20.11.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 297/3 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on a system of structural aid for the conversion of 
sardine canning plants 
COM(85) 609 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 31 October 1985) 
(85/C 297/03) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 
43 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal of the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Whereas the accession of Spain and Portugal to the 
European Economic Community alters the existing equi­
librium in the market for canned sardines in the 
Community, as at present constituted; 
Whereas this new context, by altering the conditions of 
competition, affects the situation of sardine canning 
plants in the Community, as at present constituted; 
Whereas a three-year structural measure should 
therefore be introduced to enable such canning plants to 
adapt to the new situation; 
Whereas the said structural measure should aim at the 
conversion of Community sardine canning plants to the 
manufacture of other products based on sardines or on 
other fishery products; whereas it should also aim at the 
permanent cessation of operations of certain existing 
canning plants; whereas subject to certain conditions, it 
should also facilitate the rationalization of canned 
sardine production; 
Whereas Community financial assistance should be made 
available for projects complying with the aims of this 
structural measure; 
Whereas such projects should form part of descriptive 
programmes of the measures to be undertaken, drawn up 
by the Member States; 
Whereas detailed rules for the granting of such 
assistance must be drawn up; 
Whereas the provisional cost of this structural measure 
to be borne by the Community must be specified, Article 1 
To facilitate the adaptation of the sardine canning plants 
of the Community as constituted on 31 December 1985, 
hereinafter referred to as 'the Community of Ten', to the 
new circumstances arising from the enlargement of the 
Community to include Spain and Portugal, the 
Commission may grant structural aid, hereinafter 
referred to as 'Community assistance', in respect of 
projects satisfying the requirements laid down in this 
Regulation. 
Such assistance shall consist of capital grants paid in a 
lump sum or in instalments. 
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Regulation, Community sardine 
canning plants, hereinafter referred to as 'canning 
plants', means undertakings of the Community of Ten, 
all or part of whose production at the date of accession 
falls within subheading 16.04 D of the Common 
Customs Tariff. 
TITLE I 
Descriptive programme 
Article 3 
1. The Member States concerned shall draw up 
descriptive programmes designed to inform the 
Commission regarding the measures to be implemented 
under this Regulation. 
2. Each descriptive programme shall comprise at least: 
— a description of the situation of canning plants at the 
date of accession with particular reference to their 
production capacity, their geographical location and 
the origin of the sardines which they process, 
— a description and financial appraisal of the 
conversion operations to be undertaken; 
— the laws, regulations and administrative measures 
which exist or are planned for carrying out those 
operations. 
No C 297/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 11. 85 
3. The Commission shall assess the compatibility of 
the said programme with: 
— the objectives of this measure 
— the programme presented by the Member State 
concerned within the framework of Council Regu­
lation (EEC) No 355/77 (»). 
Member States shall at the request of the Commission, 
furnish additional data needed to carry out the said 
assessment. 
4. Throughout the duration of this measure, the 
Member States concerned shall submit annual reports to 
the Commission on the results and on the evolution of 
the situation of canning plants. The said reports shall be 
submitted by 1 July of each year at the latest. The first 
such report shall be submitted by 1 July 1987 at the 
latest. 
TITLE II 
Projects 
Article 4 
For the purposes of this Regulation, project means any 
public, semi-public or private project, all or part of 
which involves physical investments or measures intended 
to secure: 
(a) research into new products or products derived from 
sardines, more suited to the requirements of the 
market and whereby the markets of canning plants 
may be broadened; 
(b) the manufacture of such new products or derived 
products; 
(c) the promotion of consumption of sardines and 
sardine-base4 products, including surveys into the 
consumption of such products and market surveys or 
pilot measures relating to the marketing of such 
products and, more particularly, the new products 
referred to under (a) above; 
(d) the permanent cessation of operations of existing 
canning plants; 
(e) the conversion of canning plants to the manufacture 
of other fishery products of Community origin; 
(f) the improvement of marketing and distribution 
networks for sardine-based products; 
(g) the rationalization of canned sardine production 
units of existing canning plants. 
