COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 1957/91 of 21 June 1991 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1955/88 laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 as regards joint ventures in the fisheries sector
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 of 18 December 1986, on Community measures to improve and adapt structures in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3944/90 (2), and in particular Articles 20 (4) and 21 (4) thereof,
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1955/88 (3) lays down detailed rules for implementing Title VI of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 on exploratory fishing;
Whereas changes made to the said Title VI by the recent amendment to Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 make it necessary in turn to amend Regulation (EEC) No 1955/88;
Whereas applications must be submitted through the competent authorities of the Member States who must examine them in order to formulate their opinion to send to the Commission;
Whereas the Commission must have all the information it needs to make a decision on the validity of applications;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee for the Fishing Industry,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EEC) No 1955/88 is hereby amended as follows:
1. Article 1 is replaced by the following:
'Article 1
1. Joint venture projects referred to in Article 19 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 submitted to the Commission through the Member State concerned must contain the particulars specified in Annex I and must be presented in the form shown in that Annex.
2. Part A of Annex I shall be submitted to the Commission in duplicate. Part B of Annex I shall be kept by the competent authorities of the Member State concerned.
3. The Member State concerned shall examine the information given in Part B of Annex I and submit its opinion to the Commission under point 1 of Annex I, part A. The Member State concerned shall at the same time specify the criteria used for the selection of projects and for the granting of its financial contribution as provided for in point 8 of part A of Annex I.
4. The projects referred to in paragraph 1 shall be recorded by the Commission on the day on which it receives them.'
2.Article 2 is replaced by the following:
'Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation:
- the "commencement of fishing operations of each vessel" means the day on which each vessel leaves the last port of fitting out,
-the "last port of fitting out" means the port in which a vessel finishes taking on gear and supplies and brings its crew up to strength,
-the "completion of fishing operations of each vessel" means the day on which each vessel returns to the last port of landing, provided that no activities other than those for which the joint venture was set up have occurred in the meantime,
-"duration of fishing operations of each vessel" means the period between the commencement and completion of fishing operations.'
3.Article 3 is replaced by the following:
'Article 3
1. To qualify for a cooperation premium, the fishing operations of each vessel involved in the joint venture must not commence until the project referred to in Article 1 has been recorded as received.
2. The premium referred to in Article 20 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 shall be granted solely in respect of the duration of fishing operations of each vessel involved in the joint venture. The period of inactivity of each vessel concerned must not exceed 108 days per year, except in proven cases of force majeure.'
4.Article 5 is replaced by the following:
'Article 5
1. The cooperation premium shall be paid on completion of the fishing operations of the vessel or of the last vessel of the fleet concerned. Applications for payment must reach the Commission within two months of the completion of the fishing operations of the vessel or of the last vessel of the fleet concerned at the latest and be accompanied by the final report on activities within the meaning of Title III.
2. In the case of a project involving fishing operations which continue for a period longer than one year the payment of a cooperation premium can include an instalment payment made at the earliest one year after the beginning of the fishing operations of the vessel or of the first vessel of the fleet concerned. The payment request for the first instalment of the cooperation premium must arrive at the Commission within two months following the end of the first year of the fishing operations and must be accompanied by the activities report prepared according to the model provided in Annex III.
3. The payment of the balance of a cooperation premium to projects envisaged at paragraph 2 can be made at the end of the fishing operations of the vessel or the last vessel of the fleet concerned. The payment request for the balance of the cooperation premium must arrive at the Commission at the latest two months after the end of the fishing operations of the vessel or the last vessel of the fleet concerned and must be accompanied by the final activities report.'
5.Article 6 is hereby repealed.
6.In Article 7, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
'1. A final report on activities must reach the Commission within two months of the completion of fishing operations of the vessel or of the last vessel of the fleet concerned.'
7.Article 8 is hereby repealed.
8.Annexes I, II and III of Regulation (EEC) No 1955/88 are replaced by the Annexes to this Regulation. Article 2 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, 21 June 1991.