EN Official Journal of the European Union L 350/1

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1580/2007

of 21 December 2007

laying down implementing rules of Council Regulations (EC) No 2200/96, (EC) No 2201/96 and (EC) No 1182/2007 in the fruit and vegetable sector

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), and in particular Article 1(3) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in processed fruit and vegetable products (2), and in particular Article 1(3) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 of 26 September 2007 laying down specific rules as regards the fruit and vegetable sector amending Directives 2001/112/EC and 2001/113/EC and Regulations (EEC) No 827/68, (EC) No 2200/96, (EC) No 2201/96, (EC) No 2826/2000, (EC) No 1782/2003 and (EC) No 318/2006 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 (3), and in particular Article 42 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 has modified the previous regime for the fruit and vegetables sector as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 and Council Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 of 28 October 1996 introducing a Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus fruits (4).

(2) The existing implementing rules covering the fruit and vegetables sector are contained in a large number of regulations, many of which have been amended many times. Those implementing rules need to be changed as a result of the modifications made to the fruit and vegetables regime by Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, as well as in the light of experience. The scope of the changes makes it necessary, in the interests of clarity, to incorporate all the implementing rules in a new, separate Regulation.

(3) The following Commission Regulations should therefore be repealed: — Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 of 21 December 1994 on detailed rules for the application of the import arrangements for fruit and vegetables (5), — Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 of 30 July 1996 on rules of application for additional import duties on fruit and vegetables (6), — Regulation (EC) No 961/1999 of 6 May 1999 laying down detailed implementing rules concerning the extension of rules issued by producer organisations in the fruit and vegetable sector (7), — Regulation (EC) No 544/2001 of 20 March 2001 laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards additional financial assistance to operational funds (8), — Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 of 12 June 2001 on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables (9), — Regulation (EC) No 2590/2001 of 21 December 2001 approving operations to checks conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Switzerland prior to import into the European Community (10), — Regulation (EC) No 1791/2002 of 9 October 2002 approving operations to check conformity with the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Morocco prior to import into the European Community (11), — Regulation (EC) No 2103/2002 of 28 November 2002 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in South Africa prior to import into the European Community (12), — Regulation (EC) No 48/2003 of 10 January 2003 laying down the rules applicable to mixes of different types of fresh fruit and vegetables in the same sales package (13), — Regulation (EC) No 606/2003 of 2 April 2003 approving operations to check conformity with the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Israel prior to import into the Community (14), — Regulation (EC) No 761/2003 of 30 April 2003 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in India prior to import into the Community (15), — Regulation (EC) No 1432/2003 of 11 August 2003 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 regarding the conditions for recognition of producer organisations and preliminary recognition of producer groups (16), — Regulation (EC) No 1433/2003 of 11 August 2003 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational funds, operational programmes and financial assistance (17), — Regulation (EC) No 1943/2003 of 3 November 2003 laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards aid to producer groups granted preliminary recognition (18), — Regulation (EC) No 103/2004 of 21 January 2004 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards intervention arrangements and market withdrawals in the fruit and vegetable sector (19), — Regulation (EC) No 1557/2004 of 1 September 2004 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to certain fresh fruit carried out in New Zealand prior to import into the Community (20), — Regulation (EC) No 179/2006 of 1 February 2006 introducing a system of import licences for apples imported from third countries (21), — Regulation (EC) No 430/2006 of 15 March 2006 approving operations to check conformity with the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Senegal prior to import into the Community (22), — Regulation (EC) No 431/2006 of 15 March 2006 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Kenya prior to import into the Community (23), — Regulation (EC) No 1790/2006 of 5 December 2006 approving operations to check conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables carried out in Turkey prior to import into the Community (24).

(4) Detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 should be adopted.

(5) Marketing years should be set for fruit and vegetable products. Since there are no longer any aid schemes in the sector which follow the harvesting cycle of the products concerned, all marketing years may be harmonised to fit the calendar year.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 authorises the Commission to provide for marketing standards for fruit and vegetable products and its Article 2(7) provides that the existing individual regulations providing for such standards should continue to apply until new standards are adopted.

(7) Exceptions and exemptions from the application of marketing standards should be provided in the case of certain operations which are either very marginal and/or specific, or take place at the start of the distribution chain, or in the case of products intended for processing.

(8) The information particulars required by marketing standards should be clearly displayed on the packaging/label.

(9) Packages containing different types of fresh fruit and vegetables are becoming more common on the market in response to demand from certain consumers. Fair trading requires that fresh fruit and vegetables sold in the same package are of uniform quality. For products for which Community standards have not been adopted this can be ensured by recourse to general provisions. Labelling requirements should be laid down for mixes of different types of fruit and vegetables in the same package. They should be less strict than those laid down by the marketing standards in order to take into account, in particular, the space available on the label.

(10) Each Member State should designate the inspection bodies responsible for carrying out checks on conformity at each stage of marketing. One of those bodies should be responsible for contacts and coordination between all other designated bodies.

(11) Since knowledge of traders and their main characteristics is an indispensable tool in Member States’ analysis, it is essential to set up a database on traders of fresh fruit and vegetables in each Member State.

(12) Conformity checks should be carried out by sampling and should concentrate on traders most likely to have goods which do not comply with the standards. Taking into account the characteristics of their national markets, Member States should lay down rules prioritising checks on particular categories of traders. To ensure transparency, these rules should be notified to the Commission.

(13) Member States should ensure that exports of fresh fruits and vegetables to third countries conform to the marketing standards and should certify conformity, in accordance with the Geneva Protocol on standardisation of fresh fruit and vegetables and dry and dried fruit concluded within the United Nations Economical Commission for Europe and the OECD scheme for the application of international standards for fruit and vegetables.

(14) Imports of fresh fruit and vegetables from third countries should conform to the marketing standards or to standards equivalent to them. Checks on conformity must therefore be carried out before these goods enter Community customs territory, except in the case of small lots which the inspection authorities/bodies consider to be low risk. In certain third countries which provide satisfactory guarantees of conformity, pre-export checks may be carried out by the inspection bodies of these third countries. Where this option is applied, the Member States should regularly verify the effectiveness/quality of the pre-export checks carried out by third country inspection bodies and inform the Commission of the results of these verifications.

(15) Products intended for processing are not required to conform to marketing standards, so it should be ensured that they are not sold on the market for fresh products. Such products should be appropriately labelled and, in certain cases/when possible, accompanied by a processing certificate stating the end-use of the product which would allow checks to be made.

(16) Fruit and vegetables checked for conformity with the marketing standards should be subject to the same type of check at all stages of marketing. The inspection guidelines recommended by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in line with the relevant OECD recommendations, should be applied to this end. Specific arrangements should however be laid down for checks at the retail sale stage.

(17) Provision should be made for recognition of producer organisations for the products they request. Where the recognition is requested for products solely for processing, it should be ensured that they are indeed delivered for processing.

(18) In order to help achieve the goals of the fruit and vegetables regime and to ensure that producer organisations carry out their work in a sustainable and effective way, there should be the utmost stability within producer organisations. Membership of a producer in the producer organisation should therefore be for a minimum period. It should be left up to the Member States to lay down the notice periods and the dates on which resignation from membership are to take effect.

(19) The main and essential activities of a producer organisation should relate to the concentration of supply and marketing. However, producer organisations should be allowed to engage in other activities, whether or not of a commercial nature. Cooperation between producer organisations should be encouraged by allowing the marketing of fruit and vegetables bought exclusively from another recognised producer organisation to be left out of the calculations both for the purposes of the main activity and for other activities. As regards the provision of technical means it is appropriate to widen the scope of how this may be done to include provision via members of a producer organisation.

(20) Producer organisations may hold shares in subsidiaries which help to increase the added value of the production of their members. Rules should be fixed for calculating the value of such marketed production. The main activities of such subsidiaries should be the same as those of the producer organisation, after allowing for a transitional period for adaptation.

(21) Detailed rules should be laid down on the recognition and functioning of the associations of producer organisations, transnational producer organisations and transnational associations of producer organisations provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007. For the sake of consistency, they should as far as possible reflect the rules laid down for producer organisations.

(22) In order to facilitate the concentration of supply, the merger of existing producer organisations to form new ones should be encouraged by providing rules for the merger of operational programmes of the merged organisations.

