1998R0020 — EN — 05.02.1999 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 20/98
of 7 January 1998
laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards aid to
producer organizations granted preliminary recognition
(OJ L 4, 8.1.1998, p. 40)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 243/1999 of 1 February 1999 L 27 8 2.2.1999
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 20/98
of 7 January 1998
laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC)
No 2200/96 as regards aid to producer organizations granted
preliminary recognition
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 organization of the market in fruit and veget-ables (
1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/97 (2),
and in particular Article 48 thereof,
Whereas Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 states that new
producer organizations or those which have not been recognized underCouncil Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 (
3), as lastamended by Commis-
sion Regulation (EC) No 1363/95 (4), may be allowed a transitional
period of no more than five years in which to meet the conditions forrecognition laid down in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96;whereas Regulation (EC) No 478/97 (
5) establishes the conditions for
granting preliminary recognition to producer organizations;
Whereas, in order to encourage the formation of producer organizations,
Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 also states that MemberStates may grant two sorts of aid to producer organizations grantedpreliminary recognition in the five years following such preliminaryrecognition, one to cover the costs of their formation and administrativeoperation and one to cover part of the investments required to attainrecognition and set out in their recognition plans;
Whereas, to facilitate the correct application of the system of aid to
cover the costs of formation and administrative operation, that aidshould be granted at a flat rate; whereas that flat-rate aid should besubject to a ceiling in order to comply with budgetary constraints;whereas, to take account of the differing financial needs of producerorganizations of different sizes, that ceiling should be adjusted in linewith the marketable production of the producer organizations; whereas,since the rules contained in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2118/78 (
6) are no longer applicable, that Regulation should accordingly be
repealed;
Whereas the selection criteria laid down by the Commission pursuant to
Article 8 of Council Regulation (EC) No 951/97 of 20 May 1997 onimproving the processing and marketing conditions for agriculturalproducts (
7) should be applied to investments eligible under this Regula-
tion in order to ensure consistency between the various measuresfinanced by the Community, until such time as the new agriculturalpolicy guidelines for fruit and vegetables introduced by Regulation (EC)No 2200/96 are implemented;
Whereas the aid provided for in this Regulation should be discontinued
once the producer organization is recognized by the Member State;whereas, however, to take account of the multiannual financing ofinvestments, those qualifying for investment aid under this Regulationcan be carried over to operational programmes as referred to in Article15 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96;
(1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 346, 17. 12. 1997, p. 41.
(3) OJ L 118, 20. 5. 1972, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 132, 16. 6. 1995, p. 8.
(5) OJ L 75, 15. 3. 1997, p. 4.
(6) OJ L 246, 8. 9. 1978, p. 11.
(7) OJ L 142, 2. 6. 1997, p. 22.
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Whereas, in the event of mergers, the aid may continue to be granted to
the producer organizations resulting from the merger;
Whereas, in order to ensure that the aid provided for in this Regulation
is applied properly, the Member State in question should check that thegrant of the aid is duly justified, account being taken of any previousgrants of aid for the launching of producer organizations and of anymovements of producers between producer organizations; whereas theMember States must also ensure that duplicate Community or nationalfinancing is not granted for measures qualifying for Communityfinancing under this Regulation;
Whereas procedures should be laid down for controls and penalties;Whereas Article 14 (7) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 provides a
special scheme for Portugal; whereas provisions should be laid down toensure compliance with that special scheme;
Whereas the Management Committee for fresh Fruit and Vegetables has
not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. This Regulation lays down rules on the granting of aid as provided
for in Article 14 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 to producerorganizations granted preliminary recognition.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation:
(a) ‘producer organization granted preliminary recognition' means a
new producer organization or one not recognized under Regulation(EEC) No 1035/72 before the entry into force of Regulation (EC)No 2200/96, to which a Member State has granted preliminaryrecognition pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 478/97;
(b) ‘producer' means a producer as referred to in Article 1 (2) of
Regulation (EC) No 412/97 (
1);
(c) ‘recognition plan' means a phased recognition plan in line with
Regulation (EC) No 478/97 presented by a producer organization,acceptance of which signals the start of the period of no more thanfive years referred to in Article 14 (1) of Regulation (EC) No2200/96;
(d) ‘marketed production' means the production of a producer organiza-
tion’s members in the category for which preliminary recognition isgranted:
— delivered to the producer organization and actually sold through
the organization fresh or processed,
— sold under the terms of the second and third indents of Article
11 (1) (c) (3) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 with the organiza-tion’s authorization,
— directly sold by the organization’s members in accordance with
the first and fourth indents of Article 11 (1) (c) (3) of Regula-tion (EC) No 2200/96.
