Commission Regulation (EC) No 214/98 of 28 January 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 411/97 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational programmes, operational funds and Community financial assistance
Date: 1998-01-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, aid system, fruit, operational programme, producer organisation, vegetable

L 22/10

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EN

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Official Journal of the European Communities

29. 1. 98

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 214/98

of 28 January 1998

amending Regulation (EC) No 411/97 laying down detailed rules for the
application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational
programmes, operational funds and Community financial assistance

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Article 1

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of
28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the
market
and vegetables (1),
amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/97 (2), and in par-
ticular Article 48 thereof,

in fruit

as

Whereas Article 2(4) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
411/97 (3), as
last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1501/97 (4), defines the concept of marketed production as
the products of members of a producer organisation
disposed of under certain conditions; whereas, on grounds
of economic consistency, it is necessary to specify that the
the
marketed production mentioned above is that of
members of the producer organisation on 1 January in
the year following the year to which the production
relates;

Whereas Article 4(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 411/97
requires a bank account to be opened and used solely for
transactions connected with the management of
the
operational fund; whereas detailed accounts that are annu-
ally verified and certified by auditors can offer the same
guarantees as a separate bank account; whereas it is there-
fore appropriate to offer the Member States the option of
applying this alternative system, at
the request of a
producer organisation;

Whereas Article 9(3) of the aforementioned Regulation
provides
that advances granted for operations which
cannot be implemented within the time limits laid down
fund under
are to be maintained in the operational
certain conditions, with a view to subsequent
imple-
mentation of the operations in question; whereas it is
necessary at present, for the sake of fairness, to extend this
possibility to operations for which no advances have been
granted and to require it to be proved to the satisfaction
of the competent national authority that it was impossible
the operations in question for reasons
to implement
beyond the
organisation
the producer
control
concerned;

of

Wheres the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

(1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 346, 17. 12. 1997, p. 41.
(3) OJ L 62, 4. 3. 1997, p. 9.
(4) OJ L 202, 30. 7. 1997, p. 45.

Regulation (EC) No 411/97 is amended as follows:

1. The following sentence is added to Article 2(4):

‘To establish the marketed production as referred to
above for a given year, account shall be taken of the
members of the producer organisation on 1 January in
the following year.’

2. The following sentence is added to Article 4(3)(b):

‘At the request of a producer organisation, the Member
States may decide to replace the evidence of
the
opening of a bank account by instead requiring the
organisation to keep financial accounts comprising
accounts for each operation in which each item of
expenditure and revenue relating to the operational
fund can be indentified and to have the accounts
checked and certified annually by auditors.’

3. Article 9(3) is replaced by the following:

for

financial

Applications

assistance or

the
‘3.
balance thereof may cover expenditure programmed
but not incurred relating to operation for which it is
proved to the satisfaction of the competent national
authority that they could not be carried out before 31
December of the year of implementation of the opera-
tional programme for reasons beyond the control of
the producer organisation concerned and that they can
be carried out before 30 April of the following year,
provided that an equivalent contribution from the
producer organisation is maintained in the operational
fund.

The assistance shall be paid out and the security
lodged in accordance with Article 8(2) shall be released
only on condition that proof of implementation of the
programmed expenditure referred to in the preceding
subparagraph is provided before 30 April of the year
following that for which the expenditure in question
was programmed, and on the basis of the entitlement
to the assistance actually established.’

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

29. 1. 98

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EN

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 22/11

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

Done at Brussels, 28 January 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission