This document is meant purely as documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
"B COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2808/98
of 22 December 1998
laying down detailed rules for the application of the agrimonetary system for the euro in agriculture
(OJ L 349, 24.12.1998, p. 36)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1410/1999 of 29 June 1999 L 164 53 30.6.1999
"M2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 2452/2000 of 7 November 2000 L 282 9 8.11.20001998R2808 — EN — 15.11.2000 — 002.001 — 1
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2808/98
of 22 December 1998
laying down detailed rules for the application of the agrimonetary system
for the euro in agriculture
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 of 15 December 1998
establishing the agrimonetary arrangements for the euro (
1), and in particular
Article 9 thereof,
Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 establishes new agrimonetary
arrangements following the introduction of the euro; whereas Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 1068/93 of 30 April 1993 on detailed rules for
determining and applying the agricultural conversion rates (2), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 961/98 (3), and Commission Regulation
(EC) No 805/97 of 2 May 1997 laying down detailed rules for compensation
relating to appreciable revaluations (4), as amended by Regulation (EC) No
1425/98 (5), must be radically amended to bring them into line with
Regulation (EC) No 2799/98; whereas, in order to facilitate implementation
of the new agrimonetary arrangements, the Regulations in question should be
repealed and the relevant provisions should be included in a new Regulation;
Whereas it is necessary to establish the operative events for the exchange rates
applicable, without prejudice to any specific definitions or exemptionsprovided for in the rules for the sectors concerned on the basis of the criteriamentioned in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98;
Whereas for all the prices or amounts involved in trading transactions the
acceptance of the customs declaration represents a suitable operative event;
whereas in the case of prices and amounts linked to those prices the
commercial objective of buying or selling operations is attained when theproduct is paid for or taken over and, in the case of withdrawal operations by
producer groups, on the first day of the month concerned; whereas, in the case
of aid paid for a given quantity of product and in particular where the aid isgranted subject to a specific use of that product such as its processing,preservation, packaging or consumption, the commercial objective is attained
when the product is taken over by the relevant operator and, where applicable,
when the particular use of that product is guaranteed; whereas, in the case ofprivate storage aid, products are no longer available on the market from thefirst day for which the aid is granted;
Whereas, in the case of aid granted per hectare, the commercial objective is
attained when the product is harvested, usually at the beginning of the
marketing year; whereas the operative event for structural aid should be
established at 1 January;
Whereas, for amounts not linked to the market prices of agricultural products,
the operative event can be established as a date to be determined on the basisof the period during which the operation occurs; whereas it should be stated
that the operative event applicable for the recording of prices or offers on the
market is to occur on the day on which the prices or offers themselves areapplicable; whereas, in the case of advances and securities, the exchange ratemust approximate to that applicable to the prices or amounts in question
where this is known at the time the advances or securities are paid;
Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 allows Member States to grant
compensation to farmers who have suffered the effects of an appreciable
revaluation or an actual reduction in direct aid; whereas that Regulation laysdown certain conditions for granting compensation and its phasing over time,and indicates the method for determining the maximum amount that may be
allocated by a Member State; whereas the compensation concerned is partly
financed by the Community budget;!B
(1) See page 1 of this Official Journal.
(2) OJ L 108, 1. 5. 1993, p. 106.
(3) OJ L 135, 8. 5. 1998, p. 5.
(4) OJ L 115, 3. 5. 1997, p. 13.
(5) OJ L 190, 4. 7. 1998, p. 16.1998R2808 — EN — 15.11.2000 — 002.001 — 2
Whereas it is necessary to define the operative event that determines the
exchange rate used to convert amounts expressed in euros into the nationalcurrencies of the Member States; whereas, to facilitate financial management,the payment of more than one annual instalment of compensation in the same
budget year should be avoided; whereas, to take account of the European
Community’s international commitments, and in the interests of adminis-trative transparency, the procedures to be followed by Member States wishingto grant compensation should be laid down;
Whereas, in order to fulfil its purpose, the compensation must be granted
directly to the beneficiaries, in principle farmers, within a fixed period and for
amounts not exceeding the income losses concerned; whereas, however, toavoid administrative complications arising from the grant of small amounts tobeneficiaries, simplified procedures may be used in certain cases;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with
the opinion of the relevant management committees,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
Exchange rate and operative events
Article 1
The exchange rate to be used shall be the rate most recently fixed by the
European Central Bank (ECB) prior to the operative event.
Article 2
The operative event for the exchange rate for prices and amounts fixed in
euros in Community legislation and to be applied in trade with third countriesshall be the acceptance of the customs declaration.