Marketed production shall not include the production of members of
other producer organizations marketed through the organization inquestion in accordance with the second and third indents of Article11 (1) (c) (3) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96;
(e) ‘value of marketed production' means the value of marketed
production at the ‘ex-producer organization' stage, or, where appro-priate, as a ‘wrapped or prepared unprocessed product'.
(1) OJ L 62, 4. 3. 1997, p. 16.
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3. In the event of a natural disaster recognised by the competentnational authorities, marketed production within the meaning of para-graph 2 shall be deemed to be at least 70 % of the average theoreticalvalue equal to:
— the area belonging to the producer organisation granted preliminary
recognition and sown to the product in question during the year ofthe natural disaster, multiplied by:
— the average yield and average price obtained by the producer
organisation or its members for the product in question duringthe three years prior to the natural disaster or, where the MemberState so decides, obtained in the same production region duringthe three years prior to the disaster.
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B
Article 2
1. The aid provided for in Article 14 (2) (a) of Regulation (EC) No
2200/96 shall be granted towards the costs of setting up and running theproducer organization, at a flat rate.
2. The aid referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined for each
producer organization on the basis of its annual marketed production,and shall:
(a) amount, for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth years, to 5 %,
5 %, 4 %, 3 % and 2 % respectively of the value of marketedproduction up to a maximum of ECU 1 000 000, and
(b) amount, for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth years, to 2,5 %,
2,5 %, 2,0 %, 1,5 % and 1,5 % respectively of the value ofmarketed production exceeding ECU 1 000 000;
(c) be subject to a ceiling for each producer organization of:
— ECU 100 000 for the first year,
— ECU 100 000 for the second year,— ECU 80 000 for the third year,— ECU 60 000 for the fourth year,— ECU 50 000 for the fifth year;
(d) be paid in annual instalments for a period of not more than seven
years starting on 1 January following the date on which preliminaryrecognition is granted.
Article 3
1. Aid as provided for in Article 14 (2) (b) of Regulation (EC) No
2200/96 shall be granted, directly or through credit institutions, in theform of special loans to cover part of the cost of investments linked toimplementation of the measures in recognition plans as described inArticle 4 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 478/97.
Investments liable to distort competition where the other economic
activities of the organization are concerned and investments not satis-fying the selection criteria adopted by the Commission on the basis ofArticle 8 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 951/97 shall be excluded.
2. Investments to the direct or indirect benefit of such activities shall
be financed pro rata to their use for the sectors or products for whichpreliminary recognition is granted.
Article 4
1. Aid as provided for in Articles 2 and 3 shall cease once recogni-
tion is granted.
2. Where an operational programme is submitted pursuant to
Commission Regulation (EC) No 411/97 (
1), the Member State shall
(1) OJ L 62, 4. 3. 1997, p. 9.
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ensure that there is no duplicate financing of the measures financedunder the recognition plan.
3. Investments qualifying for the aid for the costs referred to in
Article 3 may be carried over to operational programmes provided theyare in line with Regulation (EC) No 411/97.
Article 5
1. Applications for reimbursement of the aid to meet the costs
referred to in Articles 2 and 3 and relating to expenditure paid by theMember State to all the organizations concerned during the course of acalendar year shall be submitted to the Commission in a single batchnot later than 30 June of the following year.
2. All applications for aid shall be accompanied by a written declara-
tion from the organization to the effect that the latter:
— complies, and will comply, with the provisions of Regulations (EC)
No 2200/96 and (EC) No 478/97 and this Regulation,
— does not benefit and has not benefited directly or indirectly from
duplicate Community or national financing for measures for whichCommunity financing is granted pursuant to this Regulation.
