No C 62/68 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 3. 84 
Article 2 It shall apply from 2 April 1984. 
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 amending for the fourth time Regulation (EEC) No 
1837/80 on the common organization of the market in sheepmeat and goatmeat 
(84/C 62/44) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­
pean Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 43 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commis­
sion, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 34 of Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 1837/80 ('), as last amended by Regulation 
(EEC) No 1195/82(2), provided that the Commis­
sion was to submit to the Council, before 1 October 
1983, a report on the functioning of the common 
organization of the market in this sector; whereas 
examination of the report submitted by the Com­
mission has indicated that the rules governing this 
sector should be amended; for the new marketing year can be brought into force 
at a time of the year when both the seasonally 
adjusted basic price and, as a rule, the average Com­
munity market price are on the increase; 
Whereas a partial regrouping of the regions referred 
to in Article 3 (1) would bring together regions 
where lamb production and consumption structures 
are very comparable or which are closely dependent 
on the same trade patterns; 
Whereas, apart from the fact that for the reasons 
mentioned above no reference price will be fixed as 
from the marketing year beginning in 1984, it would 
seem appropriate to simplify the method of calculat­
ing the premium for sheepmeat producers; whereas 
the loss of income suffered by producers in a given 
region should be calculated from the difference, if 
any, between the Community basic price and the 
arithmetic mean of the market prices recorded in the 
region concerned; whereas a coefficient represent­
ing the normal average annual level of lamb produc­
tion in the region in question should be applied to 
the said loss of income; 
Whereas the four-year period referred to in Article 3 
(4) (b) of Regulation (EEC) No 1837/80, which was 
provided for at the beginning of the common organ­
ization of the market so that production and market­
ing structures in the various Member States could be 
gradually adjusted, expires at the end of the 1983/84 
marketing year; whereas the fixing of a single refer­
ence price at a different level from the basic price is 
not justified; whereas no distinction need hence­
forth be made between the reference price and the 
basic price; 
Whereas, if the beginning of the marketing year is 
set at the beginning of the calendar year, the prices 
(') OJ No L 183, 16. 7. 1980, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No L 140, 20. 5. 1982, p. 22. Whereas, to ensure more effective management and 
support of the market, provision should be made for 
the regionalization of private storage measures so 
that they are implemented in accordance with rules 
similar to those for intervention buying; whereas 
provision should also be made so that the amount of 
the aid granted may be regionally differentiated; 
Whereas the United Kingdom is the only Member 
State which grants the variable slaughter premium 
referred to in Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 
1837/80; whereas, as a result of supervision difficul­
ties, application of this provision was restricted to 
Great Britain as from the beginning of the 1982/83 
marketing year; whereas experience would indicate 
that the provision should not be applied in the other 
5. 3. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 62/69 
Community regions; whereas, moreover, it has 
become necessary to set a ceiling on the unit 
amount of the premium inter alia in order to prevent 
an excessive increase in the cost; 
Whereas, in view of the considerable expansion of 
intra-Community trade in certain sheepmeat prepar­
ations, the amount equivalent to the variable prem­
ium granted, as referred to in Article 9 (3) of Regula­
tion (EEC) No 1837/80, should be charged on the 
said preparations when they leave the region con­
cerned, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EEC) No 1837/80 is hereby amended 
as follows: 
1. Article 1 (c) is replaced by the following: 
'(c) 16.02BIIIb)2aa) 11): 
Other prepared or preserved meat or meat 
offal containing meat or offal of sheep or 
goats, other than those containing meat or 
offal of domestic swine or bovine animals, 
uncooked; mixtures of cooked meat or offal 
and uncooked meat or offal. 
(d) 16.02BIIIb)2aa)22): 
Other prepared or preserved meat or meat 
offal containing meat or offal of sheep or 
goats, other than those containing meat or 
offal of domestic swine or bovine animals; 
other.'; 
2. Article 3 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 3 
1. In accordance with the procedure laid down 
in Article 43 (2) of the Treaty, a basic price shall 
be fixed annually, for the following marketing 
year, for fresh and chilled sheep carcases. 
2. When the basic price is fixed, account shall 
be taken in particular of: 
(a) the situation on the sheepmeat market 
during the current year; 
(b) the prospects for the production and con­
sumption of sheepmeat; 
(c) sheepmeat production costs; 
(d) the market situation in the other livestock 
product sectors, particularly the beef and 
veal sector; 
(e) past experience. 3. The Council, acting by a qualified majority 
on a proposal from the Commission, shall fix 
seasonally adjusted basic prices to take account 
of normal seasonal variations on the Com­
munity sheepmeat market. 
