No C 138/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 6. 90 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 283/72 
concerning irregularities and the recovery of sums wrongly paid in connection with the financing 
of the common agricultural policy and the organization of an information system in this field 
COM(90) 112 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 22 May 1990) 
(90/C 138/04) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, 
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 
of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agri­
cultural policy O, as last amended by Regulation (EEC) 
No 2048/88 (2), and in particular Article 8 (3) thereof, 
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 
1676/85 of 11 June 1985 on the value of the unit of 
account and the conversion rates to be applied for the 
purposes of the common agricultural policy (*), as last 
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1636/87 (4), and in 
particular Article 2 (4) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 283/72 (') needs 
to be amended in order to harmonize its application in 
the Member States and intensify the campaign against 
irregularities in the light of the experience acquired; 
Whereas the information to be communicated to the 
Commission by the Member States should be amplified; 
(') OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13. 
O OJ No L 185, 15. 7. 1988, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 164, 24. 6. 1985, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 153, 13. 6. 1987, p. 1. 
(*) OJ No L 36, 10. 2. 1972, p. 1. Whereas the Commission should be systematically 
informed of judicial and administrative procedures 
against persons suspected of having committed irregu­
larities; whereas it would also be advisable to ensure the 
systematic transmission of information concerning the 
measures taken by the Member States to safeguard the 
Community's financial interests; 
Whereas the procedures to be followed by the Member 
States and the Commission in cases where the sums lost 
through an irregularity cannot be recovered should be 
specified; 
Whereas, in cases where the Commission requests a 
Member State to institute an inquiry, it must be fully 
informed of the preparation for the inquiry and its 
outcome; whereas the rights of the Commission officials 
participating in such inquiries and the conclusive force of 
their findings should be defined; 
Whereas Member States should be encouraged in their 
inquiries and recovery procedures by means of a 
Community contribution based on the sums recovered; 
whereas provision should also be made for the 
Community to contribute to legal costs and other costs 
arising directly from legal proceedings; 
Whereas the minimum threshold above which cases of 
irregularities must automatically be notified by the 
Member State should be raised; whereas that threshold is 
determined, Article 2 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 
1676/85 notwithstanding, in such a way as to have a 
uniform and comparable approach, which can readily be 
put into effect by the national administrations concerned 
on the basis of an exchange rate which reflects economic 
reality; 
7. 6. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 138/7 
Whereas it should be specified that the provisions of 
Regulation (EEC) No 283/72 also apply in cases where 
a payment which should have been made by an operator 
within the framework of the European Agricultural 
Guidance and Guarantee Fund has not been made as a 
result of an irregularity, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EEC) No 283/72 is hereby amended as 
follows: 
1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 1 
The measures referred to in this Regulation relate to 
all expenditure by the European Agricultural 
Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guarantee Section, 
hereinafter called "the EAGGF". 
This Regulation shall continue to apply in the case 
of irregularities which relate to EAGGF Guidance 
expenditure and which were notified prior to the 
entry into force of Council Regulation (EEC) No 
4256/88 ('). 
(>) OJ No L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 25.' 
2. Article 3 is amended as follows: 3. In Article 4, 'suspected or established' is inserted 
before 'irregularities'. 
4. Article 5 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 5 
1. During the two months following the end of 
each quarter, Member States shall inform the 
Commission of, and supply it with all the relevant 
information concerning: 
— the judicial and administrative procedures 
instituted with a view to recovering sums 
wrongly paid, 
— the action taken by Member States to safeguard 
the Community's financial interests, 
— the judicial and administrative procedures 
instituted with a view to applying sanctions as a 
result of irregularities. 
2. At the intervals referred to in paragraph 1, the 
Commission shall be informed in detail of: 
— the progress of the procedures referred to in 
paragraph 1, 
— the reasons for the abandonment, if any, of legal 
proceedings for recovery. The Commission shall, 
as far as possible, be notified before a decision is 
taken, 
(a) in the first subparagraph, 'the month following' 
is replaced by 'the two months following'; 
(b) in the second indent of the second subparagraph 
the following is added: 
'in cases where no payment has been made, the 
amounts which would have been diverted if the 
irregularity had not been discovered, except 
where the economic operator is guilty of a 
simple error or negligence which was detected 
prior to payment and which does not result in 
any administrative or judicial penalty;' 
(c) the following indents are added to the second 
subparagraph: 
'— the date and source of the first information 
leading to suspicion that an irregularity 
existed, 
— the date that the irregularity was discovered, 
— where appropriate, the Member States and 
third countries involved, 
— the identity of the natural and legal persons 
implicated.' — the reasons for the abandonment, if any, of 
prosecutions, 
— the amounts which have been or are expected to 
be recovered, 
— the reasons for partial or complete failure to 
recover sums due. 
The Member States shall notify the Commission of 
administrative or judicial decisions, or the essential 
aspects thereof, concerning the termination of the 
procedures referred to in paragraph 1. 
3. In cases of partial or complete failure to 
recover sums due, Member States shall, when 
effecting the notifications referred to in paragraphs 1 
and 2, inform the Commission of the amount which 
has not been recovered which should, in their view, 
be borne by the Community or by the Member 
State. This information must be sufficiently detailed 
to enable the Commission to decide who shall bear 
the financial consequences, in accordance with 
Article 8 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.' 
