No C 180/30 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 28. 7. 77 
5. The  extra  information  required  in respect  of 
the date  of closing,  sampling  and  retesting  of 
germination  will  answer  the trade's  and  user's  needs 
for more  information.  However,  the requirement  of 
additional  information  may  raise  technical  difficulties 
in the design  of labels. 
6. There  are  no objections  to the  delegation  of 
power  from  the Council  to the Commission,  to alter 
Done  at Brussels,  22 June  1977. the lists  of species  covered  by the Directive  or to the 
proposed  rule  on the  certification  of seed  under 
certain  conditions.  Both  changes  answer  practical 
needs. 
7. Doubts  arise,  however,  about  the  rule  for the 
grading  of seed  potatoes  since  nothing  is known  of 
the criteria  which  are  to be laid  down.  In laying 
down  the criteria  for this  grading,  care  will  have  to 
be taken  not  to distort  competition. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic  and  Social  Committee 
Basil  de FERRANTI 
Opinion  on the  proposal  for  a Council  Regulation  laying  down,  in respect  of hops, 
the amount  of the aid to producers  for the 1976  harvest 
The text  referred  to the  Committee  has  been  published  in Official  Journal  of the 
European  Communities  No  C 138  of 11 June  1977,  page  15. 
A. LEGAL  BASIS  FOR  THE  OPINION 
On 8 June  1977,  the Council  referred  the abovementioned  proposal  to the Economic 
and Social  Committee  in accordance  with  Articles  47 and 198  of the Treaty  establishing 
the European  Economic  Community. 
B. OPINION  OF  THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
The Economic  and  Social  Committee  prepared  its opinion  on the above  matter  at its 
150th  plenary  session,  held  in Brussels  on 22 and  23 June  1977. 
The full  text  of the opinion  is as follows: 
THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE, 
Having  regard  to the Treaty  establishing  the European 
Economic  Community,  and  in particular  Articles  47 
and 198  thereof, 
Having  regard  to the request  for an opinion  made  by 
the Council  of the  European  Communities  on 
8 June  1976, 
Having  regard  to its decision  of 22 June  1977  in view 
of the  urgent  nature  of the  matter,  to appoint  a 
rapporteur-general  in accordance  with  Article  18 of 
the Rules  of Procedure, 
Having  regard  to its earlier  work  in this  field  and, 
more  especially,  its opinion  on the  proposal  for  a Council  Regulation  laying  down  in respect  of hops 
the amount  of aid  to producers  for  the  1974 
harvest  (*), 
Having  regard  to the  oral  report  made  by  the 
rapporteur-general,  Mr Bernaert, 
Having  regard  to the  discussions  at its  150th 
plenary  session  on 22 and  23 June  1977  (meeting  of 
22 June  1977), 
HAS  UNANIMOUSLY  ADOPTED  THE  FOLLOWING 
OPINION: 
1. The  Committee  approves  the proposal,  subject 
to the comments  set out  below. 
(!) OJ  No C 286,  15. 12. 1975. 
28.7.77  Official  Journal  of the European  Communities  No  C 180/31 
2. The  Committee  deplores  the  fact  that  it has 
been  given  totally  inadequate  time  for carrying  out a 
detailed  examination  of the Commission  report  to the 
Council  on the situation  regarding  the production  and 
marketing  of hops:  1976  harvest,  this  report  being  the 
basis  of the  proposal  on which  the  Committee  has 
been  requested  to deliver  an opinion. 
3. The  Committee  observes,  moreover,  that  it was 
not consulted  by the Council  on the proposal  for a 
Council  Regulation  laying  down  in respect  of hops, 
the amount  of aid to producers  for the 1975  harvest. 
4. The  Committee  notes  that  the  proposal  under 
review  cites  as its legal  authority  Basic  Regulation 
(EEC)  No  1696/71  and  not  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 1170/77  of 17 May  1977  (*), which  will  come  into 
effect  on 1 July  1977. 
The justification  for this  seems  to be: (a) that  the aid 
for the 1976  harvest  needs  to be paid  out  rapidly; 
(b) that  this  will  allow  market  stabilization  measures 
to be taken  at producer  group  level  in the  1977 
marketing  year. 
Accordingly,  the  Committee  understands  why  the 
amount  of aid for the 1976  marketing  year  needs  to 
be fixed  by the  proposed  deadline,  viz.,  before 
1. July  1977. 
5. Article  1(3)  of the  proposal  applies  Article 
12 (4) of Regulation  (EEC)  No 1696/71,  which  makes 
it possible  for the grant  of aid  to be limited  to an 
amount  corresponding  to a given  area. 
The Commission  adjudges  the acreages  which  were 
registered  in 1976  and  already  cultivated  in 1975 
to be representative  of the  average  acreages  for the 
(!) OJ No L 137,  3 6.1977. past three  years.  It considers  that  as a result, 
measures  to limit  the  aid  granted  to an amount 
corresponding  to these  acreages  are consonant  with 
the spirit  of Article  12 (4) of Regulation  (EEC) 
No 1696/71  and  make  implementation  by  the 
national  authorities  a simpler  and  speedier  matter. 
6. The  average  EEC  aid which  is proposed  for the 
1976  harvest  is 2 % up on the average  for the 1975 
harvest. 
There  are two  aims: 
— cyclical,  viz.,  to alleviate  the  impact  which  the 
poor  harvest  has had  on producers'  incomes, 
— structural,  viz.,  to reduce  the differential  between 
the highest  and  lowest  levels  of aid  granted  in 
respect  of the various  varieties  and  to fix a more 
even  level  of aid for varieties  destined  for similar 
uses in the brewery.  In this  way  the Commission 
is establishing  an initial  link  between  the  aid 
fixed  for the 1976  harvest  and  the  provisions  of 
the amended  Basic  Regulation,  which  will  come 
into effect  for the 1977  harvest. 
7. In  its  previous  opinions  on  proposals  for 
Regulations  on  aid  to hop  producers  and,  in 
particular,  in its opinion  of 24 September  1975  on aid 
for the 1974  harvest,  the Committee  decided  not  to 
express  its views  on the  amount  of aid  and  on the 
allocation  among  the various  varieties.  The  reason  for 
this was  the divergent  views  held  by hop  producers 
on this  score. 
Bearing  in  mind  as  well  its  comments  in 
paragraph  2 of this  opinion,  the Committee's  attitude 
is the same  today. 
Done  at Brussels,  22 June  1977. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic  and  Social  Committee 
Basil  de FERRANTI 
Opinion  on the  proposal  for  a Council  Regulation  concerning  Community  aid  for 
financing  cyclical  stocks  of hard  coal,  coke  and  patent  fuel 
The text  referred  to the  Committee  has  been  published  in Official  Journal  of the 
European  Communities  No  C 87 of 7 April  1977,  page  6.