COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 14/2004
of 30 December 2003
establishing the supply balances and Community aid for the supply of certain essential products for human consumption, for processing and as agricultural inputs and for the supply of live animals and eggs to the outermost regions under Council Regulations (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001 and (EC) No 1454/2001
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1452/2001 of 28 June 2001 introducing specific measures for certain agricultural products for the French overseas departments, amending Directive 72/462/EEC and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 525/77 and (EEC) No 3763/91 (Poseidom) (1), and in particular Article 3(6), Article 6(5) and Article 7(2) thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1453/2001 of 28 June 2001 introducing specific measures for certain agricultural products for the Azores and Madeira and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1600/92 (Poseima) (2), and in particular Article 3(6) and Article 4(5) thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1454/2001 of 28 June 2001 introducing specific measures for certain agricultural products for the Canary Islands and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1601/92 (Poseican) (3), and in particular Article 3(6) and Article 4(5) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Detailed rules for the application of Regulations (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001 and (EC) No 1454/2001 as regards the specific arrangements for the supply to the French overseas departments, Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands (hereinafter called the outermost regions) of certain agricultural products have been laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 20/2002 (4).
(2)
For the purposes of applying Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1452/2001, Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1453/2001 and Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1454/2001, supply balances must be drawn up for the products covered by specific supply arrangements and the quantities of products covered by the specific supply arrangements must be laid down, together with the aid for supplies from the Community.
(3)
In accordance with Regulations (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001 and (EC) No 1454/2001, and under Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 20/2002, such aid is to be fixed to take account of the additional cost of transport to the outermost regions and the prices applied to exports to third countries and, in the case of agricultural inputs and products intended for processing, the additional costs of living on an island or in some other remote location.
(4)
Consultations are being held in partnership between the Commission and the Member States to define and quantify the additional costs, which might result in adjustments to the amounts set out in the Annexes hereto.
(5)
It is therefore necessary to fix flat-rate amounts of aid for each product, differentiated according to destination. Moreover, to take account, in particular, of trade flows with the rest of the Community and of the economic aspect of the proposed aid, an amount of aid should be laid down with reference to the refunds granted for the export of similar products to third countries, to be applied when this amount is greater that the above flat-rate amounts.
(6)
To take account of the special features of the various products in each sector, detailed arrangements for granting aid and establishing quantities for the supply of Community products to the outermost regions, as provided for in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1452/2001, Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1453/2001 and Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1454/2001 respectively, should be laid down as required.
(7)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 98/2003 of 20 January 2003 establishing the supply balances and Community aid for the supply of certain essential products for human consumption, for processing and as agricultural inputs and for the supply of live animals and eggs to the outermost regions under Council Regulations (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001 and (EC) No 1454/2001 (5) was adopted for application from 1 January to 31 December 2003. In the interests of legal certainty, that Regulation should be repealed and replaced by a new Regulation.
(8)
To ensure that operations are carried out in an ordered fashion in 2004, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2004.
(9)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinions of the Management Committees concerned,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The quantities of the forecast supply balance under the specific supply arrangements for products which benefit from exemption from duties on imports from third countries or which benefit from Community aid, and the amounts of aid granted for the supply of Community products, shall be as set out for each product in:
(a)
Annex I for the French overseas departments;
(b)
Annex III for Madeira and the Azores;
(c)
Annex V for the Canary Islands.
2. For each product:
(a)
the amounts in column I shall apply to the supply of Community products other than agricultural inputs and products intended for processing;
(b)
the amounts in column II shall apply to the supply of Community agricultural inputs and Community products intended for processing in the outermost regions;
(c)
the amounts obtained by means of the references in column III, where present, shall apply to any object of supply in Community products, where these amounts are higher than those in columns I and II.
Article 2
The number of animals and eggs intended to support livestock farming in the outermost regions and, where applicable, the aid for these supplies shall be as set out in:
(a)
Annex II for the French overseas departments;
(b)
Annex IV for Madeira and the Azores;
(c)
Annex VI for the Canary Islands.
Article 3
Regulation (EC) No 98/2003 is hereby repealed.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2004.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 30 December 2003.