Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No . . .

of . . .

amending Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal

(96/C 125/16)

96/0068(CNS)

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 Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2417/95 (2), sets the beginning of the marketing year as the first Monday in April; whereas experience has shown that it would be preferable for the marketing year to commence on 1 July of each year and end on 30 June of the following year;

Whereas, in accordance with Articles 4c (3) and 4k (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal, the Commission has prepared a report for the Council on the situation in the beef and veal sector and in particular on the operation of certain measures introduced by the new premium arrangements instituted by the reform; whereas, on the basis of the findings of the report, the Regulation should be amended accordingly;

Whereas, in accordance with Article 4b (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68, the special premium may be granted a second time after an animal has reached the age of 22 months; whereas this encourages certain producers to continue fattening uncastrated male bovine animals for the sole purpose of obtaining a second premium; whereas outlets for the heavy carcases arising from this practice are somewhat limited and lead to an undesirable increase in the quantity of beef produced; whereas the special premium for uncastrated male bovine animals should be granted no more than once therefore in the life of those animals before they reach the age of 22 months; whereas, in addition to this measure, the amount of the single premium should be raised so as to prevent the producers in question suffering economic penalties;

Whereas, as a result of the deseasonalization premium referred to in Article 4c of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68, the number of castrated male bovine animals slaughtered outside the annual 'off-grass` period has risen appreciably; whereas, on account of their environmental conditions and structure of production, Ireland, and to a lesser extent Northern Ireland, are the regions most affected by the seasonal nature of slaughtering; whereas because of this the fact that the premium is granted in one part of the island of Ireland and not in another is disturbing their markets and can lead to exchanges of animals which are undesirable on health grounds; whereas, however, where the threshold required in order to qualify for the premium is not reached, it should be possible for Member States affected by seasonalization to continue to grant the premium, to be borne in such case, however, by their own production sector by means of a simultaneous reduction in the amount envisaged for the second tranche of the special premium; whereas, lastly, it can be inferred from the present Regulation that in order to qualify for the premium an animal must be slaughtered in the year following that in which the special premium is granted; whereas since this is undesirable the reference to the following year should be deleted; whereas it seems appropriate to maintain the deseasonalization premium and to improve certain aspects of it;

Whereas the process of establishing structures for the production of beef in the new German Laender has developed to such an extent that specific measures are no longer necessary; whereas certain adjustment measures should be laid down, however;

Whereas transitional measures to facilitate a smooth switchover from the former provisions to those contained in this Regulation may be needed, including before the implementation of the latter,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 is hereby amended as follows:

1. Article 4 is replaced by the following:

'Article 4

Subject to a derogation adopted by the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, the marketing year shall begin on 1 July and end on 30 June of the following year for all products referred to in Article 1.`

2. Article 4b (2) is replaced by the following:

'2. The premium shall be granted no more than:

(a) once in the life of each uncastrated male bovine animal aged from 10 to 21 months; or

(b) twice in the life of each castrated male bovine animal:

- the first time at the age of 10 months,

- the second time after the age of 22 months.

To qualify for the premium, any animal for which an application has been made must be kept for fattening by the producer for a given period.`

3. The first sentence of Article 4b (6) is replaced by the following:

'The amount of the premium per eligible animal shall be:

- ECU 108,7 per castrated male bovine animal,

- ECU 123,9 per uncastrated male bovine animal.`

4. Article 4c (1) is replaced by the following:

'1. Where, in a Member State, the number of castrated male bovine animals slaughtered during the period 1 September to 30 November in a given year exceeds 38 % of total annual slaughterings of castrated male bovine animals, producers may qualify, on application, for an additional premium to the special premium granted pursuant to Article 4b (deseasonalization premium).

In order to establish whether the 38 % has been exceeded, account shall be taken of slaughterings carried out during the last year but one before that of the slaughter of the animal qualifying for the premium.

For the purposes of applying this Article, Ireland and Northern Ireland shall be regarded as one entity for the purposes of calculating the number of animals slaughtered referred to in the first subparagraph above and consequently for qualification for the premium.`

5. In Article 4c (2) the words 'of the following year` are replaced by 'in a given year`.

6. Article 4c (3) is replaced by the following:

'3. Where the rate referred to in paragraph 1 is not achieved, Member States whose producers have previously received the deseasonalization premium and in which the number of castrated male bovine animals produced exceeds 60 % of all male bovine animals produced may decide to grant this premium at the rate of 60 % of the amounts set in paragraph 2.

In such case, the amount of the second tranche of the special premium applicable to castrated male bovine animals granted in that Member State pursuant to Article 4b shall be reduced in so far as is necessary for the measure to be financially neutral in respect of the same budget year. The reduction shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 27 before final payment of the second tranche of the premium.

For the purposes of applying this measure, Ireland and Northern Ireland shall be regarded as one entity for the calculation of the number of male bovine animals produced and consequently for qualification for the premium.`

7. Article 4k is hereby replaced by the following:

'Article 4k

For the territory of the new German Laender:

1. From 1 January 1997 all the provisions concerning the premium arrangements applicable in the rest of the Community shall apply to that territory subject to the provisions of this Article.

2. Germany shall determine for each producer the individual ceiling applied to his rights to the suckler cow premium referred to in Article 4d (2) on the basis of the number of animals for which that producer received a suckler cow premium in 1996 and notify him thereof.

Where, as a result of natural circumstances, no premium or a reduced premium is paid in 1996, the number corresponding to the payments made in 1995 may be used.

Where, as a result of the application of penalties provided for to that end, no premium or a reduced premium is paid in 1996, the number established during the inspection giving rise to those penalties shall be used.

3. Following the introduction of individual ceilings, where the sum of the rights allocated to producers whose holdings are situated in the new German Laender is less than the regional ceiling set previously for that territory, the balance of the rights shall be abolished, with the exception of a number of rights from among the surplus which shall be added by Germany to the national reserve referred to in Article 4f (1), up to 3 % of the total of the ceilings allocated to those producers. The new reserve thus established shall concern the whole of the territory of Germany. The sum of the rights allocated to producers situated in the new German Laender plus the 3 % intended for the reserve shall not under any circumstances exceed the regional ceiling allocated to that territory at that point in time.

4. The Commission shall adopt, where necessary, detailed rules for the application of this Article in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 27.`

Article 2

The Commission shall adopt, where necessary, measures to facilitate the switchover from the existing arrangements to the new provisions referred to in this Regulation in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 27.

Article 3

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 1997, with the exception of:

- point 1 of Article 1, which shall apply from 1 July 1996, and

- Article 2 of this Regulation which shall apply from the date of its entry into force.

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

Done at . . .

For the Council

. . .

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

(2) OJ No L 248, 14. 10. 1995, p. 39.