L 316/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 10.12.1999 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2603/1999 of 9 December 1999 laying down rules for the transition to the rural development support provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the Euro- pean Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and replacing certain regulations ('), and in particular Article 53(1) thereof, Whereas: 1) Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 is to apply in relation to Community support as from 1 January 2000. Regula- tions repealed and provisions deleted by that Regulation are to continue to apply to actions approved by the Commission under the Regulations concerned before 1 January 2000. Transitional rules should facilitate the transition from existing support schemes to the new rural development support scheme in order to avoid any difficulties or delays in the implementation of rural development support during the period of transition. Rural development support under Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 is to cover a programming period starting on 1 January 2000. In order to ensure full integration of all future measures into the new programming the Commission should no longer approve measures or amendments to measures under the existing schemes whose duration extends beyond 31 December 1999, unless immediate approval is required for imperative reasons. In order to ensure the continuity of agri-environment support, Member States should be authorised to extend existing agri-environment commitments for the neces- sary period to allow transition to the new scheme and to conclude new agri-environment contracts if full compli- ance of such commitments with the new support frame- work can be assured. In order to ensure the effectiveness of new rules for agri-environment support, the specific transitional arrangements for agri-environment commit- ments must be applied as from 30 July 1999, the day after they were announced to Member States in the management committee. Member States should also be authorised to make new agri-environment commitments before 1 January 2000 upon applications submitted before 30 July 1999 under Council Regulation (EEC) No () O] L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80. 2078/92 (%), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2772/95 (). Payments arising from commitments made before 1 January 2000 in connection with rural development schemes, which in future are to be financed by the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF, should continue to be financed by the Guidance Section of the EAGGF until 31 December 2001 in accordance with existing support conditions and subject to funds available. However, until 31 December 2001 multiannual expenditure arising from such commitments, as well as compensatory allowances relating at the latest to the year 1999, may under certain conditions be financed from the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF if no funds are available or the available funds are insufficient. In any case, multiannual expenditure beyond 31 December 2001 should be financed by the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF. Specific rules should be established as to the starting point for eligibility of expenditure under the new rural development programming documents. In order to resolve specific problems arising from the change from headage to hectare based payments for granting compensatory allowances, Member States should be authorised for a transitional period of one year to continue payments on a headage basis. The dates for the applicability of the State aid rules laid down in Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 should be defined for new aid within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (*). The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Agri- cultural Structures and Rural Development, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: CHAPTER 1 Scope Article 1 This Regulation lays down specific measures to facilitate the transition from the system in force to the one established by Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999. 15, 30.7.1992, p. 91. o L2 O] L 288, 1.12.1995, p. 35. OLS8 3, 27.3.1999, p. 1.