No C 138/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 6. 90 
5. Article 6 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 6 
1. Where the Commission considers that irregu­
larities have taken place in one or more Member 
States, it shall inform the Member State or States 
concerned thereof, and that State or those States 
shall, at the earliest opportunity, hold an inquiry in 
which servants of the Commission may take part. 
For the purposes of this Article, "inquiry" shall be 
taken to mean any inspection, verification or action 
carried out by officials of the national administration 
with a view to establishing whether there has been 
an irregularity. 
2. The Member State shall, as soon as possible, 
communicate to the Commission the report and the 
inquiry findings. 
Where an inquiry shows that there has been an 
irregularity, the Member State must inform the 
Commission thereof in accordance with Articles 3, 4 
and 5 and, where appropriate, the other Member 
States concerned, in accordance with Article 4. 
3. Where servants of the Commission take part in 
the inquiry the Member State concerned shall be 
informed thereof. 
Except in urgent cases, the Member State shall 
communicate the programme of the inquiry to the 
Commission at least one week in advance. 
4. Commission servants participating in an inquiry 
must be allowed access to the same premises and 
documents as the national officials conducting the 
inquiry. 
5. The findings established by servants of the 
Commission in the context of such an inquiry may 
be invoked by the competent authorities of a 
Member State or the Commission. Such findings 
may not be given less weight simply because they 
were not established by national officials of the 
Member State where the inquiry took place.' 
6. The following Article 6a is inserted: 
'Article 6a 
1. At the request of the Member State, the 
Commission shall contribute to the inquiry and 
recovery costs, to the amount of 10 °/o of the 
amounts recovered, provided that the Member State has duly informed the Commission in accordance 
with Articles 3, 4 and 5 and has carried out the 
recovery procedures as swiftly as possible. 
2. Where a Member State, at the express request 
of the Commission, initiates legal proceedings with a 
view to recovering amounts wrongly paid or evaded, 
the legal costs and costs arising directly from the 
proceedings may, on presentation of documentary 
evidence, be wholly or partially reimbursed to the 
Member State by the Commission, even if the 
proceedings are unsuccessful. 
3. Where the legal proceedings instituted at the 
request of the Commission are successful, the sums 
determined as the Community contribution referred 
to in paragraph 1 shall be deducted from the costs 
referred to in paragraph 2. 
4. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply where the 
financial consequences of an irregularity are to be 
borne by a Member State in the circumstances 
provided for in Article 8 (2) of Regulation (EEC) 
No 729/70.' 
7. In Article 9 the existing text becomes paragraph 1 
and the following paragraphs are added: 
'2. The information referred to in the first 
paragraph may not, in particular, be sent to persons 
other than those in the Member States or within the 
Community institutions whose duties require that 
they have access to it, unless the Member State 
supplying it has expressly agreed. 
3. The names of natural or legal persons may be 
disclosed to another Member State only in so far as 
this may assist in preventing or prosecuting an ir­
regularity or in establishing whether an alleged 
irregularity has taken place.' 
8. Article 10 is replaced by the following: 
Article 10 
In cases of cofinancing by the EAGGF and a 
Member State, the amounts recovered and the 
financial consequences of the amounts which have 
not been recovered shall be shared by that Member 
State and the Community in proportion to their 
respective expenditure.' 
9. Article 11 is amended as follows: 
(a) The existing text becomes paragraph 1 and 
'1 000 u.a.' is replaced by 'ECU 4 000*. 
7. 6. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 138/9 
(b) The following paragraph 2 is added: 
'2. The amount referred to in paragraph 1 
shall be converted into national currency by 
applying the exchange rates as published in the 
C series of the Official Journal of the European 
Communities, which are valid on the first 
working day of the year in which the infor­
mation on the irregularities is communicated.' 
10. Article 12 is replaced by the following: 'Article 12 
The provisions of this Regulation shall be applicable 
mutatis mutandis in cases where the payment of a 
sum to the EAGGF has been evaded/ 
11. Article 13 is hereby repealed. 
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 on the 
common organization of the market in milk and milk products 
COM(90) 206 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 23 May 1990) 
(90/C 138/05) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN- COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in 
particular Article 43 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, 
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical 
nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) 
No 1251/90 (2), subdivides flavoured yoghurt into produces in powder and products other than 
in powder; whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 (J), as last amended by Regulation 
(EEC) No 3879/89 (4), does not lay down such a subdivision for non-flavoured yoghurt; 
whereas Article 1 thereof should be amended accordingly so that the two products are treated 
in the same way; 
Whereas, in accordance with Article 7a (2) (b) of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68, special 
measures may be taken with a view to increasing the possibility of disposing of butter and 
skimmed-milk powder which have neither been bought in by intervention agencies nor been the 
subject of aid to private storage; whereas, however, in view of experience gained, it appears 
that the aim of the abovementioned Article 7a as regards the disposal of such products 
generally applies irrespective of whether the product has or has not been the subject of aid to 
private storage; whereas the provisions concerned should be amended accordingly; 
(') OJ No L 256, 7. 9. 1987, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 121, 12. 5. 1990, p. 29. 
(») OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 13. 
(4) OJ No L 378, 27. 12. 1989, p. 1.