L 34520 Official Journal of the European Union 31.12.2003 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2322/2003 of 17 December 2003 derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 as regards the set-aside requirement for the 2004/ 05 marketing year THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Articles 36 and 37 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, Whereas: (1)  The support system for producers of certain arable crops introduced by Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 (), provides that, in order to qualify for area payments, producers are to set aside a certain proportion of their arable land. (2)  The cereals market in the Community during the 2003/ 04 marketing year is characterised by low production due to severe drought in main production regions of the Community. This situation is expected to cause a signifi- cant reduction in closing stocks for 2003/04 on the Community market. A normal 2004 harvest would not be expected to lead to a significant increase in stocks. A poor harvest would expose the internal market to poten- tially serious risks. (3)  For the 2004/05 marketing year, the rate for set-aside should therefore be fixed at a lower level than that set out in the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Regu- lation (EC) No 12511999, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999, the basic rate of compulsory set-aside shall be 5 % for the 2004/05 marketing year. Atticle 2 1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 2. It shall apply to set-aside for the 2004/05 marketing year. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 17 December 2003. () OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 1. Regulation last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (O] L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1). For the Council The President G. ALEMANNO