(23) While respecting the principles whereby a producer organisation must be formed on the own initiative of producers and scrutinised by the producers, it should be left up to the Member States to lay down the conditions whereby other natural or legal persons are accepted as members of a producer organisation and/or an association of producer organisations.

(24) In order to ensure that producer organisations genuinely represent a minimum number of producers, Member States should take measures to ensure that a minority of members who may account for the bulk of production in the producer organisation do not unduly dominate its management and operation.

(25) In order to take account of different production and marketing circumstances in the Community, the Member States should lay down certain conditions for the grant of preliminary recognition to producer groups which submit a recognition plan.

(26) To promote the setting-up of stable producer organisations capable of making a lasting contribution to the attainment of the objectives of the fruit and vegetable regime, preliminary recognition should be granted only to producer groups which can demonstrate their ability to meet all the requirements for recognition within a specified time limit.

(27) Information which the producer groups must provide in the recognition plan should be laid down. To enable producer groups to better meet the recognition conditions, there is a need to authorise changes to recognition plans. To that end, provision should be made enabling Member States to request from producer organisation to take corrective action in order to ensure that their plan is implemented.

(28) The producer group may satisfy the conditions for recognition before the recognition plan is completed. Provision should be made to allow such groups to submit applications for recognition along with draft operational programmes. For the sake of consistency, the grant of such recognition to a producer group must signify the termination of its recognition plan, and the aid provided for should be discontinued. However, to take account of the multiannual financing of investments, investments qualifying for investment aid should be able to be carried over to operational programmes.

(29) To facilitate the correct application of the system of aid to cover the costs of formation and administrative operation of producer groups, that aid should be granted at a flat-rate. That flat-rate aid should be subject to a ceiling in order to comply with budgetary constraints. Moreover, taking into account the differing financial needs of producer groups of different sizes, that ceiling should be adjusted in line with the value of marketable production of the producer groups.

(30) For the sake of consistency and a smooth transition to the status of a recognised producer group, the same rules on main activities of producer organisations and their value of marketed production should apply to producer groups.

(31) In the event of mergers, the possibility should be given for the aid to be granted to the producer groups resulting from the merger, in order to take into account the financial needs of the new producers groups and to ensure the correct application of the aid scheme.

(32) To facilitate the use of the scheme of support to operational programmes, the marketed production of producer organisations should be clearly defined, including the specification of which products may be taken into account and the marketing stage at which the value of production is to be calculated. Additional methods of calculation of marketable production should also be made possible in case of yearly fluctuations or insufficient data. To prevent misuse of the scheme, producer organisations should not in general be permitted to change reference periods within the duration of a programme.

(33) To ensure correct use of aid, rules should be laid down for the management of operational funds and members’ financial contributions, allowing for as much flexibility a possible on condition that all producers may take advantage of the operational fund and may democratically participate in decisions on its use.

(34) Provisions should be laid down establishing the scope and structure of the national strategy for sustainable operational programmes and the national framework for environmental actions. Its aim shall be to optimise the allocation of financial resources and to improve the quality of the strategy.

(35) In the interests of sound management, procedures for the presentation and approval of operational programmes, including deadlines, should be laid down in order to allow appropriate evaluation of the information by the competent authorities, and measures and activities to be included in, or excluded from, the programmes. Since the programmes are managed on an annual basis, it should be provided that programmes not approved before a given date are postponed for a year.

(36) There should be a procedure for annually amending operational programmes for the following year, so that they can be adjusted to take account of any new conditions which could not have been foreseen when they were initially presented. In addition, it should be possible for measures and amounts of the operational fund to be changed during each year of execution of a programme. All such changes should be subject to certain limits and conditions, to be defined by Member States and including obligatory notification of changes to the competent authorities, to ensure the approved programmes maintain their overall objectives.

(37) For reasons of financial security and legal certainty, a list of operations and expenditure which may not be covered by operational programmes should be drawn up.

(38) In the case of investments on individual holdings, so as to prevent the unjustified enrichment of a private party who has severed links with the organisation during the useful life of the investment, provisions should be laid down to allow the organisation to recover the residual value of the investment, whether such an investment is owned by a member or by the organisation.

(39) To ensure correct application of the scheme, information to be included in the applications for aid as well as procedures for the payment of aid should be laid down. To prevent cash-flow difficulties, a system of advance payments accompanied by appropriate securities should be available to producer organisations. For similar reasons, an alternative system should be available for the reimbursement of expenditure already incurred.

(40) Detailed provisions on the scope and application of crisis management and prevention measures should be laid down. As far as possible these rules should provide for flexibility and for rapid application in crises and therefore should allow decisions to be taken by Member States and producer organisations themselves. Nevertheless the rules should prevent abuses and provide for limits on the use of certain measures, including in financial terms. They should also ensure that phytosanitary and environmental requirements are duly respected.

(41) As regards withdrawals from the market, detailed rules should be adopted taking into account the potential importance of that measure. In particular, rules should be drawn up concerning the system of increased support for fruit and vegetables withdrawn from the market which are distributed free of charge as humanitarian aid by charitable organisations and certain other establishments and institutions. In addition, maximum levels of support for market withdrawals should be fixed in order to ensure that they do not become a permanent alternative outlet for products compared to placing them on the market. In this context, for those products for which maximum levels of Community withdrawal compensation were set in Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, it is appropriate to continue using such levels, subject to a certain degree of increase to reflect the fact that these withdrawals are now co-financed. For other products, where experience has not yet shown any risk of excessive withdrawals, it is appropriate to allow Member States to fix maximum levels of support. In all cases, however, for similar reasons, it is appropriate to set a quantitative limit of withdrawals per product per producer organisation.

(42) Detailed rules should be adopted concerning the national financial assistance which Member States may grant in regions of the Community where the degree of organisation of producers is particularly low, including defining such low degree of organisations. Procedures for the approval of such national aid as well as for the approval and amount of Community reimbursement of the aid should be provided for, as well as for proportion of reimbursement which should reflect those currently applicable.

(43) Detailed rules, in particular procedural provisions, should be adopted concerning the conditions under which the rules issued by producer organisations or associations of such organisations in the fruit and vegetables sector may be extended to all producers established in a specific economic area. Also, where produce is sold on the tree, it should be made clear which rules are to be extended to the producers and the buyers respectively.

(44) Apple producers in the Community have recently found themselves in a difficult situation, due, among other things, to a significant increase in imports of apples from certain third countries of the Southern hemisphere. The monitoring of the import of apples should therefore be improved. The appropriate instrument for achieving that objective is a mechanism based on issuing import licences subject to the provision of a security to ensure that the operations for which an import licence has been applied for are actually performed. Commission Regulations (EC) No 1291/2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products (25) and (EEC) No 2220/85 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of securities for agricultural products (26) should apply.

(45) Detailed rules should be adopted concerning the entry price system for fruit and vegetables. Since most of the perishable fruit and vegetables concerned are supplied on consignment, this creates special difficulties for determining their value. The possible methods for calculation of the entry price on the basis of which imported products are classified in the Common Customs Tariff should be set. In particular, standard import values should be established on the basis of the weighted average of the average prices for the products and special provision must be made for cases in which no prices are available for products of a given origin. There should be provision for the lodging of a security in certain circumstances to ensure that the system is correctly applied.

(46) Detailed rules should be adopted concerning the import duty which can be imposed on certain products in addition to that provided for in the Common Customs Tariff. The additional duty may be imposed if import volumes of the products concerned exceed trigger levels determined for the product and the period of application. Goods en route to the Community are exempt from additional duty and, therefore, specific provisions for such goods should be adopted.

(47) Provision should be made for appropriate monitoring and evaluation of ongoing programmes and schemes in order to assess their effectiveness and efficiency by both producer organisations and Member States.

(48) Measures/provisions should be laid down concerning the type, format and means of communications necessary to implement this Regulation. These should include communications from producers and producer organisations to the Member States and from the Member States to the Commission, as well as the consequences resulting from late or inaccurate communications.

(49) Measures should be laid down for the checks necessary in order to ensure to proper application of this Regulation and Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, and the appropriate sanctions applicable to irregularities found. Those measures should involve both specific checks and sanctions laid down at the Community level as well as additional national checks and sanctions. The checks and sanctions should be dissuasive, effective and proportionate. Rules should be provided for resolving cases of obvious error, force majeure and other exceptional circumstances to ensure fair treatment of producers. Rules for artificially created situations should be provided for in order to avoid any benefit being derived from such situations.

