Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) establishing a special system of assistance to traditional ACP suppliers of bananas (1) (94/C 206/07) COM(94) 249 final - 94/0147(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 189A (2) of the EC Treaty on 21 June 1994)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130w thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

In cooperation with the European Parliament,

Whereas Protocol 5 on bananas of the fourth ACP/EEC Convention provides that, in respect of its banana exports to the Community markets, no ACP State shall be placed, as regards access to its traditional markets and its advantages on those markets, in a less favourable situation than in the past or at present;

Whereas national market organizations have hitherto granted traditional ACP suppliers of bananas an outlet for their production on their traditional markets and enabled them to obtain from these markets an adequate income;

Whereas the common organization of the market established by Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 sets the framework for continuing on the Community market the advantages enjoyed by traditional ACP suppliers, in accordance with the Community's committment set out above;

Whereas risks exist nevertheless that the introduction of a new market organization and the need to adapt to it could jeopardize the continuing viability of ACP supplies;

Whereas particular efforts will be needed to adapt to the new market conditions in order to take advantage of the opportunities offered;

Whereas the structure and the nature of the new market and the marketing efforts necessary to maintain a presence on this market represent new elements some of which neither the traditional ACP suppliers nor the operators handling this produce could reasonably foresee;

Whereas technical and financial assistance, additional to that provided for in the fourth ACP/EEC Convention, should therefore be provided to carry out programmes designed to assist producers to adapt to new market conditions and in particular to improve quality, to improve marketing and to improve competitiveness;

Whereas the new conditions prevailing on the market may result in temporary market disturbances, particularly in the sectors of the Community market traditionally supplied by the ACP States;

Whereas such disturbances could seriously affect the returns to the ACP from the market and therefore the continued viability of this production;

Whereas financial assistance should therefore be provided to permit the ACP to remain on the market, until such time as the market stabilizes and an economic return from the market can be received;

Whereas income support should be complementary to Stabex transfers triggered by the same set of circumstances;

Whereas it is therefore appropriate to align calculation of income support with the calculation of Stabex transfers,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

A special system of assistance to traditional ACP suppliers of bananas is hereby established. This assistance may consist of technical and financial assistance or of income support.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation the following meanings are adopted:

- 'traditional ACP suppliers` means the ACP States listed in the Annex to the present Regulation,

- 'bananas` means fresh or dried bananas covered by code CN 0803, excepting plaintains.

TITLE I Technical and financial assistance

Article 3

1. Technical and financial assistance shall be provided to traditional ACP suppliers with a view to helping these suppliers adapt to the new market conditions following the establishment of a common organization of the market in bananas.

2. Technical and financial assistance will be provided to contribute to the carrying out of programmes in the banana sector to achieve one or more of the following objectives:

- to improve quality,

- to adapt production, distribution or marketing requirements to meet the quality standards provided for in Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93,

- to establish producers organizations which have as an objective the improvement of the marketing and competitiveness of their products,

- to develop a production or marketing strategy to meet the requirements of the market in the Community in the light of the common organization of the market in bananas,

- to assist with training, market intelligence, the development of environmentally sound production methods, improving the distribution infrastructure, improving trade and financial services to banana producers, improving competitivity.

3. Assistance may be given to programmes having similar objectives which are currently financed under the Lomé Convention or by the public authorities of the Member States parties to the fourth ACP/EEC Convention where such assistance would result in a more rapid completion of the programme.

Article 4

The Commission will decide on the eligibility of the programme and the level of assistance after consultation with the traditional ACP supplier concerned. It will also take into account the coherence of the envisaged programme with the general development objectives of the ACP State concerned and its impact on regional cooperation with other banana producers, in particular the Community producers.

TITLE II Income support

Article 5

1. Within the limits indicated in Article 15 of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 traditional ACP suppliers will be eligible for income support.

2. Income support will be paid where the reduction in income drawn from the export to the Community of bananas complying with the common standards laid down is directly related to conditions prevailing on the market subsequent to the establishment of the common organization of the market in bananas.

Article 6

1. Income support shall be individually calculated for each traditional ACP supplier on the basis of the quanities exported to the Community during the year of application and the difference between the reference price and the actual price.

2. The reference price shall be the average price per tonne of bananas produced in the ACP State concerned and exported to the Community during the six calendar years preceeding the entry into force of this Regulation, less the two years with the highest and the lowest figures.

The actual price shall be the average price per tonne of bananas produced in the ACP State concerned and exported to the Community during the year of application.

3. The statistics needed for the calculation of income support are those calculated and pubished on Community imports by the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

4. Before 1 July of each year, the Commission shall determine the income support for the previous year after consultation with the ACP State concerned.

5. Exceptionally, and in particular during the first year of application of this Regulation, advances may be paid where there is a significant reduction in the production income compared to that of the previous year or within any given year.

The need for and the level of such advances will be determined by the Commission after consultation with the ACP State concerned.

TITLE III General provisions

Article 7

1. Financial commitments made pursuant to Title I will be in addition to any funds available for ACP States under the provisions of the fourth ACP/EEC Convention.

2. Financial commitments made pursuant to Title II will be complementary to funds available under the system guaranteeing the stabilization of export earnings provided for in Articles 186 and following of the fourth ACP-EEC Convention. Title II therefore only permits payment of income support in so far as transfers made for identical quantities in accordance with Article 186 and following of the fourth ACP/EEC Convention do not entirely offset the effects of price decreases on the revenues of traditional ACP suppliers.

3. Payments of income support shall be used, in accordance with a framework of mutual obligations to be agreed between the traditional ACP supplier concerned and the Commission in each case, for the benefit of producers adversely affected by the loss of income and be used to enhance the economic viability of production.

4. (a) Where application of Title II gives rise to a transfer basis, the traditional ACP supplier concerned shall, in the month following receipt of the notification referred to in Article 6 (4), send the Commission a substantial analysis of the banana sector, the causes of the loss of earnings recorded, the policies pursued by the authorities and the projects, programmes or operations to which the resources shall be allocated in accordance with the objectives set out in Article 7 (3).

(b) Projects, programmes or operations to which the recipient traditional ACP supplier undertakes to allocate the transferred resources shall be examined jointly by the Commission and the ACP Stats concerned.

(c) Resources shall be used to support immediate operations to sustain production or adjustment operations designed to restructure production and export activities within the framework of any consistent reform policy in the banana sector.

Article 8

1. Granting of assistance as defined in Article 1 shall be subject to the designation by the ACP State concerned of a representative organization entitied to act and to receive payments on its behalf within the framework of this Regulation.

2. Representative organizations referred to above shall present the following characteristics:

- be composed entirely or mainly of producers of bananas in one or more traditional ACP suppliers,

- pursue at least two of the following objectives:

- improvement of the quality of the produce,

- improvement of the quality of distribution and marketing,

- improvement of the returns to producers,

- improvement of the role of producers in the organization of the banana market.

3. The representative organization designed in accordance with paragraph 2 must be notified to the Commission.

Article 9

1. As far as necessary, detailed rules for the application of this Regulation shall be determined by the Commission.

2. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an advisory nature composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

3. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.

4. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.

5. The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken info account.

Article 10

This Regulation shall enter into force the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. It will be applicable as from 1 July 1993 until 28 February 1996.

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

(1) OJ No C 344, 29. 12. 1992, p. 9.

ANNEX

List provided for in Article 2, first indent

Traditional ACP suppliers of bananas:

Belize

Cameroon

Cap Verde

Côte d'Ivoire

Dominica

Grenada

Jamaica

Santa Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Somalia

Suriname.