Article 5 
1. Projects involving research within the meaning of 
Article 4 (a) shall be proposed and managed by one or 
more canning plants or associations of canning plants 
which possess the necessary qualifications and experience 
and provide an adequate guarantee as to the satisfactory 
completion of the work. 2. Community assistance for projects shall not exceed 
75 % of the expenditure resulting from the research 
work in question. The contribution to be made by the 
Member State concerned shall be not less than 5 % and 
that of the beneficiary not less than 10 % of the 
expenditure involved. 
Article 6 
1. Projects concerning promotional measures within 
the meaning of Article 4 (c) shall be proposed by and 
implemented under the supervision of organizations 
representing the sardine canning industry in one or more 
Member States. Such measures shall be collective and 
shall not focus on particular brands or canning plants, 
nor refer to a particular country or region of production. 
2. Community assistance for such measures shall not 
exceed 60 % of the expenditure concerned. The con­
tribution to be made by the organization in receipt of 
assistance shall be not less than 25 % and the contri­
bution to be made by the Member State concerned not 
less than 5 °/o of the said expenditure. 
Article 7 
1. Projects concerning measures relating to the manu­
facture of new products, the conversion of canning 
plants, the improvement of distribution networks and the 
rationalization of existing installations within the 
meaning of Article 4 (b), (e), (f) and (g) shall: 
— involve physical investments, 
— afford an adequate guarantee as to their profitability, 
— contribute to the lasting economic effect of 
conversion aimed at by this measure, and 
— ensure appropriate and lasting participation by 
sardine producers in the resultant economic benefits. 
2. As a proportion of the investment taken into 
account for assistance, for each project: 
(a) Community assistance shall not exceed: 
— 60 % as regards the measures referred to in 
Article 4 (b) and (e), 
— 50 % as regards the measures referred to in 
Article 4 (f), 
— 35 % as regards the measures referred to in 
Article 4 (g); 
(b) the contribution to be made by the beneficiary shall 
be not less than: 
— 25 % as regards the measures referred to in 
Article 4(b) and (e), 
—- 35 % as regards the measures referred to in 
Article 4 (f) and (g). 
0) OJNoL51, 23. 2. 1977, p. 1. (c) the contribution to be made by the Member State 
concerned shall be not less than 5 %. 
20.11.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 297/5 
3. The rationalization measures referred to in Article 
4 (g) must enable the canning plants concerned to 
become competitive on the Community market for 
canned sardines by the improvement of their productivity 
and the quality of their production but must in no 
circumstances result in an increase in the capacity and 
production of canned sardines of the production units 
concerned. 
4. Priority shall be given to projects designed to 
reduce energy consumption. 
Article 8 
1. Community aid for projects concerning the 
permanent cessation of operations referred to in Article 4 
(d) shall consist of the grant of a financial incentive of a 
social and economic nature. 
2. The social element of the financial incentive shall 
be used to cover expenses in respect of payments to 
workers made redundant or taking early retirement. 
The amount of the incentive shall be equal to one half of 
the expenditure concerned up to a ceiling of 5 000 ECU 
per worker. 
Its payment shall be conditional upon payment by the 
Member State in question of a similar financial incentive. 
3. The economic element of the financial incentive 
shall be used to cover expenditure entailed through 
complete and definitive closure of the production 
facilities in question. 
The amount of the financial incentive, calculated on the 
basis of the average production of the installation in 
question during the three years preceding the permanent 
cessation of operations, shall be equal to one half of the 
expenditure concerned and shall not exceed 150 ECU 
per tonne. 
Its payment shall be conditional upon payment by the 
Member State in question of a similar financial incentive. 
Article 9 
Projects shall form part of the descriptive programme 
referred to in Article 3. 
TITLE III 
Procedure for the examination of projects 
Article 10 
1. Applications for Community assistance shall be 
submitted to the Commission through the Member State 
concerned after the latter has delivered a favourable 
opinion thereon. 
2. The Commission shall take decisions once yearly 
on applications for assistance in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in Article 15. Applications for 
assistance shall be submitted not later than 31 May of 
each year. Article 11 
Applications for Community assistance shall be submitted 
in the form laid down, mutatis mutandis, by Commission 
Regulation (EEC) No 219/78 ('). In addition, they shall 
contain all the particulars needed to verify compliance 
with the provisions of this Regulation. 
