Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No . . .

of . . .

amending Regulation (EEC) No 1117/78 on the common organization of the market in dried fodder and Regulation (EEC) No 1417/78 on the aid system for dried fodder (94/C 83/18)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1117/78 (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3496/93 (2), and Council Regulation (EEC) No 1417/78 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1110/89 (4), provide under certain conditions for the payment of aid to processors in respect of the production of dried fodder; whereas the calculation of that aid should be simplified to reflect the level of the costs incurred in drying the product in question; whereas to enhance a quality policy the minimum protein content in dry matter should be increased to 17 %; whereas it is not possible to introduce a flat-rate aid scheme until 1 April 1995;

Whereas it would be inequitable to pay aid in respect of dried fodder produced on land already taken into account under the Community aid schemes referred to in Article 1 (1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92, of 27 November 1992, establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes (integrated system) (5), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 165/94 (6); whereas, in order to attain a sufficient level of control, it is appropriate to make use of certain elements of the integrated system for the management of agricultural plots,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 1117/78 is hereby amended as follows:

1. Article 2 (2) is replaced by the following:

'2. For the products referred to in Article 1 (b) and (c)

- the 1994/95 marketing year shall begin on 1 May 1994 and end on 31 March 1995,

- thereafter the marketing year shall begin on 1 April each year and end on 31 March of the following year.`;

2. Article 4 is deleted;

3. Article 5 is replaced by the following:

'Article 5

1. Aid shall be granted for the products referred to in Article 1 (b) and (c), which takes into account the energy cost of dehydrating a green crop produced from fodder plants harvested in the Community.

2. The aid shall be fixed at ECU 40 per tonne for the products referred to in the first and third indents of Article 1 (b) and the products referred to in Article 1 (c).

3. The aid shall be fixed at ECU 20 per tonne for the products referred to in the second and fourth indents of Article 1 (b).`;

4. The following Article is inserted:

'Article 5a

Without prejudice to Article 5, no aid shall be granted:

(a) If the products in question are not of a sound and merchantable quality;

(b) If the raw materials used for the manufacture of the products in question were produced on land during a period when it was taken into account by any of the aid schemes to which Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 refers.`;

5. Article 6 (2) is deleted;

6. The following Article is inserted:

'Article 13a

Detailed rules for the application of this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 12, and in particular those relating to:

- the granting of the aid referred to in Article 5,

- the checking and establishment of entitlement to the aid, including any necessary control measures, which may make use of certain elements provided for in the integrated system,

- the criteria for determining minimum quality,

- the conditions to be fulfilled for the undertakings referred to in the second indent of Article 6 (1) (c),

- the criteria to be fulfilled in concluding the contracts referred to in Article 6 (1) and the information which must be contained within them.`;

7. The second and third paragraphs of Article 17 are deleted.

Article 2

Regulation (EEC) No 1417/78 is hereby amended as follows:

1. In Article 5 (b), first indent, '15 %` is replaced by '17 %`;

2. Articles 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are deleted.

Article 3

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

Article 1 (1) and (4) shall apply from 1 May 1994 and Article 1 (2), (3), (5), (6) and (7) and Article 2 from 1 April 1995.

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

Done at . . .

For the Council

. . .

(1) OJ No L 142, 30. 5. 1978, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 319, 21. 12. 1993, p. 19.

(3) OJ No L 171, 28. 6. 1978, p. 1.

(4) OJ No L 118, 29. 4. 1989, p. 1.

(5) OJ No L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 1.

(6) OJ No L 24, 29. 1. 1994, p. 6.