(50) Provisions should be made for a smooth transition from the previous system to the new system set out in this Regulation and the implementation of the transitional provisions set out in Article 55 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

(51) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fruit and Vegetables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

TITLE I

INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope and use of terms

1. This Regulation lays down implementing rules for Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 and Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

2. Terms used in Regulations referred to in paragraph 1 shall have the same meaning when used in this Regulation unless this Regulation provides otherwise.

Article 2

Marketing years

The marketing years for the products listed in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 and in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 shall run from 1 January to 31 December.

TITLE II

CLASSIFICATION OF PRODUCTS

CHAPTER I

General rules

Article 3

Exceptions and exemptions from the application of marketing standards

1. By way of derogation from Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, the following shall not be required to conform to the marketing standards:

(a) products shipped to processing plants, other than where minimum quality criteria for products intended for industrial processing are specifically set in this Regulation;

(b) products transferred by the producer on his holding to consumers for their personal use; and

(c) on a Commission Decision taken at the request of a Member State using the procedure referred to in Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/1996 for products of a given region which are sold by the retail trade of the region for well established traditional local consumption.

2. By way of derogation from Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, the following shall not be required to conform to the marketing standards within a given production area:

(a) products sold or delivered by the grower to preparation and packaging stations or storage facilities, or shipped from his holding to such stations; and

(b) products shipped from storage facilities to preparation and packaging stations.

3. By way of derogation from Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, Member States may exempt the following from the requirement of complying with marketing standards or with some provisions of the marketing standards:

(a) products displayed or offered for sale, sold, delivered or marketed in any other manner by the grower on wholesale markets, in particular on producer markets, situated in the production area; and

(b) products shipped from those wholesale markets to preparation and packaging stations and storage facilities situated in the same production area.

Where the first subparagraph applies, the Member State concerned notify the Commission of the measures taken.

4. Evidence shall be supplied to the competent authority of the Member State that the products covered by paragraphs 1(a) and 2 fulfil the conditions laid down, in particular with regard to their intended use.

Article 4

Information particulars

1. The information particulars required by marketing standards laid down pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 must be shown legibly and obviously on one side of the packaging, either indelibly printed directly onto the package or on a label which is an integral part of the package or affixed to it.

2. For goods shipped in bulk and loaded directly onto a means of transport, the information particulars referred to in paragraph 1 shall be given in a document accompanying the goods or shown on a notice placed in an obvious position inside the means of transport.

Article 5

Information particulars at the retail stage

At the retail stage, where products are packaged the information particulars required by marketing standards laid down pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall be legible and conspicuous.

For pre-packaged products as referred to in Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (27), the net weight shall be indicated, in addition to all the information provided for in the marketing standards. However, in the case of products normally sold by number, the requirement to indicate the net weight shall not apply if the number of items may be clearly seen and easily counted from the outside or, if the number is indicated on the label.

Products may be presented unpackaged, provided that the retailer displays with the goods offered for sale a card showing prominently and legibly the information particulars specified in the marketing standards and in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 relating to variety, country of origin of the product, and class.

Article 6

Sales packages

1. Sales packages of fresh fruit and vegetables of a net weight of three kilograms or less may contain mixes of different types of fresh fruit and vegetables provided that:

(a) the products are of uniform quality and that each type concerned complies with the standards in accordance with paragraph 2;

(b) the package is appropriately marked, in accordance with paragraph 3; and

(c) the mix is not such as to mislead the consumer.

2. The products contained in packages as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be of the same commercial quality class as referred to in Annex I.

Where a mix contains fruit and vegetables not covered by Community marketing standards, those products must be classed either in the same class, in accordance with Annex I.

3. The marking on sales packages as referred to in paragraph 1 and/or on each package containing them shall show at least the following details:

(a) The name and the address of the packer and/or the dispatcher. This mention may be replaced: (i) for all packages with the exception of pre-packages, by the officially issued or accepted code mark representing the packer and/or the dispatcher, indicated in close connection with the reference ‘Packer and/or Dispatcher’ (or equivalent abbreviations); (ii) for pre-packages only, by the name and the address of a seller established within the Community indicated in close connection with the mention ‘Packed for:’ or an equivalent mention. In this case, the labelling shall also include a code representing the packer and/or the dispatcher. The seller shall give all information deemed necessary by the inspection body as to the meaning of this code;

(b) name of each of the products/types contained in the package;

(c) name of the variety or of the commercial type for each product contained in the mix for which the Community marketing standard requests it for non-mixed products;

(d) country of origin of each of the products concerned, next to the name of the products concerned; and

(e) class.

For fruit and vegetables covered by Community marketing standards, these details shall replace the particulars laid down by those standards.

CHAPTER II

Checks on conformity to marketing standards

Section 1

General provisions

Article 7

Scope

This Chapter lays down rules for Member States when carrying out checks at all stages of marketing on conformity to the marketing standards laid down pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

Article 8

Competent bodies

1. Each Member State shall designate:

(a) a single competent authority responsible for coordination and contacts in the areas covered by this Chapter, hereinafter called ‘the coordinating authority’; and

(b) an inspection body or bodies responsible for the application of Article 2(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, hereinafter called ‘the inspection bodies’.

2. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission:

(a) the name and postal and e-mail address of the coordinating authority they have designated pursuant to paragraph 1;

(b) the name and postal and e-mail address of the inspection bodies they have designated pursuant to paragraph 1; and

(c) the exact description of the respective spheres of activity of the inspection bodies they have appointed.

3. The coordinating authority may be the inspection body or one of the inspection bodies or any other body designated pursuant to paragraph 1.

4. The Commission shall make publicly available the list of coordinating authorities designated by the Member States in the manner it considers appropriate.

Article 9

Trader database

1. The Member States shall set up a database on traders in fruit and vegetables, which shall list, under the conditions established in this Article, traders involved in the marketing of fresh fruit and vegetables for which standards have been laid down pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

For the purposes of this Chapter ‘trader’ means any natural or legal person holding fresh fruit and vegetables subject to marketing standards with a view to their displaying or offering for sale, their sale or their marketing in any other manner for itself or on behalf of a third party in the Community's territory and/or export to third countries.

2. Member States shall determine the conditions under which the following traders are to be included or not in the database:

(a) traders whose activities are exempt from the obligation to comply with the marketing standards pursuant to Article 3; and

(b) natural or legal persons whose activities in the fruit and vegetables sector are limited either to the transport of goods, or to the sale of small quantities at the retail stage.

3. Where the database is composed of several distinct elements, the coordinating authority shall ensure that the database, its elements and their updating are uniform. The updating shall be done in particular by the inspection bodies using the information collected during checks carried out at all stages of marketing.

4. This database shall contain, for each trader, the registration number, name, address, information needed for its classification in one of the categories mentioned in Article 10, in particular, position in the marketing chain, information concerning the importance of the firm, information concerning findings made during previous checks of each trader, as well as any other information considered necessary for checks.

5. Traders shall provide the information that Member States consider necessary to set up and update the database. Member States shall determine the conditions under which traders not established in their territory but trading on it shall be listed in their database.

Section 2

Checks carried out on the internal market

Article 10

Conformity checks on the internal market

1. Member States shall introduce a system of sampling checks on the conformity with marketing standards of products held by traders at all stages of marketing.

Under this system, Member States shall specify the frequency, based on a risk analysis of a trader marketing goods not in conformity with the marketing standards, with which checks must be made by the inspection bodies. The frequency of checks must be sufficient to ensure compliance with Community rules, for each category of trader they have first defined.

This risk analysis shall relate, in particular, to the size of the traders, their position in the marketing chain, findings made during previous checks and other possible parameters to be defined by the Member States.

Traders involved in preparing and packaging fruit and vegetables, particularly in the production region, shall be subject to a higher rate of checks than other categories of trader. Checks may also occur during transport.

Where checks reveal significant irregularities, the inspection bodies shall increase the frequency of checks on the traders concerned.

2. Traders shall provide the inspection bodies with all information those bodies judge necessary for organising and carrying out checks.

3. Member States may authorise traders guaranteeing a uniform and high conformity rate of the fruit and vegetables subject to marketing standards at the stage of dispatch to use the specimen in Annex II in the labelling of each package. The authorisation shall be granted for a period of three years and shall be renewable.

