COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2268/88 of 19 July 1988 fixing, for the 1988 harvest, the norm and intervention prices and the premiums granted to purchasers of leaf tobacco, the derived intervention prices for baled tobacco, the reference qualities, the production areas and the guaranteed maximum quantities and amending Regulation (EEC) No 1975/87
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 727/70 of 21 April 1970 on the common organization of the market in raw tobacco (1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2267/88 (2), and in particular Articles 2 (5), 4 (4) and (5) and 6 (8) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (3),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (4),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (5),
Having regard to the opinion of the Monetary Committee,
Whereas, when the prices for raw tobacco are fixed, account should be taken both of the objectives of the common agricultural policy and of the contribution which the Community wishes to make to the harmonious development of world trade; whereas the objectives of the common agricultural policy are, in particular, to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, to assure the availability of supplies and to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices;
Whereas the norm and intervention prices for leaf tobacco must be fixed in accordance with the criteria laid down in Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 727/70 in order, in particular, to encourage producers to convert to the cultivation of those varieties which most in demand and most competitive as well as being the least harmful to health;
Whereas it is again desirable to fix, in respect of the 1988 harvest, derived intervention prices both for the varieties which, before the common organization of the market came into force or, in the case of varieties grown in Greece, Spain and Portugal, prior to accession, qualified for a price guarantee at the baled tobacco stage and for the varieties which are grown mainly in Germany, in order to take account of the marketing practices in that country;
Whereas Article 4 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 727/70 provides for the fixing of a maximum guaranteed quantity, within an overall quantity for the Community, in accordance with the criteria laid down in that Article for each of the varieties or groups of varieties of tobacco in Community production, any exceeding of which leads to a proportional reduction in the norm and intervention prices and the premiums; whereas those maximum guaranteed quantities should be fixed; whereas, however, the quantities thus fixed and the allocation by group of varieties may be re-examined at the next harvest in the light of experience and of the conversion programmes; whereas the provisions thus laid down therefore apply for the 1988 harvest only;
Whereas the premium granted to purchasers of Community tobacco is intended to enable them to pay producers of leaf tobacco a price which is at the level of the norm price, account being taken of the trend in world market prices, and the level of prices established by the interaction of supply and demand on the Community market;
Whereas the abovementioned prices and the amount of the premium must be fixed for each variety produced in recognized production areas and for a reference quality defined in such a way that as objective an assessment as possible can be made of the quality of the tobacco;
Whereas, for the 1988 harvest, the recognized production areas for each variety of tobacco should be specified and the definitions of the reference qualities should be those laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1975/87 of 2 July 1987 fixing, for the 1987 harvest, the norm and intervention prices and the premiums granted to purchasers of leaf tobacco, the derived intervention prices for baled tobacco, the reference qualities and the production areas and amending Regulation (EEC) No 1577/86 (6);
Whereas one production area was omitted from the recognized areas listed in Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No 1975/87; whereas, in order to enable tobacco producers in those areas to qualify for the measures provided for in that Regulation, the Annex in question should be amended;
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1890/87 (7) provides that, for the tobacco sector, from 1 April 1988 a new representative rate is to apply for the currencies of certain Member States; whereas from that date that provision will lead to a reduction in national currency of the premiums fixed in ECU for a substantial part of the harvest in the Member States the representative rate of which is revalued; whereas the entire harvest for a year should be treated in the same way in view of the characteristics of the sector; whereas that aim may be achieved if the old exchange rate in the Member States concerned is made applicable to the premiums paid for the 1987 harvest,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1 For the 1988 harvest, the reference qualities and recognized production areas for each of the varieties of Community-produced leaf tobacco referred to in Article 2 (3) (b) and (c) of Regulation (EEC) No 727/70, shall be as set out respectively in Annexes I and III to this Regulation.
Article 2 For the 1988 harvest, the reference qualities and recognized production areas referred to in Article 6 (3) (b) and (c) of Regulation (EEC) No 727/70, for each of the varieties of Community-produced baled tobacco in respect of which a derived intervention price is fixed, shall be as set out respectively in Annexes II and III to this Regulation.
Article 3 1. For the 1988 harvest, the norm and intervention prices and the amounts of the premium granted to purchasers of leaf tobacco, referred to in Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 727/70, and the derived intervention prices for baled tobacco referred to in Article 6 of the said Regulation, shall be as set out in Annex IV to this Regulation.
2. The prices and premiums shall apply only provided that each of the varieties was grown in the corresponding production areas as set out in Annex III.
3. For the 1988 harvest, the maximum guaranteed quantities of leaf tobacco provided for in Article 4 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 727/70 shall be as set out in Annex V to this Regulation.
Article 4 In Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No 1975/87 for the variety 1. Badischer Geudertheimer and its hybrids, the recognized production areas for Italy shall be replaced by Veneto, Toscana, Molise, Campania, Lazio and Pouglie.
Article 5 The conversion rate to be applied in the Federal Republic of Germany for the purposes of the premiums for the 1987 tobacco harvest shall be the representative rates applicable to the currency in question prior to 1 April 1988.
Article 6 This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 19 July 1988.