1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)No 1638/98
of 20 July 1998
amending Regulation No 136/66/EEC on the establishment of a common organisation of the market
in oils and fats
(OJ L 210, 28.7.1998, p. 32)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EC) No 1513/2001 of 23 July 2001 L 201 4 26.7.2001
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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)No 1638/98
of 20 July 1998
amending Regulation No 136/66/EEC on the establishment of a
common organisation of the market in oils and fats
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, andin particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
(1)Whereas in February 1997 the Commission submitted a
communication to the European Parliament and the Council onthe olive and olive oil sector, concluding that the current commonorganisation of the market in oils and fats needed reform; whereasthat communication and the options for reform set out therein
have been discussed within the Community institutions; whereas
opinions concur on the need for reform; whereas, however, with aview to determining the best approach, more reliable informationmust be obtained, in particular on the number of olive trees in theCommunity, the areas planted and yields; whereas, given the time
required to gather and analyse such data, the Commission has
undertaken to submit a proposal for reform in the course of 2000for application from the 2001/02 marketing year;
(2)Whereas experience has shown that some adjustments need to bemade in the near future to the current common organisation of themarket to reduce the difficulties of operators in the sector,improve checks conducted by the national authorities and protect
the Community budget better; whereas provision should be made
for the necessary adjustments to the present market organisationand the relevant prices and amounts should be fixed for themarketing years from 1998/99 to 2000/01;
(3)Whereas Article 5 of Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC of 22September 1966 on the establishment of a common organisationof the market in oils and fats(
4) provides for production aid fixed
on a flat-rate basis for producers whose average production does
not exceed 500 kg; whereas the measure was intended in
particular to reduce the administrative costs connected withchecking on entitlement to the aid; whereas, however, changes tothe production aid scheme, and in particular the rise in theproportion of expenditure on aid paid to small producers and the
increase in the level of aid, have transformed the two-tier system
of aid to producers into a source of fraud; whereas the provisionsrelating specifically to aid for small producers should accordinglybe deleted;
(4)Whereas the stabiliser mechanism for production aid is currentlybased on a maximum guaranteed quantity for the Community as awhole; whereas the maximum guaranteed quantity should be
increased to take account, in particular, of production trends;
(5)Whereas, to encourage a reasonable level of production in eachMember State, the maximum guaranteed quantity should be
apportioned among the producer Member States in the form ofNational Guaranteed Quantities (NGQ); whereas the apportion-ment should essentially be based on production over arepresentative period, taking no account of extreme productionyears; whereas, however, account should be taken of the situation1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 136, 1. 5. 1998, p. 20.
(2) OJ C 210, 6. 7. 1998.
(3) OJ C 235, 27. 7. 1998.
(4) OJ 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1581/96 (OJ L 206, 16. 8. 1996, p. 11).
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in the sector in the different Member States and in particular of
the specific allocation of aid previously granted to smallproducers and of the production potential of existing olive groves
in Spain and Portugal;
(6)Whereas, in order to mitigate the effects of fluctuations in
production, where the actual production of a Member State islower than its NGQ, part of the shortfall may be added to thatMember State's NGQ for the following marketing year; whereasthe remainder of the shortfall can offset other Member States ′
NGQ overruns in order to continue to ensure some solidarity
between producers in the European Union;
(7)Whereas the production aid is payable to the olive growers;whereas the latter must receive the aid in full, irrespective of thevarious reductions provided for in the Community rules;
(8)Whereas, where necessary to allow support for table olives,Member States must be able to make use of part of the resources
allocated to aid for olive oil production;
(9)Whereas consumption aid cannot be increased without a risk of
fraud and is ineffective at its present level; whereas in the past itwas reduced sharply without adverse effect on the consumption ofolive oil in the Community; whereas abolishing it would enablechecks on the production aid scheme to be stepped up, inparticular by the inspection agencies provided for in Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2262/84 of 17 July 1984 laying down
special measures in respect of olive oil(
1); whereas Council
Regulation (EEC) No 3089/78 of 19 December 1978 laying downgeneral rules in respect of aid for the consumption of olive oil(
2)
must therefore be repealed;
(10)Whereas the provisions for promoting the consumption of olive
oil and table olives in the Member States and third countries
should be maintained, clarified and strengthened; whereas suchmeasures are intended to establish better balance on the marketand as a consequence the relevant expenditure should be deemedintervention within the meaning of Article 3 of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing
of the common agricultural policy(
3); whereas those provisions
call for certain technical adaptations to Council Regulation (EEC)No 1970/80 of 22 July 1980 laying down general implementingrules for campaigns aimed at promoting the consumption of oliveoil in the Community(
4); whereas that Regulation should be
repealed and its provisions incorporated, with the requisite
amendments, in Regulation No 136/66/EEC;
(11)Whereas the system of public buying-in constitutes a productionincentive which is liable to destabilise the market; whereasbuying-in must therefore be discontinued and the references to theintervention price must be deleted or replaced;
(12)Whereas, if the supply of olive oil is to be regulated when there is
serious disturbance of the market, there is a need for a system of
aid for private storage contracts, with priority for such contractsbeing given to producer groups and associations thereofrecognised under Council Regulation (EC) No 952/97 of 20May 1997 on producer groups and associations thereof(
5);
(13)Whereas the definitions of the categories of virgin olive oil in theAnnex to Regulation No 136/66/EEC refer to an organoleptic1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 208 3. 8. 1984, p. 11. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 2599/97 (OJ L 351, 23. 12. 1997, p. 17).