In addition, in order to benefit from the use of the specimen, traders shall:

(a) have inspection staff who have received training approved by the Member State;

(b) have suitable equipment for preparing and packing produce;

(c) commit themselves to proceed to a conformity check of the goods they dispatch and have a register recording all operations of checks carried out.

When traders are no longer able to guarantee a high and uniform conformity rate, or when one of the conditions provided for in the second subparagraph is no longer fulfilled, the Member State shall withdraw the authorisation for the trader to use the specimen in Annex II in the labelling of each package.

4. The coordinating authority shall communicate to the Commission the provisions of the inspection system as referred to in paragraph 1. This communication shall include the different categories of traders that were identified and the check frequency specified for each of them, as well as, where appropriate, the detailed conditions of implementation of paragraph 3, the detailed conditions of implementation of Article 11(1), including the minimum proportions of checks for the different traders concerned. It shall immediately inform the Commission of any subsequent amendments to that system.

5. The inspection bodies of a Member State on whose territory a lot of goods from another Member State is found not to conform with the standards because of defects or deterioration which could have been detected at the time of packaging shall immediately notify such cases of non-conformity discovered up to the wholesale marketing stage, including at distribution centres, to the authorities of the other Member States likely to be concerned.

Article 11

Conformity checks at the point of export

1. The competent inspection body shall at the stage of export ensure by a conformity check that products intended for export to third countries leave the Community's customs territory only if they conform to the marketing standards.

Exporters shall provide the inspection bodies with all information those bodies judge necessary for organising and carrying out checks.

2. Member States may specify, for each category of trader concerned and based on a risk analysis, the minimum proportion of consignments and quantities subject to conformity checks by the competent inspection body at the export stage. This proportion shall be sufficient to ensure compliance with Community rules. Where these checks reveal significant irregularities, the inspection bodies shall increase the proportion of consignments checked in the case of the traders concerned.

Member States may apply the provisions mentioned in the second subparagraph to traders fulfilling the following conditions:

(a) they offer sufficient guarantees of a consistent and high rate of conformity for the fruit and vegetables which they market;

(b) they have inspection staff who have received training approved by the Member State;

(c) they undertake to check the conformity of the goods they market; and

(d) they undertake to keep a register recording all the checks they have carried out.

3. After completion of the checking operations mentioned in paragraph 1 the inspection body shall issue a certificate of conformity as set out in Annex III for each lot intended for export and which they consider to be in conformity with the marketing standards. Where the export consignment consists of several lots, the conformity of those lots may be certified on a single certificate which clearly lists the various lots constituting that consignment.

Where, in accordance with paragraph 2, lots concerned by the certificate of conformity have not been checked by the competent inspection body at the export stage, the mention ‘self-check (Article 11(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 0000/2007)’ shall be reported in box 13 (Comments) of the certificate.

4. The export declaration may be accepted by the competent customs authority only if:

(a) the goods are accompanied by either the certificate referred to in paragraph 3 or the certificate referred to in Article 19(2); or

(b) the competent inspection body informed the customs authority, by appropriate means, that the relevant lots have been subject to the issue of one of those two certificates.

Article 12

Conformity checks at the point of import

1. Before release for free circulation, products from third countries shall be checked for conformity with the marketing standards.

Importers shall provide the inspection bodies with all information those bodies judge necessary to organising and carrying out the checks mentioned in paragraph 2 and Article 16(1).

2. Without prejudice to Section 3, the official inspection body shall carry out a conformity check at the point of import for each imported lot and, where those products conform with the required standards, issue a certificate of conformity as set out in Annex III. Where the import consignment consists of several lots, the conformity of those lots may be certified on a single certificate which clearly lists the various lots constituting that consignment.

3. The customs authorities shall authorise release for free circulation only if:

(a) the goods are accompanied by the certificate referred to in paragraph 2, the certificate referred to in Article 14(1) or the certificate referred to in Article 19(2); or if

(b) the competent inspection body informed the customs authority, by appropriate means, that the relevant lots have been subject to the issuance of one of those certificates.

4. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, where the competent inspection body at the point of import considers that there is a low risk of certain lots not conforming to the marketing standards, it may choose not to check those lots. It shall send the customs authority a stamped declaration to that effect or inform that authority in another manner that it may carry out clearance procedures.

For the purposes of applying the first subparagraph, the inspection body shall lay down in advance the criteria for assessing the risk of lots not conforming and, on the basis of a risk analysis, for each type of import it has defined, the minimum proportions of consignments and quantities which will be subject to a conformity check by the competent inspection body at the import stage. Any proportion specified pursuant to this paragraph must in any case be substantially higher than the ones applied according to Article 16(1).

5. In order to improve the uniformity of application of paragraph 4 in the Member States, the Commission shall adopt common guidelines for its application. The coordinating authority shall inform the Commission forthwith of the rules for the application of paragraph 4, including the criteria and minimum proportions referred to in paragraph 4, second subparagraph and any subsequent amendment to those rules.

6. Where, on import from a third country, a lot of goods are found not to conform with the standards, the coordinating authority of the Member State concerned shall immediately notify the Commission and the coordinating authorities of the other Member States likely to be concerned, which shall then pass on this information as necessary in their territory. The Commission shall be notified via the electronic system indicated by the Commission.

Section 3

Checks performed by third countries

Article 13

Approval of checking operations performed by third countries prior to import into the Community

1. At the request of a third country, the Commission may approve, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, conformity checking operations performed by this third country prior to import into the Community.

2. The approval referred to in paragraph 1 may be granted to third countries which so request and on whose territory the Community marketing standards, or at least equivalent standards, are met for products exported to the Community.

The approval shall specify the official authority in the third country under the responsibility of which checking operations referred to in paragraph 1 are performed. This authority shall be responsible for contacts with the Community. The approval also specifies the inspection bodies in charge of the proper checks, hereinafter called ‘third country inspection bodies’.

The approval may only apply to products originating in the third country concerned and may be limited to certain products.

3. The third country inspection bodies shall be official bodies or officially recognised by the authority referred to in paragraph 2 providing satisfactory guarantees and disposing of the necessary personnel, equipment and facilities to carry out checks according to the methods referred to in Article 20(1) or equivalent methods.

4. The list of countries whose checks on conformity have been approved under this Article, and the products concerned, are set out in Part A of Annex IV. Details of their official authorities and inspection bodies are set out in Part B of that Annex and the models for the certificates referred to in Article 14 are set out in Part C of that Annex.

Article 14

Certificates

1. The third country inspection bodies shall draw up, for each lot checked prior to its entry into Community customs territory, either the certificate of conformity set out in Annex III, or any other form agreed between the Commission and the third country. Where the import consignment consists of several lots, the conformity of these lots may be certified on a single certificate which clearly lists the various lots constituting that consignment.

The standard forms on which the certificates provided for in the first subparagraph are drawn up shall be established within the framework of the approval referred to in Article 13(1).

2. The certificate shall bear the word ‘original’. Where additional copies are required, they should be stamped with the word ‘copy’. The competent authorities in the Community shall accept as valid only the original of the certificate.

The form shall measure 210 × 297 mm; a tolerance of up to plus 8 mm or minus 5 mm in the length may be allowed. The paper used shall be white, not containing mechanical pulp, sized for writing and shall weigh not less than 40 g/m2.

The forms shall be printed and completed in one of the official languages of the Community.

The forms must be completed using a mechanographical or similar process.

Entries must not be erased or overwritten. Any alterations shall be made by crossing out the incorrect particulars and, where appropriate, adding those required. Such changes shall be initialled by the person making them and endorsed by the issuing authorities.

Each certificate shall bear a serial number, by which it can be identified, and shall be stamped by the issuing authority and signed by the person or persons empowered to do so.

The issuing authority shall retain a copy of each certificate it issues.

Article 15

Suspension of approval

The Commission may suspend approval if it is found that, in a significant number of lots and/or quantities, the goods do not correspond to the information in the certificates of conformity issued by the third country inspection bodies, or where an unsatisfactory response has been made to the requests for a posteriori checks as referred to in Article 16(2).

Article 16

Additional checks by the Member States

1. Member States shall conduct physical checks at the point of import on products imported under the conditions set out in this Section for conformity with the standards by carrying out conformity checks for each third country concerned on a significant proportion of the consignments and quantities imported under those conditions. This proportion shall be sufficient to ensure compliance with the Community rules by the third country inspection bodies. Member States shall ensure that the measures laid down in Article 20(3) are applied to the lots checked where those lots do not comply with the marketing standards.