4. Save where a decision to the contrary is 
taken by the Council, acting by a qualified 
majority on a proposal from the Commission, 
the marketing year shall begin on the first 
Monday in January and shall end on the day 
preceding that day in the following year. 
However, the marketing year beginning in 1984 
shall end on 6 January 1985. 
5. For the purposes of this Regulation, the 
following regions are hereby defined: 
— region 1: Italy and Greece, 
— region 2: Belgium, Denmark, Federal 
Republic of Germany, France, 
Luxembourg, 
— region 3: Ireland, 
— region 4: Northern Ireland, 
— region 5: Great Britain.'; 
3. Article 4 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 4 
1. A price for fresh or chilled sheep carcases 
on the representative Comunity markets shall be 
established on the basis of the prices recorded 
on the representative market or markets of each 
region or, in the case of regions 1 and 2, of each 
Member State, for the various categories of 
fresh or chilled sheep carcases, account being 
taken both of the relative importance of each 
category and of the relative size of the flock in 
each region or, in the case of regions 1 and 2, in 
each Member State. 
2. Detailed rules for the application of this 
Article, including a definition of "carcase 
weight", shall be adopted in accordance with 
the procedure laid down in Article 26.'; 
4. Article 5 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 5 
1. To the extent necessary to offset the loss of 
income suffered by sheepmeat producers in one 
or more regions during a given marketing year, a 
premium shall be fixed immediately after the 
end of the marketing year in question. 
No C 62/70 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 3. 84 
2. The loss of income referred to in para­
graph 1 shall represent, per 100 kilograms of 
carcase weight, any difference there may be 
between the basic price referred to in Article 3 
(1) and the arithmetical mean of the market 
prices recorded for each region in accordance 
with Article 4. 
3. The amount of the premium payable per 
ewe and per region shall be obtained by multi­
plying the loss of income referred to in para­
graph 2 by a coefficient representing, for each 
region, the normal average annual production 
of lamb meat per ewe expressed per 100 kilo­
grams of carcase weight. 
4. If, however, a premium is granted in respect 
of region 2, and if the market price in region 1 
for sheep carcases of a category similar to that 
whose price is recorded on representative mar­
kets in region 2 warrants it, an amount equal to 
the premium payable per ewe in region 2 may, 
at the request of the parties concerned, be 
granted in region 1 provided they submit satis­
factory evidence to the competent authorities 
that no lamb born from these ewes will have 
been slaughtered before reaching the age of two 
months. 
5. In the case of region 5, if the variable prem­
ium referred to in Article 9 has been applied, the 
weighted average of the variable premiums 
actually granted shall be deducted from the loss 
of income. The weighted average, expressed per 
100 kilograms of carcase weight, shall be 
obtained by dividing the total amount of the 
premiums actually granted by the production 
which gave rise to the payment of those 
premiums. 
6. To determine the arithmetic mean of the 
market prices referred to in paragraph 2 
(a) where the intervention measures referred to 
in Article 6 (1) (b) are applied within a 
region, the market price shall be replaced by 
the seasonally adjusted intervention price 
for the period during which buying in actu­
ally takes place; 
(b) where, in region 5, a ceiling is set on the 
variable premium pursuant to the second 
subparagraph of Article 9 (2), the market 
price shall be replaced by the seasonally 
adjusted guide level minus the variable 
premium actually granted. 
7. The premium shall be paid to the benefici­
ary according to the number of ewes kept on the 
farm over a minimum period to be determined 
in accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 26. 8. The Council, acting by a qualified majority 
on a proposal from the Commission, shall adopt 
general rules for the arrangements referred to in 
this Article, defining both the producers qualify­
ing for the premium and the ewes eligible. 
The Council, acting in accordance with the 
same procedure, may provide that the premium 
shall be granted only to producers keeping at 
least a certain number of ewes. 
9. The Commission, acting in accordance with 
the procedure laid down in Article 26, 
— shall fix, where appropriate, the premium 
payable per ewe and per region, 
— shall adopt detailed rules for the applica­
tion of this Article, including rules govern­
ing the submission of applications for the 
premium, supervisory arrangements and the 
payment of the premium. 
10. The expenditure incurred under the 
arrangements provided for in this Article shall 
be deemed to form part of intervention for the 
purpose of regularizing agricultural markets.' 
5. Article 7 (1) and the first subparagraph of 
Article 7 (2) are replaced by the following: 
'1. Where the price established in accordance 
with Article 4 is lower than 90 % of the season­
ally adjusted basic price referred to in Article 3 
(3) and is likely to remain so, the intervention 
measures provided for in Article 6 (1) (a) may be 
adopted for the Community as a whole. 