(2) OJ L 369, 29. 12. 1978, p. 12. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1582/96 (OJ L 206, 16. 8. 1996, p. 13).
(3) OJ L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1287/95 (OJ L 125, 8. 6. 1995, p. 1).
(4) OJ L 192, 26. 7. 1980, p. 5. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC) No
1651/86 (OJ L 145, 30. 5. 1986, p. 10).
(5) OJ L 142, 2. 6. 1997, p. 30.
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assessment based on a particular method; whereas methods of
sensory analysis have improved recently, although they retain aninherent risk of some subjectivity; whereas the definitions in
question should be amended to refer, where necessary, to more
effective analysis methods;
(14)Whereas, in order to improve knowledge of and checks on theproduction of olive oil at the level of the individual producer,special attention should be paid to work on the olive cultivationregister during the 1998/99 to 2000/01 marketing years; whereas,to take account of experience gained, the method used for other
crops in the context of the Integrated Administration and Control
System should also be applied for the olive cultivation register;whereas the Commission must therefore determine the measuresto be taken and the arrangements and criteria to be complied withto achieve the creation of a Geographical Information System;whereas it is therefore necessary to derogate from Regulation
(EEC) No 154/75(
1) and Regulation (EEC) No 2261/84(2);
(15)Whereas the options for the reform may encourage producers toplant new olive trees; whereas such new plantings would
seriously jeopardise the future balance of the market, which iscurrently already in surplus; whereas, in order to forestall thatrisk, provision should be made at this stage to exclude newplantings from eligibility under any future aid scheme, unless they
are part of a programme approved by the Commission; whereas,
owing to the time elapsing between the presentation of theCommission's proposal and its adoption, plantings from the monthfollowing the date when operators are notified of the Commis-sion's intention in this respect should also be ineligible;
(16)Whereas the need for a reform of the olive oil sector stems fromthe ultimate impossibility of maintaining certain measuresprovided for in Regulation No 136/66/EEC; whereas, despite
the transitional adjustments provided for herein, the measures in
question should be repealed with effect from 1 November 2001,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation No 136/66/EEC is amended as follows:
1. In Article 2a(2), the words ‘intervention price’ shall be replaced by
the following: ‘production target price, less production aid and anamount taking account of market variations and the costs oftransporting the olive oil from the areas of production to the areas of
consumption,’.
2. Article 4 shall be replaced by the following:
‘Article 4
1. A production target price shall be fixed for the Community.
That price shall be fixed at the wholesale marketing stage for
ordinary virgin olive oil with a free fatty acid content expressed asoleic acid of 3,3 g/100 g.
2. For the 1998/99 to 2000/01 marketing years, the production
target price provided for in paragraph 1 shall be ECU 383,77/100 kg.
3. Save as otherwise decided by the Council acting by a qualified
majority on a proposal from the Commission, the olive oil1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 4
(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 154/75 of 21 January 1975 on the establish-
ment of a register of olive oil cultivation in the Member States producing
olive oil (OJ L 19, 24. 1. 1975, p. 1). Regulation as last amended byRegulation (EEC) No 3788/85 (OJ L 367, 31. 12. 1985, p. 1).
(
2) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2261/84 of 17 July 1984 laying down general
rules on the granting of aid for the production of olive oil and of aid to olive
oil producer organisations (OJ L 208, 3. 8. 1984, p. 3). Regulation as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 636/95 (OJ L 67, 25. 3. 1995, p. 1).
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marketing year shall run from 1 November to 31 October of the
following year.’;
3. Article 5 shall be replaced by the following:
‘Article 5
1. Production aid shall be granted for olive oil. Such aid shall be
intended to contribute towards establishing a fair income for
producers.