Where checks reveal significant irregularities, Member States shall immediately inform the Commission, and the inspection bodies shall increase the proportion of consignments and quantities checked in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

If a Member State levies a fee to cover the costs of the checks referred to in this paragraph, the level of this fee shall be such as to reflect the lower proportion of consignments and quantities checked for these checks than for those mentioned in Article 12.

2. Whenever doubts arise as to the authenticity of a certificate as referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 14(1) or the accuracy of the information contained therein, an a posteriori check shall be carried out.

The competent authority in the Community shall return the certificate or its copy thereof to the official correspondent in the third country, as referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 13(2), giving, where appropriate, the reasons for the enquiry and any information obtained suggesting that the certificate is not authentic or that the details it contains are incorrect. Requests for a posteriori checks shall be brought to the attention of the Commission as quickly as possible, together with the results of each request.

Where a request is made for an a posteriori check, the importer of the products concerned may ask the competent inspection bodies to carry out a conformity check as referred to in Article 12.

Article 17

Obligations of communication

1. The coordinating authority shall communicate to the Commission each quarter, by the end of the quarter following that quarter at the latest, for each third country and product concerned, the number of lots and total quantities imported in accordance with Article 13, the number of lots and the quantities which have been checked for conformity as referred to in Article 16(1) and, of those lots, those which the inspection bodies found not to conform with the data mentioned in the conformity certificates issued by the third country inspection body, specifying the quantities for each of those lots and the type of defects giving rise to that finding.

2. The customs authorities shall closely cooperate with the coordinating authority and/or the inspection bodies in particular as regards the application of Article 16(1) and (2) and provide them with all the information necessary.

Article 18

Administrative cooperation

1. The application of this Section shall be subject to the establishment of a procedure for administrative cooperation between the Community and each third country concerned.

To be eligible for this procedure, the third countries concerned shall send the Commission all relevant information on checking operations, in particular specimens of the stamp imprints used by the inspection bodies of the third country and, where appropriate, and without delay, any change to this information. The Commission shall notify this information, and any subsequent amendments, to the coordinating authorities in the Member States who shall inform the customs authorities and other competent authorities thereof.

Once administrative cooperation has been established, and following any significant amendment of the information communicated by a third country concerned both within the framework of this administrative cooperation and as regards the names and addresses of the official correspondent and of the inspection bodies, the Commission shall make a notice to this end publicly available by such means as it considers appropriate.

2. The approval of the third countries referred to in Article 13(4) shall apply from the date the notice referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article relating to the establishment of administrative cooperation between the Community and the third country is made publicly available by the Commission.

Section 4

Products intended for processing

Article 19

Products intended for processing

1. For the purpose of the application of this Regulation, products intended for processing are fresh fruit and vegetables subject to marketing standards that are shipped to processing plants where they are processed into products classified in a CN position different from that of the initial fresh product.

2. The competent inspection bodies shall issue certificates of industrial use set out in Annex V for products intended for export to third countries and products imported into the Community where such products are intended for processing and are, therefore, in accordance with Article 3(1)(a), not subject to conformity with the marketing standards. They shall ensure that the special labelling provisions laid down in paragraph 4 of this Article are complied with.

3. In the case of imports, after having issued any certificate referred to in paragraph 2, the competent inspection body shall immediately send to the coordinating authority of the Member State where processing is to take place a copy of the certificate and any forth information needed for a possible check of the processing operations. After processing, the processing enterprise shall return the certificate to the competent inspection body, which shall ensure that the products have actually been processed.

4. The packaging of products intended for processing must be clearly marked by the pack with the words ‘intended for processing’ or other equivalent wording. In the case of goods shipped in bulk, directly loaded onto a means of transport, this indication shall be given in a document accompanying the goods or shown on a notice placed in an obvious position inside the means of transport.

5. Members States shall take all the appropriate measures, in particular those related to cooperation with the other Member States concerned, to avoid any goods intended for the fresh market being shipped outside the region of production as goods intended for processing.

Section 5

Method of inspection

Article 20

Method of inspection

1. The conformity checks provided for in this Chapter, with the exception of those at the point of retail sale to the end consumer, shall be carried out in accordance with the methods laid down in Annex VI, save as otherwise provided under this Regulation.

Member States shall lay down specific arrangements for checking conformity at the point of retail sale to the end consumer.

2. Where inspectors find that the goods conform with the marketing standards, the inspection body may issue a certificate of conformity as set out in Annex III. This certificate shall in any event be issued at the point of import or export.

3. Where the goods do not conform with the standards, the inspection body shall issue a finding of non-conformity for the attention of the trader or their representatives. Goods for which a finding of non-conformity has been issued may not be moved without the authorisation of the inspection body which issued that finding. This authorisation can be subject to the respect of conditions laid down by the inspection body.

Traders may decide to bring all or some of the goods into conformity. Goods brought into conformity may not be marketed before the competent inspection body has ensured by all appropriate means that the goods have actually been brought into conformity. It shall issue, where applicable, a certificate of conformity as set out in Annex III for the lot or part thereof only once the goods have been brought into conformity.

If an inspection body accepts a trader's wish to bring the goods into conformity in a Member State other than that where the check leading to a finding of non-conformity has been carried out, the Member States shall take any measures which they deem appropriate, in particular with regard to cooperation between them, to check that the goods have been brought into conformity.

Where the goods can neither be brought into conformity nor sent to animal feed, industrial processing or any other non-food use, the inspection body may, if necessary, request traders to take adequate measures in order to ensure that the products concerned are not marketed.

Traders shall supply all information deemed necessary by Member States for the application of this paragraph.

4. For the purposes of applying this Chapter, invoices and accompanying documents shall indicate the quality class, the country of origin of the products and, where appropriate, the fact that it is intended for processing. This requirement shall not apply to retail sale to the end consumer.

TITLE III

PRODUCER ORGANISATIONS

CHAPTER I

Requirements and recognition

Section 1

Definitions

Article 21

Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Title:

(a) ‘producer’ means a farmer as referred to in Article 3(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007;

(b) ‘subsidiary’ means a company in which one or more producer organisations or associations thereof have taken shares and which contributes to the objectives of the producer organisation or the association of producer organisations;

(c) ‘transnational producer organisation’ means any organisation where at least one of the producers’ holdings is located in a Member State other than where the organisation has its head office;

(d) ‘transnational association of producer organisations’ means any association of producer organisations in which at least one of the associated organisations is located in a Member State other than where the association has its head office;

(e) ‘Convergence Objective’ means the objective of the action for the least developed Member States and regions according to the Community legislation governing the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013;

(f) ‘measure’ means one of the following: (i) actions aimed at planning of production, including acquisition of fixed assets; (ii) actions aimed at improving or maintaining product quality, including acquisition of fixed assets; (iii) actions aimed at improving marketing, including acquisition of fixed assets, as well as promotion and communication activities, other than promotion and communication activities falling under point (vi); (iv) research and experimental production, including acquisition of fixed assets; (v) training actions, other than training falling under point (vi), and actions aimed at promoting access to advisory services; (vi) any of the six crisis prevention and management instruments listed in points (a) to (f) of the first subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007; (vii) environmental actions as referred to in Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, including acquisition of fixed assets; (viii) other actions, including acquisition of fixed assets other than those falling under points (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (vii) which fulfil one or more of the objectives referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

(g) ‘action’ means a specific activity or instrument aimed at achieving a particular operational objective contributing to one or more of the objectives referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007;

(h) ‘by product’ means a product which results from preparation and/or processing of a fruit or vegetable product which has a positive economic value but is not the main intended result;

(i) ‘first-stage processing’ means processing of a fruit or vegetable product into another product listed in Annex I to the EC Treaty. Cleaning, cutting, trimming, drying and packaging of fresh products with a view to marketing shall not be considered as first-stage processing;

(j) ‘interbranch basis’ as referred to in Article 10(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, means one or more of the activities listed in Article 20(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 approved by the Member State and managed jointly by a producer organisation or an association of producer organisations and at least one other actor in the food processing and/or distribution chain;

(k) ‘baseline indicator’ means any indicator reflecting a state or trend existing at the start of a programming period which may provide information useful: (i) in the analysis of the initial situation, in order to establish a national strategy for sustainable operational programmes or an operational programme; (ii) as a reference against which the results and impact of a national strategy or an operational programme may be assessed; and/or (iii) in interpreting the results and impact of a national strategy or an operational programme.

