Commission Regulation (EC) No 497/2003
of 18 March 2003
amending Regulation (EC) No 94/2002 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 on information and promotion actions for agricultural products on the internal market
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 of 19 December 2000 on information and promotion actions for agricultural products on the internal market(1), and in particular Article 12 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) With a view to providing correct information to and protecting consumers, Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 94/2002(2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2097/2002(3), should provide that nutritional messages are to be based on recognised scientific data, the sources of which are available.
(2) In the interests of legal certainty, it should be specified that the proposed programmes must comply, in particular, with all the Community legislation covering the products concerned and their marketing.
(3) In the light of both the experience gained from the scrutiny of the programmes presented and developments in scientific knowledge, the guidelines should be adapted for some sectors.
(4) Olive oil, table olives and beef and veal are key sectors where market balance could be improved through information and/or generic promotion measures, in particular by providing adequate information to consumers.
(5) In the fibre-flax sector, high quality products must face stiff competition from flax originating outside the Community and from other types of fibre. The sector's results from the last marketing year show that information measures on Community fibre flax have had a positive impact.
(6) Olive oil, table olives, fibre flax and beef and veal should therefore be included in the list of products to be promoted, and general guidelines on campaigns should be laid down already at this stage for the purpose of managing the programmes to be implemented for these sectors.
(7) The guidelines in the Annex hereto take account of the market situation and the available results from the evaluation of the most recent promotion campaign.
(8) In view of the date on which these guidelines were adopted, specific deadlines should be fixed for the transmission and approval of programmes submitted in 2003 for olive oil, table olives and fibre flax.
(9) Annex II, which lists the competent bodies of the Member States, needs updating.
(10) Regulation (EC) No 94/2002 should be amended accordingly.
(11) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion delivered at the joint meeting of the management committees on agricultural product promotion,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 94/2002 is hereby amended as follows:
- In Article 2, the following paragraph 3 is added:
"3. Any reference in promotion and information messages to the effects on health of consuming the products concerned must be based on generally-accepted scientific data. Such messages must be accepted by the national authority responsible for public health. The trade federation or interbranch organisation making the proposal shall keep a list available for the Member State concerned and the Commission of the scientific studies and the opinions of authorised scientific institutions on which such messages are based."
- Article 5(1) is replaced by the following:
"1. For the purpose of implementing measures under the programmes referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000, the Member State concerned shall receive, in response to a call for proposals and no later than 31 January and 31 July each year, programmes drawn up by trade and interbranch associations in the Community which are representative of the sector or sectors concerned.
However, the Member States concerned shall receive programmes to be submitted in 2003 relating to olive oil, table olives and fibre flax in response to a call for proposals no later than 31 May 2003.
Such programmes shall comply with the Community rules governing the products concerned and their marketing, and the guidelines referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 and the specifications stipulating exclusion, selection and award criteria distributed to that end by the Member States concerned.
The guidelines are laid down for the first time in Annex III to this Regulation."
- Article 7 is amended as follows:
(a) the following subparagraph is added to paragraph 1:"However, the programmes submitted in 2003 relating to olive oil, table olives and fibre flax in response to a call for proposals shall be notified to the Commission no later than 30 June 2003.";
(b) the following subparagraph is added to paragraph 3:"However, the Commission shall decide on programmes submitted in 2003 relating to olive oil, table olives and fibre flax in response to a call for proposals no later than 15 September 2003."
- Annex I is replaced by Annex I hereto.
- Annex II is replaced by Annex II hereto.
- Annex III is amended in accordance with Annex III to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 18 March 2003.