EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 12. 98 L 346/44
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2776/98
of 21 December 1998
fixing export refunds on fruit and vegetables
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 themarket in fruit and vegetables (
1), as amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/97 (2), and in
particular Article 35(11) thereof,
Whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 2190/96 (3), as
last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1287/98 (4), lays
down detailed rules on export refunds on fruit and veget-ables;
Whereas Article 35(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96,
provides that, to the extent necessary for economicallysignificant quantities of the products listed in that Articleto be exported, the difference between the internationalmarket prices for those products and their prices in theCommunity may be covered by export refunds;
Whereas Article 35(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96
provides that refunds must be fixed in the light of theexisting situation or the outlook for fruit and vegetableprices on the Community market and supplies availableon the one hand, and prices on the international marketon the other hand; whereas account must also be taken ofthe costs referred to in Article 35(4)(b) of that Regulationand of the economic aspect of the exports planned;
Whereas, pursuant to Article 35(1) of Regulation (EC) No
2200/96, refunds are to be set with due regard to thelimits resulting from agreements concluded in accordancewith Article 228 of the Treaty;
Whereas, in accordance with Article 35(5) of Regulation
(EC) No 2200/96, prices on the Community market are tobe established in the light of the most favourable pricesfrom the export standpoint; whereas international trade
prices are to be established in the light of the pricesreferred to in the second subparagraph of that paragraph;
Whereas the international trade situation or the special
requirements of certain markets may call for the refundon a given product to vary according to its destination;
Whereas tomatoes, lemons, oranges and apples of classes
Extra, I and II of the common quality standards, shelledalmonds, hazelnuts and walnuts in shell can currently beexported in economically significant quantities;
Whereas the application of the abovementioned rules to
the present and forecast market situation, and in partic-ular to fruit and vegetable prices in the Community andinternational trade, gives the refund rates set out in theAnnex hereto;
Whereas, pursuant to Article 35(2) of Regulation (EC) No
2200/96, the resources available should be used as effi-ciently as possible while avoiding discrimination betweentraders; whereas, therefore, care should be taken not todisturb the trade flows previously induced by the refundarrangements; whereas, for those reasons and because ofthe seasonal nature of exports of fruit and vegetables,quotas should be fixed for each product;
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3846/87 (
5),
as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2580/98 (6), estab-
lishes an agricultural product nomenclature for exportrefunds;
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 (
7),
as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1044/98 (8), lays
down common detailed rules for the application of thesystem of import and export licences and advance fixingcertificates for agricultural products;
(1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1. (5) OJ L 366, 24. 12. 1987, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 346, 17. 12. 1997, p. 41. (6) OJ L 322, 1. 12. 1998, p. 31.
(3) OJ L 292, 15. 11. 1996, p. 12. (7) OJ L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 178, 23. 6. 1998, p. 11. (8) OJ L 149, 20. 5. 1998, p. 11.
EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 12. 98 L 346/45
Whereas, owing to the market situation, in order to make
the most efficient use of the resources available and giventhe structure of Community exports, the most appropriatemethod should be selected for export refunds on certainproducts and certain destinations and consequentlyrefunds under the A1 and A2 licence arrangementsreferred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 2190/96should not be fixed simultaneously for the export periodin question;
Whereas the quantities laid down for the various products
should be distributed in accordance with the differentsystems for the grant of the refund, taking account inparticular of their perishability;
Whereas account should be taken of the definitive rates
under the A2 system fixed for the preceding licenceapplication period;
Whereas Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1103/
97 of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions relating to theintroduction of the euro (
1) provides that, as from 1
January 1999, all references to the ecu in legal instru-ments are to be replaced by references to the euro at therate of EUR 1 to ECU 1; whereas, for the sake of clarity,the denomination ‘euro' should be used in this Regula-
tion since it is to apply from 8 January 1999;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of the ManagementCommittee for Fruit and Vegetables,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The export refunds on fruit and vegetables shall be
as set out in the Annex hereto.
2. Quantities covered by licences issued for food aid as
referred to in Article 14a of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88shall not count against the eligible quantities covered byparagraph 1.
3. Without prejudice to the application of Article 4(5)
of Regulation (EC) No 2190/96, the term of validity of A1and A2 licences shall be two months.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on 8 January 1999.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.
Done at Brussels, 21 December 1998.
For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission
(1) OJ L 162, 19. 6. 1997, p. 1.
EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 12. 98 L 346/46
ProductSystem
Application periods
(full definitions of
eligible products are given
in the ‘Fruit
and vegetables'ProductDestination
orA1
8. 1 to 9. 3. 1999A2
11 to 13. 1. 1999B
15. 1 to 16. 3. 1999
sector of
Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 3846/87
amended)code destination
group (1)Refund
rate
(EUR/tonnes
net weight)Scheduled
quantity
(tonnes)Indicative
refund
rate
(EUR/tonnes
net weight)Scheduled
quantity
(tonnes)Indicative
refund
rate
(EUR/tonnes
net weight)Scheduled
quantity
(tonnes)ANNEX
EXPORT REFUNDS ON FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Tomatoes 0702 00 00 9100 F 20 20 2 815 20 4 432
Shelled almonds 0802 12 90 9000 F 50 285 50 237
Hazelnuts in shell 0802 21 00 9000 F 59 12 59 0
Shelled hazelnuts 0802 22 00 9000 F 114 1 107 114 1 428
Walnuts in shell 0802 31 00 9000 F 73 36
Oranges 0805 10 10 9100
0805 10 30 91000805 10 50 9100XYC 50 50 49 635 50 103 514
Lemons 0805 30 10 9100 F 35 35 18 539 35 17 548
Apples 0808 10 20 91000808 10 50 91000808 10 90 9100 XY 40 40 8 387 40 7 370
0808 10 20 91000808 10 50 91000808 10 90 9100 ZD 54 3 050 54 3 136
(1) The destination codes are defined as follows:
X: Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Faeroes, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Malta.
Y: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, destinatio ns referred to in Article 34 of
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87, as amended.
Z: African countries and territories except South Africa, countries of the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emira tes (Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain, Ras al Khaimah, Fujairah), Kuwait, Yemen), Syria, Iran, Jordan, Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia.
C: Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia.D: Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Mexi co, Costa Rica.
E: All destinations except Switzerland.F: All destinations.