2. Member States shall define the legal entities concerned in their territory for the purposes of Articles 3(1) and 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 in the light of their national legal and administrative structures. They shall, if appropriate, also lay down provisions on the clear definition of parts of legal entities for the application of those Articles.

Section 2

Requirements applicable to producer organisations

Article 22

Product coverage

1. Member States shall recognise producer organisations under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 in respect of the product or the group of products specified in the application for recognition, subject to any decision taken under Article 4(1)(c) of that Regulation.

2. Member States shall only recognise producer organisations in respect of products solely intended for processing where they are able to ensure that such products are delivered for processing, whether through a system of supply contracts or otherwise.

Article 23

Minimum number of members

In laying down the minimum number of members of a producer organisation pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, Member States may provide that where an applicant for recognition is wholly or partly made up of members which are themselves legal entities or clearly defined parts of legal entities made up of producers, the minimum number of producers may be calculated on the basis of the number of producers associated with each of the legal entities or clearly defined parts of legal entities.

Article 24

Minimum length of membership

1. The minimum membership period of a producer shall not be less than one year.

2. Resignation from membership shall be notified to the organisation in writing. The Member States shall lay down the notice periods, which shall not exceed six months, and the dates on which resignation shall take effect.

Article 25

Structures and activities of producer organisations

Member States shall ensure that producer organisations have at their disposal the staff, infrastructure and equipment necessary to fulfil the requirements laid down in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 and ensure their essential functioning, in particular as regards:

(a) the knowledge of their members’ production;

(b) collecting, sorting, storing and packaging the production of their members;

(c) commercial and budgetary management; and

(d) centralised bookkeeping and a system of invoicing.

Article 26

Value or volume of marketable production

For the purposes of Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, the value or volume of marketable production shall be calculated on the same basis as the value of marketed production set out in Articles 52 and 53 of this Regulation.

Article 27

Provision of technical means

For the purposes of Article 4(1)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, a producer organisation which is recognised for a product for which the provision of technical means is necessary shall be considered to fulfil its obligation where it provides an adequate level of technical means itself or through its members, or through subsidiaries, or by outsourcing.

Article 28

Producer organisations’ main activities

1. The main activity of a producer organisation shall relate to the concentration of supply and the placing on the market of the products of its members for which it is recognised.

2. The value of the marketed production of the producer organisation's own members and of members of other producer organisations that it sells, shall be more than the value of all the other marketed production which it sells.

This calculation shall be based only on products for which the producer organisation is recognised.

3. Where Article 52(7) applies, paragraph 2 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the subsidiaries concerned from 1 January 2012.

Article 29

Outsourcing

Outsourcing of an activity of a producer organisation shall mean that the producer organisation enters into a commercial arrangement with another entity, including one of its members or a subsidiary, for the provision of the activity concerned. The producer organisation shall nevertheless remain responsible for ensuring the carrying out of that activity, and overall management control and supervision of commercial arrangement for the provision of the activity.

The first paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis where an association of producer organisations outsources an activity.

Article 30

Transnational producer organisations

1. A transnational producer organisation's head office shall be established in the Member State where the organisation has significant holdings or a significant number of members and/or achieves an important level of marketed production.

2. The Member State in which the head office of the transnational producer organisation is located shall be responsible for the following:

(a) recognising the transnational producer organisation;

(b) approving the transnational producer organisation's operational programme;

(c) establishing the necessary administrative collaboration with the other Member States in which the members are located with respect to compliance with the terms of recognition and the system of checks and sanctions. Those other Member States shall be obliged to give all necessary assistance to the Member State in which the head office is located; and

(d) providing, on request of other Member States, all relevant documentation, including any applicable legislation available to the other Member States in which the members are located, translated into an official language of the requesting Member States.

Article 31

Mergers of producer organisations

1. Where producer organisations with previously different operational programmes have merged, they may operate the programmes in parallel and separately until 1 January of the year following the merger. In such cases, the producer organisations concerned shall request the merger of the operational programmes by means of an amendment in accordance with the provisions of Article 66. Otherwise, the producer organisations concerned shall request forthwith the merger of the operational programmes by means of an amendment in accordance with the provisions of Article 67.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may authorise producer organisations which so request, for duly substantiated reasons, to implement separate operational programmes in parallel until they reach their natural conclusion.

Article 32

Non-producer members

1. Member States may determine whether and on what conditions any individual or legal person who is not a producer may be accepted as a member of a producer organisation.

2. When setting the conditions referred to in paragraph 1, the Member States shall ensure, in particular, compliance with paragraphs 1(a) and 4(c) of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

3. The natural or legal persons referred to in paragraph 1 shall not:

(a) be taken into account for the recognition criteria;

(b) benefit directly from the measures financed by the Community.

Member States may restrict or prohibit their right to vote on decisions relating to operational funds, in line with the conditions laid down in paragraph 2.

Article 33

Democratic accountability of producer organisations

Member States shall take all measures they consider to be necessary in order to avoid any abuse of power or influence by one or more members over the management and operation of a producer organisation, which shall include voting rights.

Section 3

Associations of producer organisations

Article 34

Recognition of associations of producer organisations

1. Member States may only recognise associations of producer organisations under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 in respect of the activities concerning the product or products specified in the application for recognition.

2. An association of producer organisations may be recognised under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 and carry out any of the activities of a producer organisation, even when the marketing of the products concerned continues to be carried out by its members.

Article 35

Associations of producer organisations’ main activities

Article 28(2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis to associations of producer organisations.

Article 36

Members of associations of producer organisations which are not producer organisations

1. Member States may determine whether and on what conditions any individual or legal person who is not a recognised producer organisation may be accepted as a member of an association of producer organisations.

2. Members of a recognised association of producer organisations who are not recognised producer organisations shall not:

(a) be considered for the recognition criteria;

(b) vote on decisions relating to operational funds;

(c) benefit directly from the measures financed by the Community.

Article 37

Transnational association of producer organisations

1. The head office of the transnational association of producer organisations shall be established in a Member State in which this association has a significant number of member organisations and/or the member organisations achieve an important level of marketed production.

2. The Member State in which the head office of the transnational association of producer organisations is located shall be responsible for the following:

(a) recognising the association;

(b) approving, where necessary, the association's operational programme;

(c) establishing the necessary administrative collaboration with the other Member States in which the associated organisations are located with respect to compliance with the terms of recognition and the system of checks and sanctions. Those other Member States shall be obliged to give all necessary assistance to the Member State in which the head office is located; and

(d) providing, on request of other Member States, all relevant documentation, including any applicable legislation available to the other Member States in which the members are located, translated into an official language of the requesting Member States.

Section 4

Producer groups

Article 38

Submission of recognition plans

1. A legal entity or clearly defined part of a legal entity shall submit the recognition plan referred to in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 to the competent authority of the Member State in which the entity has its head office.

2. Member States shall lay down:

(a) the minimum criteria which the legal entity or clearly defined part of a legal entity shall meet to be able to submit a recognition plan;

(b) the rules for the drafting, content and implementation of recognition plans;

(c) the period during which a former member of a producer organisation shall be prohibited from joining a producer group after leaving the producer organisation in respect of the products for which the producer organisation was recognised; and

(d) the administrative procedures for the approval, monitoring and fulfilling of recognition plans.

Article 39

Content of recognition plans

A draft recognition plan shall cover at least the following:

(a) a description of the initial situation, in particular as regards the number of producer members, giving full details of members, production, including the value of marketed production, marketing and infrastructure, including infrastructure owned by individual members of the producer group if it is to be used by the producer group itself;

(b) the proposed date for starting implementation of the plan and its duration, which shall not exceed five years; and

(c) activities to be implemented in order to achieve recognition.

Article 40

Approval of recognition plans

1. The competent national authority shall decide on a draft recognition plan within three months of the receipt of the plan accompanied by all supporting documents.

2. Following the checks referred to in Article 113, the competent national authority shall, as appropriate:

(a) accept the plan and grant preliminary recognition;

(b) request changes to the plan;

(c) reject the plan.

Acceptance may be granted, where necessary, only if the changes requested under point (b) have been incorporated in the plan.

It shall notify the legal entity or clearly defined part of a legal entity of its decision.