Article 3
1. For prices or, without prejudice to Article l and paragraph 2 of this
Article, amounts linked to those prices,
— fixed in ecus in Community legislation,
or
— fixed in euros by a tendering procedure,the operative event for the exchange rate shall be:— in the case of purchases or sales, the taking over by the purchaser of the
batch of products concerned or the transfer of the first payment,whichever is earlier,
— in the case of withdrawals of products
"M1in the fruit and vegetable
sector3, the first day of the month in which the withdrawal takes place.
For the purposes of this Regulation, for purchases by intervention agencies,
taking over shall be the commencement of physical delivery of the batch
concerned or, where there is no physical movement, provisional acceptance ofthe seller’ s tender.
2. For aid granted by quantity of marketed product or by quantity of product
to be used in a specific way, the operative event for the exchange rate shall be
the first operation which:
— guarantees the appropriate use of the products in question and entails
grant of the aid,
and
— occurs on or after the date of taking over of the products by the operator
concerned and, where appropriate, before the date of specific use.
3. For private storage aid the operative event for the exchange rate shall be
the first day in respect of which the aid relating to a particular contract isgranted.!B1998R2808 — EN — 15.11.2000 — 002.001 — 3
Article 4
1. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, in the case of aid per hectare the operative
event for the exchange rate shall be the commencement of the marketing year
in respect of which the aid is granted.
2. In the case of amounts of a structural or environmental character, in
particular those granted under environmental protection, early retirement or
afforestation schemes, the operative event for the exchange rate shall be 1January of the year during which the decision to grant the aid is taken.
However, in cases where, under Community rules, payment of the amounts
referred to in the first subparagraph is staggered over several years, the annualinstalments shall be converted using the exchange rate applicable on l January
of the year for which the instalment in question is paid.
3. For the purposes of applying this Article, the exchange rate to be used
shall be the average of the exchange rates applicable during the monthpreceeding the date of the operative event, calculated pro rata temporis .
Article 5
1. For costs of transport, processing or, without prejudice to Article 3(3),
storage and for amounts allocated to studies or promotional measures,
determined under a tendering procedure, the operative event for the exchangerate shall be the final day for the submission of tenders.
2. For the recording of prices, amounts or tenders on the market, the
operative event for the exchange rate shall be the day in respect of which theprice, amount or tender is recorded.
3. For advances:(a) the operative event for the exchange rate shall be:
— the event applicable to the price or amount to which the advance
relates, where this event has occurred by the time the advance is paid,
or
— in other cases, the date of fixing in euros of the advance or, failing
that, the date of payment of the advance;
(b) the operative event for the exchange rate shall be applied without
prejudice to application to the entire price or amount in question of the
operative event determined for that price or amount.
4. The operative event for the exchange rate for securities shall be, for each
separate operation:
— for advances, that defined for the amount of the advance, where this event
has occurred by the time the security is paid,
— for the submission of tenders, the day on which the tender is submitted,
— for the execution of tenders, the closing date of the invitation to tender,
— in other cases, the date on which the security takes effect.
TITLE II
Compensation for appreciable revaluations
Article 6
1. This Title lays down the detailed rules for granting the compensatory aid
referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.
2. The maximum amounts of compensatory aid shall be determined in
accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.!B
!M1
!B1998R2808 — EN — 15.11.2000 — 002.001 — 4
Article 7
1. Without prejudice to Article 9:
(a) Member States may grant compensatory aid only by means of payments
to beneficiaries and without conditions relating to its use;
and
(b) compensatory aid may be granted only to agricultural holdings, the
definition of an agricultural holding being established by the Member
State concerned on the basis of objective criteria.
2. The maximum level of the aid shall be converted into national currency
using the average exchange rate for the year in which the appreciable
revaluation occurred.
Article 8
1. The amount of compensatory aid granted to the beneficiary shall be
linked to the size of the holding during a period to be stipulated in each case,according to the criteria laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 4(1)
of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.
In determining the size of the holding, account shall be taken only of the types
of production referred to in point (1)(a) of the Annex to the said Regulation.
Member States may set minimum holding sizes only to the extent necessary to
facilitate administration of the compensatory aid.
2. In all cases, the compensatory aid must be compatible with the
international commitments of the Community.
Article 9
1. Where the amount of compensatory aid which is to be granted for any
annual instalment divided by the estimated number of agricultural holdings
concerned is below EUR 400, that amount may be granted for measuresconcerning the agricultural sector:
— which are collective and of general interest,
or
— for which Community provisions allow Member States to grant national
aid, provided the intensities under the State aid policy are respected.
2. To be eligible for Community finance the measures shall be additional,
either by their nature or in terms of aid intensity, to those which the Member
State would have applied in the absence of the aid, and shall not benefit fromother Community financing.
TITLE III
Compensation for reductions in the exchange rates applied to direct aid
Article 10
1. This Title lays down the detailed rules for granting the compensatory aid
referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.
2. The maximum amounts of compensatory aid shall be determined in
accordance with Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.