The aid shall be granted to olive growers on the basis of the quantity
of olive oil they actually produce.
Without prejudice to the different reductions provided for in the
Community rules, the aid shall be paid in full to the olive growers.
2. For the 1998/99 to 2000/01 marketing years, the unit amount
of the production aid provided for in paragraph 1 shall be
ECU 132,25/100 kg.
3. The maximum quantity of olive oil to which the aid provided
for in paragraph 1 shall apply shall be 1 777 261 tonnes per
marketing year. That maximum guaranteed quantity shall be
apportioned among the Member States as follows in the form ofNGQs:
—Spain 760 027 tonnes
—France 3 297 tonnes
—Greece 419 529 tonnes
—Italy 543 164 tonnes
—Portugal 51 244 tonnes.
4. Under conditions to be approved by the Commission in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38, eachMember State may allocate part of its NGQ and of its olive oilproduction aid to support for table olives.
In such cases, the NGQ used for applying paragraphs 5 and 6 shall
be the one given in paragraph 3, reduced by a quantitycorresponding to the aid granted to table olives.
5. Where actual production in any marketing year in a Member
State is less than its NGQ:
(a) 20 % of the shortfall shall be distributed among the Member
States which exceeded their NGQs during the same marketingyear; the distribution shall be carried out in proportion to the
NGQs of the beneficiary States; and
(b) 80 % of the shortfall shall be added, solely for the subsequent
marketing year, to the NGQ of the Member State in question.
The residual quantities shall be distributed by the Commission in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38.
6. The aid fixed in paragraph 2 shall be granted in those Member
States whose actual production recognised as eligible for the aid is
lower than or equal to their NGQs, plus any increase in accordancewith paragraph 5.
In the other Member States, the unit aid granted shall be equal to the
amount fixed in paragraph 2, multiplied by a coefficient. Thatcoefficient shall be arrived at by dividing the NGQ of the MemberState concerned, plus any increase in accordance with paragraph 5,by the actual production recognised as eligible for the aid.
7. With aview to checks of the qua ntity of olive oil eligible for
the aid, olive and olive oil yields shall be fixed for each marketing
year per homogeneous production area.
8. Recognised producer organisations and associations thereof
may be associated in the work of determining actual production as1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 5
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referred to in paragraph 5 and of establishing yields as referred to in
paragraph 7.
9. A percentage of the production aid allocated to all or some
producers shall be used to finance regional measures to improve thequality of oil production and its environmental impact in eachproducer Member State.
For the 1998/99 to 2000/01 marketing years, the percentage referred
to in the first subparagraph shall amount to 1,4 % of the productionaid allocated to olive oil producers.
10. Acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the
Commission, the Council shall lay down general rules for applyingthis Article.
11. The yields referred to in paragraph 7 and the detailed rules
for applying this Article shall be determined in accordance with theprocedure laid down in Article 38 of this Regulation and, whereapplicable, the procedure laid down in Article 13 of CouncilRegulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of
the common agricultural policy (*).
(*)
OJ L 94, 28.4.1970, p. 13. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1287/95 (OJ L 125, 8. 6. 1995, p. 1).’;
4. Articles 5a, 7 and 8 shall be deleted;
5. Article 11 shall be replaced by the following:
‘Article 11
1. The Community may undertake measures directly or indirectly
to provide information or to promote, in Member States or third
countries, the consumption of olive oil and table olives produced inthe Community.
The measures referred to in the first subparagraph may entail the
following:
(a) dissemination of existing knowledge, in particular regarding the
nutritional qualities of olive oil;
(b) market studies to expand the market for olive oil;
(c) publicity, public relations and promotional campaigns to
encourage the consumption of olive oil, in particular with aview to stressing its quality, and of products prepared with olive
oil;
(d) research work, in particular covering scientific study of the
nutritional aspects of olive oil;
(e) study to assess the results of promotional campaigns.
2. The Commission shall send the Council a programme of the
measures it contemplates undertaking during the following
marketing year(s). With a view to drawing up the programme, the
Commission may in particular consult bodies specialising in marketstudies and publicity campaigns and research institutes.
3. The Commission shall decide on the measures listed in
paragraph 1 after consulting the Management Committee for Oils
and Fats in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 39.
4. Expenditure incurred on measures referred to in paragraph 1
may be financed at a rate of 100 % by the Community and shall be
deemed intervention within the meaning of Article 3 of Regulation
(EEC) No 729/70.