Article 41

Implementation of recognition plans

1. The recognition plan shall be implemented in annual segments starting on 1 January. Member States may allow producer groups to break down these annual segments into semestrial periods.

The recognition plan shall begin, in accordance with the proposed date under Article 39(b):

(a) on 1 January following the date of its acceptance by the competent national authority; or

(b) immediately following the date of its acceptance.

2. Member States shall set the conditions on which producer groups may request changes to plans during their implementation. These requests shall be accompanied by all the necessary supporting documents.

3. The competent national authority shall decide on changes to plans within three months of receipt of the request for change, after considering the evidence supplied. Where no decision is taken on a request for change within that period, the request shall be deemed to have been rejected.

Article 42

Applications for recognition as a producer organisation

Producer groups implementing a recognition plan may, at any time, submit an application for recognition under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007. Such applications shall in any event be submitted before the end of the transitional period referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

From the date on which such an application is lodged, the group in question may submit a draft operational programme under Article 64.

Article 43

Producer groups’ main activities

Article 28 shall apply mutatis mutandis to producer groups.

Article 44

Value of marketed production

1. Article 52 shall apply mutatis mutandis for producer groups.

2. Where a reduction in the value of marketed production has occurred due to reasons, duly justified to the Member State, falling outside the responsibility and control of the producer group, the value of the marketed production shall not be less than 65 % of the value declared in the previous application or applications for aid covering the most recent annual segment, as verified by the Member State, and in the absence thereof, of the value declared initially in the approved recognition plan.

Article 45

Financing of recognition plans

1. The rates of aid referred to in Article 7(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall be reduced by half in relation to marketed production which exceeds EUR 1 000 000.

2. The aid referred to in Article 7(3)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall be subject to a ceiling for each producer group of EUR 100 000 per annual segment.

3. Where a segment of implementation does not run for a complete calendar year the ceilings referred to in paragraph 2 shall be reduced proportionately.

4. The aid referred to in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall be paid:

(a) in annual or semestrial instalments at the end of each annual or semestrial period for the implementation of the recognition plan; or

(b) in instalments covering part of an annual period if the plan starts during the annual period or if recognition occurs under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 before the end of an annual period.

In order to calculate the instalments, the Member States may use as a basis the marketed production corresponding to a period other than that in respect of which the instalment is paid, where checks so require. The difference between the periods shall be less than the actual period concerned.

5. The exchange rate applicable to the amounts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be the rate most recently published by the European Central Bank prior to the first day of the period for which the aid in question is granted.

Article 46

Aid for investments required for recognition

As regards investments linked to implementation of recognition plans referred to in Article 39(c) of this Regulation for which aid is provided for under Article 7(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007:

(a) investments liable to distort competition where the other economic activities of the organisation are concerned shall be excluded; and

(b) investments to the direct or indirect benefit of such measures shall be financed pro rata to their use for the sectors or products for which preliminary recognition is granted.

Article 47

Application for aid

1. A producer group shall submit a single application for the aid referred to in Articles 7(3)(a) and (b) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 within three months of the end of each annual or semestrial period as referred to in Article 45(4) of this Regulation. The application shall include a declaration of the value of marketed production for the period for which the aid is claimed.

2. Applications for aid covering semestrial periods may be submitted only if the recognition plan is broken into semestrial periods as referred to in Article 41(1)(2). All applications for aid shall be accompanied by a written declaration from the producer group to the effect that the latter:

(a) complies and will comply with Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 and with this Regulation; and

(b) has not benefited, is not benefiting and will not benefit either directly or indirectly from duplicate Community or national financing for actions implemented under its recognition plan for which Community financing is granted pursuant to this Regulation.

3. Member States shall fix the deadline for paying the aid which in any case shall not be later than six months after the receipt of the application.

Article 48

Eligibility

Member States shall evaluate the eligibility of producer groups for the aid under this Regulation in order to establish that the aid is duly justified, taking into account the conditions and the date on which any earlier public aid was granted to the producer organisations or groups from which the members of the producer group in question originate and to any movements of members between producer organisations and producer groups.

Article 49

Community contribution

1. The Community contribution towards aid as referred to in Article 7(3)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall amount to:

(a) 75 % of eligible public expenditure in the regions eligible under the Convergence Objective; and

(b) 50 % of eligible public expenditure in other regions.

2. The Community contribution towards aid as referred to in Article 7(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, expressed in terms of a capital grant or capital-grant equivalent, shall not exceed, as a percentage of eligible investment costs:

(a) 50 % in the regions eligible under the Convergence Objective; and

(b) 30 % in other regions.

The Member States concerned shall undertake to contribute at least 5 % of eligible investment costs.

Beneficiaries of aid towards eligible investment costs shall pay at least:

(a) 25 % in the regions eligible under the Convergence Objective; and

(b) 45 % in other regions.

Article 50

Mergers

1. Aid as provided for in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 may be given, or may continue to be given, to producer groups which have been granted preliminary recognition and which result from the merger between two or more producer group granted preliminary recognition.

2. For the purposes of calculating the aid payable pursuant to paragraph 1, the producer group resulting from the merger shall replace the merging groups.

3. Where two or more producer groups merge, the new entity shall assume the rights and obligations of the producer group which has been granted pre-recognition status the earliest.

4. Where a producer group which has been granted preliminary recognition merges with a recognised producer organisation, the resulting entity shall no longer be eligible for preliminary recognition as a producer group, nor for the aid referred to in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007. The resulting entity shall continue to be treated as the recognised producer organisation, provided that it respects the applicable requirements. If necessary, the producer organisation shall request a change to its operational programme, and to this end Article 31 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

However, actions carried out by producer groups before such a merger shall continue to be eligible under the conditions set out in the recognition plan.

Article 51

Consequences of recognition

1. Aid as provided for in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall cease once recognition is granted.

2. Where an operational programme is submitted pursuant to this Regulation, the Member State concerned shall ensure that there is no duplicated financing of the measures set out in the recognition plan.

3. Investments qualifying for the aid or the costs referred to in Article 7(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 may be carried over to operational programmes provided they are in line with the requirements of this Regulation.

4. Member States shall fix the period, starting after implementation of the recognition plan, within which the producer group shall be required to be recognised as a producer organisation. The period shall not exceed four months.

CHAPTER II

Operational funds and operational programmes

Section 1

Value of marketed production

Article 52

Basis for calculation

1. For the purposes of this Chapter, the value of marketed production for a producer organisation shall be calculated on the basis of the production of members of producer organisations, for which the producer organisation is recognised.

2. The value of the marketed production shall include the production of members who leave or join the producer organisation. The Member States shall determine the conditions to avoid duplicate counting.

3. Member States may allow producer organisations to include the value of the by-products in the value of the marketed production.

4. The value of the marketed production shall include the value of market withdrawal disposed of as provided for in points (a) and (b) of Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, estimated at the average price of those products marketed by the producer organisation in the previous year.

5. Only the production of the members of the producer organisation marketed by the producer organisation itself or in conformity with Article 3(3)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, shall be counted in the value of marketed production.

6. The marketed production shall be invoiced at the ‘ex-producer organisation’ stage:

(a) where applicable, as product which is packaged, prepared, or has undergone first-stage processing;

(b) excluding VAT; and

(c) excluding internal transport costs, where the distance between the centralised collection or packing points of the producer organisation and the point of distribution of the producer organisation is significant. Member States shall provide for reductions to be applied to the invoiced value for products invoiced at different stages of processing or delivery or transport.

7. The value of the marketed production may also be calculated at the ex-subsidiary stage, on the same basis as set out in paragraph 6, provided that at least 90 % of the capital of the subsidiary is owned:

(a) by the producer organisations or association of producer organisations; or

(b) subject to Member State approval, by members, which are cooperatives, of the producer organisations or associations of producer organisations if doing so contributes to the objectives listed in Article 3(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

8. Where a reduction in production occurs due to a climatic event or animal or plant diseases or pest infestations, any insurance indemnification received in respect of harvest insurance measures covered by Section 6 of Chapter III, or equivalent measures managed by the producer organisation, due to these causes may be included in the value of marketed production.

Article 53

Reference period

1. The annual ceiling on aid referred to in Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall be calculated each year on the basis of the value of marketed production during a 12-month reference period to be determined by the Member States.

