*****

COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 1368/85

of 24 May 1985

fixing the buying-in prices for forequarters in the beef and veal sector valid with effect from 27 May 1985 and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1177/85

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN

COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal (1), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Greece, and in particular Article 6 (5) (c) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1308/85 of 23 May 1985 fixing for the 1985/1986 marketing year the guide price and intervention price for adult bovine animals (2), and in particular Article 3 (5) thereof,

Whereas, pursuant to the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1302/73 of 15 May 1973 laying down general rules for intervention on the market in beef and veal (3), the qualities and presentations of products bought in must be determined while taking account, on the one hand, of the need to ensure effective support for the market and balance between the market in question and that of rival animal products and, on the other hand, the Community's financial responsibilities in this field; whereas buying-in operations should therefore be restricted to certain presentations;

Whereas, by Regulation (EEC) No 869/84 of 31 March 1984 (4), the Council decided, by way of an experiment, to implement for a period of three years the Community scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovine animals established under Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 (5) in connection with intervention measures; whereas the categories and qualities of products which may be bought in by the intervention agencies must therefore be defined on the basis of the said scale;

Whereas Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 869/84 provides for the rapprochement of buying-in prices in three equal stages from the 1984/85 marketing year and the fixing of a single buying-in price throughout the Community at the start of the 1986/87 marketing year; whereas the second stage should be commenced at the end of one year of application of the Community scale;

Whereas the maximum and minimum limits within which the Member States may vary the buying-in prices to take account of the classification subdivisions which they apply by virtue of Article 3 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 should be defined for each quality;

Whereas the joint presentation of the forequarter and hindquarter from the same half-carcase serves to facilitate controls carried out by the intervention agency as regards respect for the rules governing quality and the classification of meats presented; whereas, to this effect, provisions should be introduced enabling the intervention agencies to require that the two quarters be presented together;

Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1177/85 of 6 May 1985 fixing the buying-in prices for forequarters in the beef and veal sector valid with effect from 13 May 1985 (6) should be repealed;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Beef and Veal,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. With effect from 27 May 1985, the intervention agencies shall purchase the forequarters of certain qualities of adult bovine animals offered subject to the conditions laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2226/78 (7) at prices fixed for each product in the Annex hereto.

2. The buying-in prices for each quality, referred to in paragraph 1, may be increased by a maximum of 2 ECU or reduced by a maximum of 5 ECU to take account of the possible subdivision of each classification under the Community scale referred to in Article 3 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81.

3. The Member States which proceed with the subdivision of classes foreseen in paragraph 2 are authorized to limit purchases into intervention to some of these sub-classes.

4. Subject to the conditions referred to above, only meats from male animals shall be eligible for buying-in operations.

5. At the request of the intervention agency concerned, the operator shall present to the latter, together with the forequarter offered, the hinquarter from the same half-carcase.

Article 2

Regulation (EEC) No 1177/85 is hereby repealed.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall apply from 27 May 1985.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 24 May 1985.

For the Commission

Frans ANDRIESSEN

Vice-President

(1) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24.

(2) OJ No L 137, 27. 5. 1985, p. 16.

(3) OJ No L 132, 15. 5. 1973, p. 3.

(4) OJ No L 90, 1. 4. 1984, p. 32.

(5) OJ No L 123, 7. 5. 1981, p. 3.

(6) OJ No L 122, 7. 5. 1985, p. 13.

(7) OJ No L 261, 26. 9. 1978, p. 5.