Article 12 
Projects which are eligible for Community aid under 
other common measures within the meaning of Article 6 
(1) and (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 (2) 
or for aid from the European Regional Development 
Fund shall not come within the scope of this Regulation. 
TITLE IV 
Financial and general provisions 
Article 13 
1. Natural or legal persons, or groups thereof, who 
are ultimately responsible for the cost of carrying out a 
project shall be eligible for Community assistance. 
Assistance shall be paid through agencies appointed for 
that purpose by the Member State concerned. 
2. Throughout the period during which Community 
assistance is granted, the authority or agency appointed 
for that purpose by the Member State concerned shall, at 
the request of the Commission, forward to it all sup­
porting documents which are evidence that the financial 
or other conditions laid down for each project have been 
fulfilled. The Commission may, if necessary, carry out an 
on-the-spot check. 
3. The Commission may, in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in Article 15, decide to suspend, 
reduce or discontinue assistance: 
(a) if the project is not carried out as planned, or 
(b) if certain of the conditions laid down are not 
fulfilled, or 
(c) if the beneficiary, except if the decision to grant 
assistance provides, following a reasoned request on 
his part, for different time limits: 
— fails to begin the work within one year, 
— fails to complete the work within a period of two 
years of the date of notification of the 
Commission Decision. 
4. Appropriations made available by a decision taken 
in accordance with paragraph 3 or because the 
beneficiary abandons the project or reduces the 
investment laid down in the decision to grant assistance, 
may be used for the financing of other projects. 
O OJ No L 35, 4. 2. 1978, p. 10. 
O OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13. 
No C 297/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 20.11.85 
5. The detailed rules for the application of this Article 
shall be mutatis mutandis, those laid down in Commission 
Regulation (EEC) No 1685/78 ('). 
Article 14 
Applications for assistance submitted to the Commission 
but which could not be granted owing to the 
insufficiency of the resources available may, with the 
agreement of the applicants, be carried forward to the 
following financial year by the Member State concerned. 
Requests that such applications be carried forward shall 
be submitted to the Commission within a period of 30 
days from the date on which the Member State receives 
notification of the result of the procedure laid down in 
Article 15. An application for assistance may, however, 
be carried forward once only. 
Article 15 
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to 
be followed, the matter shall be referred to the Standing 
Committee for the Fishing Industry by the chairman 
thereof, either on his own initiative, or at the request of 
the representative of a Member State. 
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit 
a draft of the measures to be adopted. The Standing 
Committee for the Fishing Industry shall deliver an 
opinion on those measures by a majority of 54 votes 
within a time limit which may be set by the chairman 
according to the urgency of the matter under examin­
ation; the votes of the Member States shall be weighted 
as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. The 
chairman shall not vote. 
(') OJL 197, 22. 7. 1978, p. 1. 
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 Par­
liament, 3. The Commission shall adopt the measures, which 
shall be immediately applicable^ However, if such 
measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the 
Standing Committee for the Fishing Industry, the 
Commission shall communicate them forthwith to the 
Council. In that case, the Commission may defer the 
application of the measures which it has adopted for not 
more than one month from the date of such communi­
cation. The Council may, acting by a qualified majority, 
adopt a different decision within one month. 
Article 16 
1. The granting of Community assistance must not 
affect the conditions of competition in such a way as to 
be incompatible with the principles laid down in the 
Treaty. 
2. Articles 92, to 94 of the Treaty shall apply in 
respect of matters covered by this Regulation. 
Article 17 
1. The duration of this measure shall be three years 
commencing on 1 January 1986. 
2. The provisional cost to be borne by the Community 
is estimated at 10 million ECU. 
Article 18 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
It shall apply from 1 January 1986, subject to the entry 
into force of the Treaty of accession of Spain and 
Portugal. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Council Directive 80/1102/EEC (') which 
amends Council Directive 64/432/EEC of 26 June 1964 
on animal health problems affecting intra-Community 
(*) OJ No L 325, 1. 12. 1980, p. 18. Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 64/432/EEC as regards the definitive 
arrangements made in relation to enzootic bovine leukosis as laid down by Directive 
80/1102/EEC 
COM(85) 578 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 5 November 1985) 
(85/C 297/04)