2. The reference period shall be fixed by the Member States for each producer organisation as:

(a) a 12-month period, starting no earlier than 1 January three years preceding the year in which the operational programme is implemented and ending no later than 1 August of the same year; or

(b) the average value of three subsequent 12-month periods starting no earlier than 1 January five years preceding the year in which the operational programme is implemented and ending no later than 1 August of the same year.

3. The 12-month period shall be the accounting period of the producer organisation concerned.

The reference period shall not vary during an operational programme except in duly justified situations.

4. Where a reduction in the value of a product has occurred due to reasons, duly justified to the satisfaction of a Member State, falling outside the responsibility and control of the producer organisation, the value of the marketed production referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be less than 65 % of the value of the product concerned in the previous reference period.

The reasons referred to in the first subparagraph shall be duly justified.

5. Where recently recognised producer organisations have insufficient historical data on marketed production for the application of paragraph 2 the value of marketed production may be considered to be the value of marketable production provided by the producer organisation for the purposes of recognition. This shall be calculated as the average value of the marketed production for the three previous years of all producers who are members of the producer organisation when the application for recognition is submitted.

6. Member States shall take the measures necessary to gather information on the value of marketed production of producer organisations which have not submitted operational programmes.

7. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 6, the value of marketed production for the reference period shall be as calculated under the legislation applicable in this reference period.

Section 2

Operational Funds

Article 54

Management

Member States shall ensure that operational funds are managed in such a way that it is possible for external auditors to annually identify, check and certify their expenditure and revenue.

Article 55

Financing of operational funds

The financial contributions to the operational fund referred to in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall be determined by the producer organisation.

All producers shall have the opportunity to benefit from the operational fund, and all producers shall have the opportunity to participate democratically in decisions concerning the use of funds of the producer organisation and the financial contributions to the operational funds.

Article 56

Communication of estimated amount

Producer organisations shall communicate the estimated amounts of Community contribution, and the contribution of its members and of the producer organisation itself to the operational funds for the following year to the Member State by 15 September at the latest, together with the operational programmes or requests for approval of their amendments.

Member States may set a later date than 15 September.

Calculation of the estimated amount of operational funds shall be based on the operational programmes and the value of marketed production. The calculation shall be split between expenditure for crisis prevention and management measures and other measures.

Section 3

Operational Programmes

Article 57

National strategy

1. The overall structure and content of the national strategy referred to in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall, from 1 January 2009, be established in accordance with the guidelines set out in Annex VII. Prior to that date, Member States shall determine its overall structure and content. It may be comprised of regional elements.

The national strategy shall integrate all the decisions taken and provisions adopted by the Member State in application of Title III of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 and this Title.

2. The national strategy, including the integration of the national framework referred to in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, shall be established before draft operational programmes are submitted in any given year. The national framework shall be integrated after having been submitted to the Commission and if appropriate, after having been amended, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

3. An analysis of the initial situation shall form part of the process of drawing up the national strategy and be carried out under responsibility of the Member State. It shall identify and assess the needs to be met, the ranking of the needs in terms of priorities, the goals to be achieved through the operational programmes to meet those priority needs, the results expected and the quantified targets to be attained in relation to the initial situation, and lay down the most appropriate instruments and actions for attaining those objectives.

4. Member States shall also ensure monitoring and evaluation of the national strategy and its implementation through operational programmes.

The national strategy may be amended, in particular in the light of monitoring and evaluation. Such amendments shall be made before the submission of draft operational programmes in any given year.

5. Member States shall set out in the national strategy maximum percentages of the fund which may be spent on any individual measure and/or type of action and/or expenditure in order to ensure an appropriate balance between different measures.

Article 58

National framework for environmental actions

1. In addition to the notification foreseen under Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 Member States shall also notify the Commission of any amendments to the national framework which shall be subject to the procedure set out in the second subparagraph of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007. The Commission shall make the framework available to other Member States by the means it considers appropriate.

2. The framework shall set out a non-exhaustive list of environmental actions and the conditions therefore applicable in the Member State for the purposes of Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 and, for each environmental action selected, shall indicate:

(a) the specific commitment or commitments entailed; and

(b) the justification of the action based on its expected environmental impact in relation to environmental needs and priorities.

Article 59

Complementary Member State rules

Member States may adopt rules complementing Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 and this Regulation concerning the eligibility of measures, actions or expenditure under operational programmes.

Article 60

Relationship with rural development programmes

1. No support under the Member State's rural development programme or programmes approved under Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, shall be granted to actions which are covered by measures set out by this Regulation, subject to paragraph 2.

2. Where support under Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 has exceptionally been granted in accordance with Article 5(6) of that Regulation, to measures which would be potentially eligible under this Regulation, Member States shall ensure that a beneficiary may receive support for a given action only under one scheme.

To that end, when Member States, include measures containing such exceptions in their rural development programmes, they shall ensure that the national strategy as referred to in Article 57 of this Regulation lays down the criteria and administrative rules which they will apply in the rural development programmes.

Where relevant, and without prejudice to provisions of Articles 10(1) and (3) and 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007, the level of support for measures covered by this Regulation shall not exceed that applicable for the measures under the rural development programme.

Support for environmental actions, other than acquisition of fixed assets, shall be limited to the maximum amounts laid down in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 for agri-environment payments. These amounts may be increased in exceptional cases taking account of specific circumstances to be justified in the national strategy as referred to in Article 57 of this Regulation.

Article 61

Contents of operational programmes and eligible expenditure

1. Operational programmes shall include the following:

(a) a description of the initial situation, based, where relevant, on the baseline indicators listed in Annex XIV;

(b) the objectives of the programme, bearing in mind the outlook for production and outlets, and an explanation of how the programme contributes to the national strategy and confirmation that it is consistent with the national strategy, including in its balance between activities. The description of the objectives shall refer to objectives defined in the national strategy and indicate measurable targets, so as to facilitate the monitoring of progress gradually made in implementing the programme;

(c) a detailed description of the measures, including those for crisis prevention and management, containing separate actions, to be taken and the means for attaining those objectives in each year of implementation of the programme. The description shall indicate the extent to which different measures proposed: (i) complement and are consistent with other measures, including measures financed or eligible for support by other European Community funds, and in particular rural development support. In this respect, a specific reference shall also be made, if appropriate, to measures carried out under previous operational programmes; (ii) do not entail any risk of double financing by European Community funds;

(d) the duration of the programme; and

(e) the financial aspects, namely: (i) the method of calculation and the level of financial contributions; (ii) the procedure for financing the operational fund; (iii) information necessary to justify different levels of contribution; and (iv) the budget and timetable for undertaking operations for each year of implementation of the programme.

2. Various environmental actions may be combined provided that they are complementary and compatible.

Where environmental actions are combined, the level of support shall take account of the specific income foregone and additional costs resulting from the combination.

3. Investments, including those under leasing contracts, whose repayment period exceeds the length of the operational programme may be carried over to a subsequent operational programme on duly justified economic grounds, and in particular in cases where the fiscal depreciation period is longer than five years.

Where investments are replaced, the residual value of the investments replaced shall be:

(a) added to the operational fund of the producer organisation; or

(b) subtracted from the cost of the replacement.

Investments or actions may be implemented on individual holdings of members of the producer organisation, provided that they contribute to the objectives of the operational programme. If the member leaves the producer organisation, Member States shall ensure that the investment or its residual value is recovered, unless the Member State provides otherwise.

4. Operational programmes shall not include actions or expenditure referred to in the list set out in Annex VIII.

5. Expenditure under operational programmes eligible for aid shall be restricted to the actual costs incurred. However, Member States may instead fix standard flat rates in advance and in a duly justified way in the following cases:

(a) where such standard flat-rates are referred to in Annex VIII;

(b) for additional per-kilometre external transport costs, compared to road haulage costs, incurred when using rail and/or ship transport as part of a measure to respect the environment; and

(c) for additional costs and income foregone resulting from environmental actions, calculated in conformity with Article 53(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1974/2006.

Member States shall review such rates at least every five years.

6. In order for an action to be eligible, more than 50 % by value of the products concerned by it shall be those for which the producer organisation is recognised. To be counted in the 50 %, the products shall come from the producer organisation's members or members of another producer organisation. The appropriate rules in Article 52 shall apply to the calculation of the value.

Article 62

Documents to be submitted

Operational programmes shall be accompanied by, in particular:

(a) evidence of the setting-up of an operational fund;

(b) a written undertaking from the pr