If, for the amounts mentioned in paragraph 3 of the present Article, an amount
fixed in national currency is lower than the ceiling, a reduction of the ceiling
which does not affect the fixed amount is not to be considered as a reduction.
3. For the purposes of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98, amounts of
a structural or environmental character that are not:
— flat-rate aid fixed per hectare or per livestock unit,
or
— a compensatory premium per ewe or she-goat,!B1998R2808 — EN — 15.11.2000 — 002.001 — 5
shall be those financed from the EAGGF Guidance Section or the Financial
Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), those referred to in CouncilRegulation (EEC) No 1992/93 (
1) or those fixed in Council Regulations
(EEC) No 2078/92 (2), (EEC) No 2079/92 (3) or (EEC) No 2080/92 (4)
"M2or those referred to in Chapters II, IV , V , VI or VIII of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (5).3
4. The compensatory aid shall be granted for the 12-month period preceding
the respective application of the reduced exchange rate.
5. Member States may grant compensatory aid only by means of additional
payments to beneficiaries of aid as referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC)
No 2799/98. They may not impose conditions as to the use of such payments.
6. The maximum level of aid shall be converted using the exchange rate
which gave rise to that amount.
TITLE IV
General provisions
Article 11
1. The application for authorisation to grant compensatory aid as referred to
in Titles II and III shall be submitted to the Commission by the Member Stateconcerned before the end of the third month following that in which theappreciable revaluation or the reduction concerned occurred. The application
must include sufficient information for the Commission to check the
compatibility of the measure with the rules as provided in paragraph 2.
2. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 93(3) of the Treaty
and with this Regulation, the Commission shall check the compatibility of the
aid applications with the rules in force concerning compensation forappreciable revaluations and for reductions.
3. The total amount of compensatory aid granted must be proportionate to
the loss affecting each sector in the Member State concerned. How the aid isdistributed within a given sector must not alter the conditions of competitionto an extent detrimental to the common interest.
4. The Commission may take up to two months from the date of receipt of
the full application referred to in paragraph l to approve the compensatory aid.If the Commission has not delivered an opinion within that period, the
measures planned may be implemented provided that the Member State gives
the Commission prior notification of its intention.
5. Any Member State intending to grant compensatory aid shall adopt the
necessary national measures within three months of the date of the
Commission decision or the prior notification by the Member State providedfor in paragraph 4.
Article 12
1. Payment to the same beneficiary of an amount of the same compensatory
aid instalment may not be made during the same budget year as payment of
the corresponding amount of another instalment.
2. Payment of the amount of the first instalment of compensatory aid as
referred to in:
— Title II shall be made within one year following the date of the
appreciable revaluation which gave entitlement to the aid concerned,
— Title III shall be made within a period beginning on the date of the
operative event and ending:
— 18 months later in the case of recipients of a cattle premium,
— 12 months later in the case of recipients of amounts of a structural or
environmental character, or!B
(1) OJ L 182, 24. 7. 1993, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 85.
(3) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 91.
(4) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 96.
(5) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.1998R2808 — EN — 15.11.2000 — 002.001 — 6
— nine months later in the case of recipients of other direct aid as
referred to in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.
3. The time limits referred to in Article 11(1) and (5) and in paragraph 2 of
this Article may be amended by the Commission at the duly justified requestof Member States.
4. The Commission shall have two months in which to approve the measures
referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 from the date ofreceipt of such measures envisaged by a non-participating Member State. If
the Commission fails to deliver an opinion within that time the measures may
be implemented provided that the Commission has been notified in advanceby the Member State.
Article 13
Every year the Member State concerned shall submit to the Commission a
report on the implementation of the compensatory aid measures, giving
details of the amounts paid out. The first of these reports shall be submitted
not later than 18 months after the decision or the notification by the MemberState referred to in Article 11(4).
Article 14
Amounts quoted in tenders submitted in response to invitations to tender
organised under an instrument forming part of the common agricultural policyshall, with the exception of amounts the Community contribution to which is
financed from the EAGGF Guidance Section, be expressed in euros.
Article 15
1. The percentage of appreciability of an appreciable revaluation and the
reduction in the exchange rate shall be expressed to three decimal places, thethird decimal being rounded off. The average annual exchange rate shall beestablished to six significant figures, the sixth figure being rounded off.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation significant figures means:— all figures, in the case of a number whose absolute value is greater than or
equal to 1,
or
— all decimal places starting from the first one which is not zero, in other
cases.
The roundings-off referred to in this Article shall be effected by increasing the
figure concerned by one unit in cases where the following figure is greaterthan or equal to five and by leaving it unchanged in other cases.
Article 16
Regulations (EEC) No 1068/93 and (EC) No 805/97 are hereby repealed
Article 17
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in
theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 1 January 1999.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all
Member States.!B1998R2808 — EN — 15.11.2000 — 002.001 — 7