COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1647/98 of 27 July 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 411/97 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational programmes, operational funds and Community financial assistance
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables (1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/97 (2), and in particular Article 48 thereof,
Whereas Article 4(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 411/97 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 214/98 (4), lists operations and expenditure which may not be covered by operational programmes; whereas, after one year's experience of application of the system, it is necessary, for reasons of legal certainty, to replace those provisions by a more specific and detailed list of ineligible operations and expenditure; whereas certain ineligible operations and expenditure should be permitted temporarily or within certain limits;
Whereas it is necessary to stipulate in Article 5(2) of that Regulation laying down the criteria for approval of operational programmes that the competent national authorities must verify the eligibility of the proposed operations and expenditure, taking account, inter alia, of the aforementioned list, thus providing them with the possibility of introducing additional national criteria and rejecting proposed operations on the basis of an assessment which takes account of the particular circumstances of each case;
Whereas this Regulation must apply to all operational programmes to be implemented from 1999; whereas, however, in the case of programmes already approved, the deadline for submission of requests for changes to programmes should be extended from 15 September 1998 to 15 October 1998 to allow producer organisations to justify the need for such changes; whereas, however, it is appropriate to allow Member States the option of maintaining operational programmes approved before the entry into force of this Regulation, if adjustments are inappropriate given their advanced state of implementation;
Whereas the Management Committee for Fruit and Vegetables has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairperson,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 411/97 is hereby amended as follows:
1. Article 4(2) is replaced by the following:
'2. Proposed operational programmes shall not cover operations or expenditure on the non-exhaustive list of ineligible operations and expenditure given in the Annex.`;
2. the following point (b)a is added to Article 5(2):
'(b)a eligibility of the operations and the expenditure proposed, account being taken of the non-exhaustive list of ineligible operations and expenditure in the Annex.`
Article 2
Operational programmes approved by the Member States before the entry into force of this Regulation, implementation of which continues in 1999, shall comply with the provisions of this Regulation. Where necessary, producer organisations shall submit a request for changes to their programme by 15 October 1998.
However, Member States shall be permitted to maintain operational programmes approved before the entry into force of this Regulation, if adjustments are inappropriate given their advanced state of implementation.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply to programmes implemented from 1999.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 July 1998.