The measures referred to in the first subpara­
graph may be adopted for one or more regions 
of the Community where the price recorded on 
the representative market or markets of one or 
more regions is lower than 90 % of the season­
ally adjusted basic price referred to in Article 3 
(3) and is likely to remain so in the region or 
regions concerned; the intervention measures 
may be regionally differentiated. 
2. Where, during the period 15 July to 
15 December of each year, the price established 
in accordance with Article 4 is equal to or less 
than a seasonally adjusted intervention price 
corresponding to 85 % of the seasonally 
adjusted basic price and at the same time the 
price recorded on the representative markets of 
a given region is equal to or less than the sea­
sonally adjusted intervention price or, as the 
case may be, the seasonally adjusted derived 
intervention price, the intervention measures 
provided for in Article 6 (1) (b) shall, at the 
5- 3. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 62/71 
request of one or more Member States, be 
implemented for the region in question. How­
ever, in the case of regions 1 and 2, such inter­
vention measures may be implemented for the 
Member State or States belonging to those 
regions.' 
6. Article 9 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 9 
1. In so far as the measures provided for in 
Article 6 (1) (b) are not applied in region 5, the 
United Kingdom may grant within that region a 
premium for the slaughter of sheep where the 
prices recorded on the representative markets in 
the region are below a "guide level" corres­
ponding to 85 % of the basic price referred to in 
Article 3 (1). The guide level referred to in the 
first subparagraph shall be seasonally adjusted 
in the same way as the basic price. 
2. The amount of the premium referred to in 
paragraph 1 shall be equal to the difference 
between the seasonally adjusted guide level and 
the market price recorded in the region con­
cerned. 
However, at no time may the amount referred to 
in the first subparagraph exceed a percentage of 
the guide level which the Council shall fix 
annually for the following marketing year in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 43 (2) of the Treaty. 
3. Should the premium referred to in para­
graph 1 be paid in region 5, the Commission 
shall take the necessary measures to ensure that 
an amount equivalent to the premium actually 
granted is charged on all products as referred to 
in Article 1 (a) and (c) when they leave the 
region concerned. 
4. The Commission, acting in accordance with 
the procedure laid down in Article 26, shall 
adopt detailed rules for the application of this 
Article. Such rules may provide, in particular, 
for the measures necessary to prevent any dis­
turbance of trade in livestock, meat or prepared 
products resulting from the application of the 
premium referred to in paragraph 1. 
5. Expenditure incurred under the arrange­
ments provided for in this Article shall be deemed to form part of intervention for the pur­
pose of regularizing agricultural markets.' 
7. Article 10 (1) is replaced by the following: 
'1. The Common Customs Tariff rates of duty 
shall apply to the products listed in Article 1 (b), 
(c) and (d).' 
, Article 2 
1. The Commission shall submit to the Council, 
before 1 October 1988, a second report on the func­
tioning of the common organization of the market 
and, in particular, on the intervention and premium 
systems, in order to enable the Council to re-exam­
ine these systems and, acting by a qualified majority 
on a proposal from the Commission before 1 April 
1989, to take appropriate measures if required. 
2. The Commission's report must take account of 
the following: 
— the market trend and the trend in the incomes of 
sheepmeat producers in the Community and in 
each of the Member States, 
— the trend in imports from non-member coun­
tries, 
— the effect of this trend on the Community 
budget. 
Article 3 
The Annex headed 'Common Customs Tariff to 
Regulation (EEC) No 950/68 shall be amended in 
accordance with the Annex to this Regulation. 
Article 4 
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 the beginning of the marketing 
year commencing in 1984. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
No C 62/72 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 3. 84 
ANNEX 
The Common Customs Tariff is hereby amended as follows: 
1. Subheading 16.02 B III b) 2 aa) is replaced by the following: 
'Heading 
number 
16.02 Description 
Other prepared or preserved meat or meat offal: 
B. (unchanged) 
III. (unchanged) 
a) (unchanged) 
b) (unchanged) 
1. (unchanged) 
2. (unchanged) 
aa) (unchanged) 
11. Uncooked; mixtures of cooked meat or offal 
and uncooked meat or offal 
22. Other Rate of duty 
Autonomous % 
or levy (L) 
20 
20 Conventional 
% 
(a) 
(a)' 
(a) See Annex. 
2. In the Annex the following text is inserted under subheading 16.02: 
ANNEX 
'Heading 
number 
16.02 Description 
Other prepared or preserved meat or meat offal: 
B. Other: 
III. Other: 
b) Other: 
2. Other: 
aa) Of sheep or goats 
11. Uncooked; mixtures of cooked meat or offal and uncooked 
meat or offal 
— Of sheep 
— Of goats 
22. Other 
— Of sheep 
— Of goats Rate of conven­
tional duty 
% 
20 
26 
20 
26'