12.2.2005 Official Journal of the European Union L 423 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 239/2005 of 11 February 2005 amending and correcting Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to 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 ("), and in particular Article 7(1), Article 34(2), and points (c), (d), (k) and (n) of Article 145 thereof, Whereas: (1)  Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 (%) contains several definitions that need to be clarified. In particular, the definition of ‘permanent pasture’ in point 2 of that Article needs to be clarified and it is also necessary to introduce a definition for the term ‘grasses or other herbaceous forage’. However, in that context it has to be considered that the Member States need to have a certain flexibility to be able to take account of local agronomic conditions. (2)  Following the introduction of a payment for hops to producer groups in the second paragraph of Article 68a of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and Article 171 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 of 29 October 2004 laying down detailed rules for the appli- cation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as regards the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of that Regulation and the use of land set aside for the production of raw materials (*), Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 needs to be amended in several respects and it is also appropriate to introduce particular provisions with regard to the application procedure and controls for that aid scheme. (3)  Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 provides for certain specific obligations for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (the new Member States) as (") OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1. Regulation last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2217/2004 (O] L 375, 23.12.2004, p. 1). () OJ L 141, 30.4.2004, p. 18. () O] L 345, 20.11.2004, p. 1. regards the maintenance of permanent pasture, as part of the cross-compliance conditions. Accordingly, it is necessary to lay down rules for the determination of the proportion of permanent pasture in relation to arable land that has to be maintained in the new Member States. It is also necessary to provide for the individual obligations at the level of farmers to be respected where it is established that that proportion is decreasing to the detriment of land under permanent pasture. Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 provides, with regard to certain situations, for the obligation of farmers not to convert land under permanent pasture without prior authorisation. That authorisation may also include the permission to convert land under permanent pasture subject to the condition that an equivalent amount of area is being established as land under permanent pasture to compensate for the conversion. For those cases, it should be provided that by way of derogation from the definition of ‘permanent pasture’ contained in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004, land thus established should be considered as land under permanent pasture from the moment of its establishment. Under the second subparagraph of Article 4(2) of Regu- lation (EC) No 7962004 a farmer may be obliged to re- convert into land under permanent pasture, land which used to be permanent pasture in the past and which was converted into land for other uses within a certain period of time. That period should be extended in order to share more equally amongst farmers the burden to maintain permanent pasture. Article 11(2) of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 provides that single applications are to be submitted by a date to be fixed by the Member States which must not be later than 15 May in a given year. However, due to the particular climatic conditions in Finland and Sweden, those two Member States may fix a later date which must not be later than 15 June. Following the accession of the new Member States, the same exception should now be provided for with regard to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The date of 15 June should also apply with regard to notifications from farmers to the competent authority of subsequent amendments to the single application, as provided for in Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004.