29. 12. §8 Official- Journal of the European Communities No L 361/13 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 4115/88 ) “of 21 December 1988 ' laying down detailed rules for applying the aid scheme to promote the extensification of production ’ THE COMMISSION 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 ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1137/88 (3, and in particular Article 1b (6) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1676/85 of 11 June 1985 on the value of the unit of account and the conversion rates to be applied for the purposes of the - common agricultural policy (}), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1636/87 (), and in particular Article 5 (3) thereof, Whereas under the terms of the first subparagraph of Article 1b (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 surplus products are defined as products for which there are consistently, at Community level, no normal unsubsidized outlets; whereas, in order to define these products, reference should be made, in particular, to the products in respect of which the Council decided in 1987 and 1988 to introduce -or strengthen the various mechanisms for stabilizing the agricultural markets of the Community; whereas, however, in the present situation, it would be - advisable to exclude certain products for which it does not seem appropriate that the scheme in question should be applied, given the existing systems for controlling production ; Whereas the obligations of the beneficiary of the aid should be determined in the case of extensification of production, in particular, the undertaking to be given by him to reduce his output of one or more surplus products ; Whereas, in order to take account of the characteristics of arable and/or livestock farming in the different regions of the Community, provision should be made for the reduction in output to be ensured according to alternative and/or complementary methods based either on the establishment of a reduction in output in quantitative terms on individual holdings or on the adoption of less intensive production methods in respect of given product groups leading, under normal circumstances,” to an equivalent reduction in output ; whereas it is for Member States to determine the method or methods best suited to the local production conditions; Whereas, as regards the adoption of less intensive production methods in respect of given product groups, () OJ No L 93, 30. 3. 1985, p. 1. O] No L 108, 29. 4. 1988, p. 1. () OJ No L 164, 24. 6. 1985, p. 9. (9 OJ No L 153, 13. 6. 1987, p. 1. the Member States concerned must "demonstraté the effectivéness of such methods to the Commission and must prove, in the light of the appropriate references and the diverse farming situations, that their implementation regularly leads to a reduction in output of at least 20 % as compared with the output achieved by conventional methods ; whereas the Commission must approve the measures providing for such methods; Whereas the purpose of the scheme is firstly to. reduce the volume of production attained intensively; whereas, therefore, to.ensure that the measures are properly applied subject to clearly determined .conditions, the possibility should be provided for laying down special conditions in respect of types of production or production systems that are already extensive ; " Whereas the aid applications, to be submitted by the producers, must contain such information as will enable the output situation of their holdings to be assessed and must be accompanied by their undertaking to reduce output according to the reduction methods chosen by the Member State ; "Whereas, in order to compensate for the loss in income, Member States should be left to determine the amount of the aid and to differentiate it by reference to common criteria, taking account, where appropriate, of the comple- mentary measures existing at Community level, the operation of which must not be impeded ; whereas such criteria may be adopted by reference to the various products, the regional or local situation, the total area covered- by the undertaking and the extensification method applied ; Whereas the inspections to be carried out by the Member States must be determined ; whereas, moreover, it would seem vital for the Member States to take effective measures to penalize any failure by the beneficiary to comply with the undertaking he has given; Whereas the Standing Committee on Agricultural Structures has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its Chairman, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 This Regulation lays down detailed rules for applying the aid scheme to promote the extensification of production.