % of the total surface area of Ireland and thus less than 2 75 % of it;
Whereas the adjustments applied for by the Irish Government do not have the combined effect of increasing the utilized agricultural area of all the listed areas by more than 1 75 % of the total utilized agricultural area of Ireland;
Whereas the EAGGF Committee has been consulted on the financial aspects; (1) OJ No L 128, 19.5.1975, p. 1. (2) OJ No L 180, 14.7.1980, p. 34. (3) OJ No L 128, 19.5.1975, p. 68. (4) OJ No L 3, 5.1.1977, p. 15.
Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Structure,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The list of less-favoured areas in Ireland contained in the Annex to Directive 75/272/EEC is hereby amended as shown in the Annex hereto.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to Ireland.
Done at Brussels, 12 January 1981.