5. Detailed rules for applying this Article shall be adopted in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38.’;
6. the first paragraph of Article 11a shall be replaced by the following:
‘The individual Member States shall take the necessary steps to
penalise infringements of the aid scheme provided for in Article 5.Where infringements are reported by the inspection agenciesprovided for in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2262/84 of 17 July1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 6
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1984 laying down special measures in respect of olive oil (*), the
Member States shall decide on action to be taken within 12 monthsof the report.
(*)
OJ L 208, 3.8.1984, p. 11. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 2599/97 (OJ L 351, 23. 12. 1997, p. 17).’;
7. Article 12 shall be deleted;
8. Article 12a shall be replaced by the following:
‘Article 12a
In the event of serious disturbance of the market in certain regions
of the Community, in order to regularise the market, a decision may
be taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38 toauthorise bodies offering sufficient guarantees, and approved by theMember States, to conclude contracts for the storage of olive oil thatthey market. Among the bodies concerned, priority shall be given to
producer groups and associations thereof recognised in accordance
with Regulation (EC) No 952/97 (*).
The measures referred to in the first paragraph may be implemented
inter alia when the average price recorded on the market during a
representative period is less than 95 % of the intervention priceapplicable during the 1997/98 marketing year.
The amount of the aid granted for the performance of contracts and
the detailed rules for implementing this Article, in particular thequantities, qualities and duration of storage of the oils concerned,shall be established by the procedure laid down in Article 38 in sucha way as to ensure a significant impact on the market. The aid maybe granted by means of tenders.
(*)
OJ L 142, 2.6.1997, p. 30.’;
9. Article 20(2) shall be deleted;
10. the last subparagraph of Article 20a(2) and Article 20a(4) shall be
deleted;
11. Article 20d(1) shall be replaced by the following:
‘1. A percentage of the production aid shall be withheld from the
amount paid to recognised producer groups and associations thereof
under this Regulation. The resulting amount shall help financeactivities under Article 5(7) and Article 20c.
For the 1998/99 to 2000/01 marketing years, the percentage of the
production aid referred to in the first subparagraph shall be 0,8 %.’;
12. Article 20d(3) shall be deleted;13. point 1 of the Annex shall be replaced by the following:
‘1. Virgin olive oils:
Oils obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by
mechanical or other physical means under conditions, particu-
larly thermal conditions, that do not lead to alterations in the oil,
which have not undergone any treatment other than washing,decantation, centrifugation and filtration, to the exclusion of oilsobtained using solvents or re-esterification processes and anymixture with oils of other kinds.
Virgin olive oils are classified and described as follows:
(a) Extra virgin olive oil:
Virgin olive oil having a maximum free acidity, in terms of
oleic acid, of 1 g per 100 g, the other characteristics ofwhich comply with those laid down for this category.
(b) Virgin olive oil (the expression “fine virgin oil”may be used
at the production and wholesale stage):
Virgin olive oil having a maximum free acidity, in terms of
oleic acid, of 2 g per 100 g, the other characteristics of
which comply with those laid down for this category.
(c) Ordinary virgin olive oil:1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 7
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Virgin olive oil having a maximum free acidity, in terms of
oleic acid, of 3,3 g per 100 g, the other characteristics ofwhich comply with those laid down for this category.
(d) Lampante virgin olive oil:
Virgin olive oil having a free acidity, in terms of oleic acid,
of more than 3,3 g per 100 g and/or the other characteristicsof which comply with those laid down for this category.’
Article 2
1. Notwithstanding Regulation (EEC) No 154/75, work on the olive
cultivation register during ►
M1the 1998/99 to 2002/03 marketing
years◄shall focus on the creation, updating and utilisation of a
geographic information system (GIS).
The GIS shall be created using the data from the olive cultivation
register. Additional data shall be supplied from the crop declarationsattached to the aid applications. The information in the GIS shall begeographically situated using computerised aerial photographs.
2. Member States shall verify that the information in the crop
declarations corresponds to the information in the GIS. If thisinformation does not correspond, the Member State shall carry outverifications and on-the-spot checks.
The Commission shall determine the detailed rules and criteria for
ensuring correspondence as referred to in the first subparagraph and theacceptable tolerance. It shall also lay down the detailed rules andintensity for the verifications and on-the-spot checks to be carried outduring each of ►
M1the five marketing years from 1998/99 to 2002/
03◄.
3. If, during the verifications and checks referred to in paragraph 2,
the information in the crop declaration is found to be incorrect,particularly as regards the number of olive trees, the Member State shallapply, for one or more marketing years, and depending on the size of the
discrepancies observed:
— a reduction in the quantity of olive oil eligible for aid, or
— exclusion of the olive trees concerned from eligibility for the aid,
in accordance with rules and criteria to be laid down by the
Commission.
