
Article 1 
Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 is hereby amended as follows:

1.. Article 6(3) is deleted;
2.. Article 13(5) is replaced by the following:
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5. In the case of an application for an area payment for nuts as provided for in Chapter 4 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the single application shall contain the number of nut trees by species.';
3.. point (d) of the second subparagraph of Article 26(1) is replaced by the following:
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((d)) 5 % of all farmers applying for the aid for nuts provided for in Chapter 4 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.'
Article 2 
Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 shall be replaced by the following:
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Article 15 

1. Only agricultural parcels planted with nut trees and meeting the conditions provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article at the date to be fixed in accordance with Article 11(2) of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 shall be eligible for the area payment provided for in Article 83 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.In the case of a parcel planted with different species of nut trees and when the aid is differentiated by species, eligibility shall be conditional on compliance for at least one of the species of nuts with the minimum number of trees per hectare laid down in paragraph 3 of this Article.
2. The minimum size of the parcel eligible for the area payment provided for in Article 83 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall be 0,10 hectare. However, Member States may fix a higher minimum parcel size on the basis of objective criteria and taking into account the specific characteristics of the areas concerned.
3. The number of nut trees per hectare may not be less than:
((i)) 125 for hazelnuts;
((ii)) 50 for almonds;
((iii)) 50 for walnuts;
((iv)) 50 for pistachios;
((v)) 30 for locust beans.However, Member States may fix a higher tree density on the basis of objective criteria and taking into account the specific characteristics of the production concerned.
4. In the cases referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, the level of the aid to be granted is the level corresponding to the species for which the eligibility conditions are met and for which the amount is highest.'
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply to aid applications submitted in respect of 2006 and following years.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 15 February 2006.
For the Commission
Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission