Keywords

Summary



Keywords

++++

Agriculture - Common organization of the markets - Milk and milk products - Additional levy on milk - Determination of reference quantities which are exempt from the levy - Special rules for producers who have adopted milk production development plans - Discretionary power of Member States as to whether or not to allocate special reference quantities - Limits - Conditions for grant fixed on the basis of objective criteria - Whether permissible

( Council Regulation No 857/84, Art . 3(1 ) )

Summary

The second indent of the first subparagraph of Article 3(1 ) of Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 857/84 must be interpreted as conferring a discretionary power on the Member States for the purpose of determining the allocation of special reference quantities which are exempt from the additional levy on milk to producers who have adopted a milk production development plan which has been implemented after 1 January 1981 . However, where a Member State decides to take account of the situation of certain producers referred to in that provision, it must, even though the implementation of a development plan in no circumstances confers on the producer concerned the right to obtain reference quantities corresponding to the production capacity acquired by implementing the plan, without being subject to any reductions, take into consideration the level of milk and milk product quantities delivered by the producers in question in the year during which their development plan was completed, provided that where those quantities are not representative of the production capacity acquired after the plan was completed, the Member States must ensure that the quantities bear some relation to the resultant production capacity, and the principle of non-discrimination between the producers concerned .

That provision does not preclude national rules, adopted for the purpose of implementing the said regulation, which are drawn up in such a way that :

( i ) producers who have incurred investment obligations may obtain a special reference quantity whether or not such obligations were entered into as part of a development plan;

( ii ) that quantity is calculated on the basis of a fixed quantity allocated for each new stall constructed;

( iii ) for the purposes of that calculation, the number of stalls actually constructed is reduced by 10% or 20%, depending on whether or not the producer concerned is commencing milk production; and

( iv ) the quantity which results from the application of the calculation criteria referred to above is reduced by one-third or a half, depending upon the date on which the new stalls were put into service; that reduction, which varies according to the extent to which the introduction of the additional levy could be foreseen when the investments were carried out is compatible with the principle of proportionality which must be respected in the context of the implementation of the policy of reducing structural milk surpluses . Moreover, producers who have carried out investments, even as part of a development plan, cannot rely on any legitimate expectation in order to claim that a special reference quantity be granted, precisely because of such investments .