4. The Commission shall adopt the measures to be taken and the
detailed rules, criteria and intensity of checks to be laid down under this
Article for ►
M1the 1998/99 to 2002/03 marketing years ◄,i n
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38 of Regulation No136/66/EEC.
5. The measures provided for in this Article shall apply by way of
derogation from those laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2261/84 as
regards crop declarations and their links with the aid.
Article 2a
As from 1 November 2003, olive trees and corresponding areas the
presence of which is not attested by a geographic information systemestablished in accordance with Article 2 of this Regulation or of olive oilproduced therefrom cannot constitute a basis for an aid to be paid to
olive producers under the common market organisation in oils and fats.
Article 3
1. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38 of
Regulation No 136/66/EEC, the Commission may adopt the measuresrequired for a smooth changeover from the arrangements in force for the1997/98 marketing year to those resulting from the measures introducedby this Regulation.1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 8
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2. On aproposa l from the Commission to be presented in
►M12003◄, the Council shall decide on the common organisation
of the market in oils and fats which is to replace, as from ►M11
November 2004 ◄, the one established by Regulation No 136/66/EEC.
Article 4
No aid under the common organisation of the market in oils and fats in
force from 1 November 2001 may be paid to olive growers in respect ofadditional olive trees or the relevant areas planted after 1 May 1998 andthose not covered by a cultivation declaration at a date to be determined.
However:
— additional olive trees in connection with the conversion of an old
olive plantation, or
— new plantings
on areas covered by a programme approved by the Commission may be
taken into account within certain limits to be determined. For Greece,France and Portugal, the areas provided for by the programmes to beapproved by the Commission during the period running until 1November 2001 shall be 3 500 ha, 3 500 ha and 30 000 ha respectively.
Detailed rules for applying this Article shall be adopted in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 38 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC.
Article 4a
1. Under the common organisation of the market in oils and fats, in
force as from 1 November 2002, Member States producing olive oil maywithhold within certain limits, a portion of aid, where appropriateintended for olive oil and/or table olives producers, to ensure
Community finance of work programmes drawn up by approved
producers' organisations, approved interbranch organisations or otherapproved operators' organisations or their associations in one or more ofthe following areas:
(a) market follow-up and administrative management in the olive oil
and table olives sector;
(b) the improvement of the environmental impacts of the olive
cultivation;
(c) the improvement of the production quality of olive oil and table
olives;
(d) the traceability system, the certification and protection of olive oil
and table olives quality, under the authority of the nationaladministrations.
2. For the purposes of this Article, ‘approved interbranch organisa-
tions’, shall mean legal entities which:
— are made up of representatives of economic activities linked to the
production of and/or trade in and/or processing of the productsreferred to in Article 1(2)(c) and (d) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC;
— are established at the initiative of all or some of the organisations or
associations which constitute them;
— have been recognised by the Member State in which they operate.
3. The limits referred to in paragraph 1 are fixed in order to prevent
the emergence of market distortions:
— by the Council on a Commission proposal, for the total of the
activities concerned and subsequently,
— by the Commission, for each area referred to in paragraph 1, in
conformity with the management procedure laid down in Article 4 of
Decision 1999/468/EC.
Within the fixed limits, the maximum Community funding for the work
programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall be equal to the part of the1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 9
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aids reserved by the Member States. This funding concerns the eligible
cost with ama ximum of:
— 100 % for the activities in areas referred to in (a) and (b),
— 100 % for the fixed assets investments and 75 % for the other
activities in the area referred to in (c),
— 50 % for the activities in the area referred to in (d).
Complementary financing will be ensured by the Member State
concerned taking into account a financial contribution from operators
that shall be compulsory for the activities in the areas referred to underparagraph 1(c) and (d) and in the latter case shall be at least 25 %.
4. In accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 38 of
Regulation No 136/66/EEC, the Commission shall specify:
(a) conditions for the approval of operators' organisations and their
associations;
(b) the types of activities eligible under programmes in the four areas
referred to in paragraph 1;
(c) the procedures for the approval of programmes by the Member
States;
(d) the measures concerning the control and the sanctions;
(e) any other detailed rules that might be necessary for the rapid
implementation, from 1 November 2002, of the programmes
concerned.
Article 5
Articles 5, 11a, 12a, 13 and 20a of Regulation No 136/66/EEC are
hereby repealed with effect from ►
M11 November 2004 ◄.
Regulations (EEC) Nos 3089/78 and 1970/80 are hereby repealed.
Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 1 November 1998.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.1998R1638 — EN — 01.11.2001 — 001.001 — 10
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