Article 6
1. Aid as provided for in Articles 2 and 3 of this Regulation may be
given, or may continue to be given, to producer organizations whichhave been granted preliminary recognition under Regulation (EC) No478/97 and which result from the merger between a producer organ-ization granted preliminary recognition under that Regulation and oneor more of the following:
(a) one or more producer organizations granted preliminary recognition
under Regulation (EC) No 478/97;
(b) one or more producer organizations recognized under Regulation
(EEC) No 1035/72;
(c) one or more producer organizations recognized under Article 11 of
Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
2. For the purpose of calculating the aid payable under paragraph 1,
the producer organization resulting from the merger shall replace themerging organizations.
Article 7
Member States shall evaluate the eligibility of producer organizations
for the aid under this Regulation in order to establish that the aid is dulyjustified, regard being had to the conditions and the date on which anyearlier public aid was granted to the producer organizations from whichthe members of the producer organizations in question originate, and toany movements of members between producer organizations.
Article 8
Eligible expenditure incurred by Member States on aid as provided for
in Articles 2 and 3 shall qualify for assistance from the EAGGFGuidance Section.
Article 9
The Community contribution from the EAGGF Guidance Section
towards aid as provided for in Article 2 shall amount to:
— 75 % of eligible public expenditure for regions falling within Objec-
tives 1 and 6, and
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— 50 % of eligible public expenditure for other regions.
Article 10
1. The Community contribution from the EAGGF Guidance Section,
expressed in terms of capital grant equivalent, shall not exceed, as apercentage of the eligible investment costs referred to in Article 3:
— 50 % in regions falling within Objectives 1 and 6,
— 30 % in other regions.
2. The Member States concerned must undertake to contribute at
least 5 % of the eligible costs referred to in Article 3.
3. Recipients of the aid towards the investment costs referred to in
Article 3 shall pay at least:
— 25 % of eligible costs in Objective 1 and Objective 6 regions, and
— 45 % of eligible costs in other regions.
Article 11
1. The expenditure referred to in Article 8 shall form part of the
provisions contained in Article 31 of Council Regulation (EC) No950/97 (
1). Article 33 of that Regulation shall apply to the payment of
Community aid.
2. The Commission shall adoptrules governing applicat ions for
payment and reimbursement after consulting the Committee referred toin Article 29 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 (
2).
3. Checks on aid for the costs referred to in Articles 2 and 3 shall be
carried out in accordance with Article 23 of Council Regulation (EEC)No 4253/88 (
3).
Article 12
1. If a check made under Title VI of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 or
Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 shows that:
— the value of marketed production is less than the amount used for
the calculation of the Community’s financial assistance, or
— aid covered by this Regulation has not been used in accordance with
the regulations applicable or with the approved recognition plan,
the recipient shall be required to reimburse double the amount unduly
paid, plus interest for the period between payment and reimbursement.
The rate of interest shall be that applied by the European Monetary
Institute to transactions in ecus, as published in the ‘C' series of theOfficial Journal of the European Communities , in force on the date of
undue payment, plus three percentage points.
2. If the difference between the aid actually paid and that due is more
than 20 % of the latter, the recipient shall be required to reimburse allthe aid received, plus interest as indicated in paragraph 1.
3. The share of amounts recovered by a Member State which belongs
to the Guidance Section of the EAGGF and the relevant interest shall bededucted from the next application for the balance of the reimbursementsent to the Guidance Section of the EAGGF or credited to an account ofthe Commission.
4. In the event of a false declaration made deliberately or as a result
of serious negligence on a matter within the scope of this Regulation,the organization concerned shall be barred from Community financialassistance for the remaining duration of the recognition plan in progress.
(1) OJ L 142, 2. 6. 1997, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 25.
(3) OJ L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 1.
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5. Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply without prejudice to other penaltiesto be set as provided for in Article 48 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
Article 13
Where the Portuguese authorities demonstrate that, in a given year, the
aid payable to a producer organization in Portugal under this Regulationis less than that stipulated in Article 14 (7) of Regulation (EC) No2200/96, the aid provided for in Article 2 (2) shall be increased so as tosatisfy the provisions of the aforesaid Article 14.
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M1
In the event of a natural disaster recognised by the competent Portu-guese authorities, Article 1(3) of this Regulation shall apply for thecalculation of the marketed production to be used for the purposes ofArticle 14(7) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
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B
Article 14
Regulation (EEC) No 2118/78 is repealed.However, it shall continue to apply to the producer organizations which
have applied for the aid under Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No1035/72 before the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, andto calculation to be made in accordance with Article 13 of this Regula-tion.
Article 15
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that
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.