14. 5. 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 128/9 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 1402/86 of 6 May 1986 introducing a common action for the encouragement of agriculture in the Scottish islands off the northern and western coasts with the exception of the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 of 12 March 1985 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures ('), and in particular Article 18 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parli- ament (%), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (°), Whereas Article 39 (2) (a) of the Treaty provides that, in working out the common agricultural policy, account is to be taken of the social structure of agriculture and of the structural and natural disparities between the various agri- cultural regions; Whereas, in order to achieve the objectives of the common agricultural policy referred to in Article 39 (1) (a) and (b) of the Treaty, special measures appropriate to the situation in the less-favoured agricultural areas should be adopted at Community level ; Whereas Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 provides for specific regional measures to encourage agri- culture as a whole, in harmony with any development schemes simultaneously undertaken in non-agricultural sectors and having regard to the needs of environmental protection ; whereas the Council, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 43 of the Treaty, will decide on these measures ; Whereas the islands off the northern and western Scottish coasts are classified as less-favoured areas within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive 75/268/EEC (%); whereas the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) already benefit from an integrated development programme under Regulation (EEC) No 1939/81 (%); Whereas the Scottish islands excluding the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) encounter particular problems in the encouragement of agriculture due to poor soils, isolation (") OJ No L 93, 30. 3. 1985, p. 1. () O] No C 88, 14. 4. 1986. () Opinion delivered on 14 March 1986 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () OJ No L 128, 19. 5. 1975, p. 1. (® OJ No L 197, 20. 7. 1981, p. 6. from the mainland leading to extra transport costs, poor farm structures, crofting systems in some islands and low returns on farming enterprises ; Whereas in these island areas the improvement of the structure of agricultural production is essential to improve farm incomes ; Whereas agricultural development measures presuppose the improvement of agricultural infrastructure and by investments in landing-stages and other shore facilities ; Whereas in these islands shelter belts are needed in order to protect farmsteads and farm land from the effect of the strong winds ; Whereas the standard of farm dwelling houses needs to be improved in order to encourage the population to continue to live in these islands; Whereas in order to encourage farmers and crofters to develop other sources of income on their holdings, invest- ments for tourism and small industry projects to be carried out on the farm should be encouraged ; Whereas the Council recognizes the special interest of some parts of these islands for the environment ; whereas it is necessary to make provision for payments to farmers entering management agreements to protect sites of parti- cular importance or to maintain traditional farming methods ; Whereas because of the poor farm structure and the high rate of pluriactivity in the islands Title 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 is not entirely appropriate ; Whereas the achievement of these aims should be promoted by means of a measure combining these various elements and applied in the context of the programmes ; Whereas it follows from the foregoing that the measures referred to above constitute a common measure within the meaning of Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (%), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 870/85(); Whereas it is the responsibility of the Commission, having consulted the Standing Committee on Agricultural Structures, to decide on the approval of a programme submitted by the United Kingdom Government, () OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13. () O] No L 95, 2. 4. 1985, p. 1.