Council Regulation (EC) No 1419/98 of 22 June 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 laying down the general rules for the system of aid for cotton
Date: 1998-06-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: aid system, cotton

L 190/4

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Official Journal of the European Communities

4. 7. 98

I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1419/98

of 22 June 1998

amending Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 laying down the general rules for the
system of aid for cotton

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of Greece, and in
particular paragraph 9 of Protocol 4 on cotton annexed to
the Act of Accession of Greece (1),

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

forecasts and ensure that

improve initial harvest
the
amount paid in advance is a close as possible to the final
amount of aid due, the production estimate should be
revised at a date by wich a large proportion of
the
unginned cotton harvest has already been placed in super-
vised storage; whereas the increased reliability of such a
revised estimate would require application of a percentage
increase of less than 15 % when calculating the resulting
advance, without this causing any risks for the budget;
whereas the advances paid prior to the revised estimate
should be adjusted, taking account of the administrative
costs of applying the new mechanism,

Whereas paragraph 3 of Protocol 4 provides for produc-
tion aid to be granted through cotton ginning under-
takings; whereas, when such undertakings buy unginned
cotton, they pass the aid on to producers by paying a
price at least equal to the minimum price referred to in
paragraph
these
Protocol
undertakings may also gin cotton for third parties;

whereas

8a

of

4;

Whereas Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 (2)
provides that where a ginning undertaking gins cotton on
behalf of an individual producer or a producer associated
with that undertaking, a statement must be submitted
giving details of how the aid is passed on to the produ-
cers; whereas the concept of associated producers should
be replaced by that of producer groups, and the condi-
tions to be met by groups in such cases should be laid
down to ensure that the aid is passed on, particularly
through payment of the minimum price to its members;

Whereas Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1554/95
provides for the estimated production of unginned cotton
to be fixed before 1 October for the purpose of calcu-
lating the amount of the advance; whereas, in order to

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 is hereby amended as
follows:

1. Article 5(3) shall be replaced by the following:

‘3.
Entitlemnt to the aid shall be acquired when the
cotton is ginned. However, aid may be paid in advance
from 16 October following the start of the marketing
year when the unginned cotton enters the cotton
ginning undertaking, provided that an adequate se-
curity has been lodged. The amount of the advance
shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph 3a.

Any aid balance outstanding shall be paid once the
actual quantity produced has been determined and any
adjustment to the aid referred to in Article 2 of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 1964/87 (*) has been made. It shall be
paid before the end of the marketing year, at the latest.

(1) OJ L 291, 19. 11. 1979, p. 174. Protocol as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 1553/95 (OJ L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 45).
(2) OJ L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 48. Regulation as amended by Regu-
lation (EC) No 1584/96 (OJ L 206, 16. 8. 1996, p. 16).

(*) OJ L 184, 3. 7. 1987, p. 14. Regulation as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1553/95 (OJ
L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 45).’

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L 190/5

2. The following paragraph shall be inserted in Article 5:

The level of

‘3a.
the advance per 100 kg of
unginned cotton shall be equal to the guide price
minus the world price and reduced further by an
amount calculated using the method provided for in
Article 6, but replacing actual production by the es-
timated production of unginned cotton fixed in ac-
cordance with Article 8(1) plus 15 %.

From 16 December following the start of the mar-
keting year, the amount of the aid referred to in the
subparagraph shall be replaced by a revised
first
amount calculated using the same method but based
on the revised production estimate for unginned
cotton fixed in accordance with Article 8(2), plus at
least 7,5 %. Advances paid between 16 October and
15 December shall be increased accordingly, except
where the difference between the two amounts is less
than ECU 1/100 kg.’

3. Article 7 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 7

1. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, aid shall be
granted only to those cotton ginning undertakings
which apply for it and which:

(a) have submitted a contract stipulating payment to
the producer of a price at
to the
minimum price referred to in Article 8a of
Protocol 4 and containing a clause specifying that:

least equal

— where Article(s) 2(3) and/or 2(4) of Regulation
(EEC) No 1964/87 is applied, the agreed price
will be adjusted in consequence of the effect of
the application of that Article upon the aid,

— where there is a difference between the quality
of the cotton delivered and the standard quality,
as referred to in paragraph 8 of Protocol 4, the
price agreed will be adjusted proportionally by
common consent between the
contracting
parties;

(b) keep stock amounts on ginned and unginned
cotton that satisfy requirements to be laid down, so
that entitlement to the aid can be checked;

(c) provide the other supporting documents needed for

checking entitlement to the aid;

(d) furnish proof that the cotton delivered under the
contract is the subject of the declaration of area
sown referred to in Article 8.

on behalf of an individual producer or a producer
group meeting the criteria laid down in the third
subparagraph of paragraph 4 of Protocol 4, provided
such undertakings:

(a) satisfy the conditions referred to in paragraphs 1(b)

and (c);

(b) have submitted a statement giving details of the
conditions under which the ginning is carried out
and how the aid is administered;

(c) undertake to pass on the aid to the individual
the producer

applicable,

producers or, where
groups concerned;

(d) furnish proof that the cotton referred to in the
statement referred to in (b) has been the subject of
the declaration of area sown referred to in Article 8;

(e) furnish proof that producer groups are obliged to
provide for and comply with a clause equivalent to
that in paragraph 1(a) and an undertaking by such
groups to keep and produce supporting documents
concerning payment of the minimum price.

3.
Failure to comply with the clause or undertaking
referred to in paragraph 2(e) by a producer group
having ginning carried out on its behalf shall be con-
sidered a failure to meet the criteria referred to in the
third subparagraph of paragraph 4 of Protocol 4.’

4. Article 8 shall replaced by the following:

‘Article 8

1.
Before 1 October, the estimated production of
unginned cotton referred to in the first subparagraph
of Article 5(3a) shall be drawn up using the procedure
referred to in Article 11(1), account being taken of
crop estimates.

In order to draw up these estimates, a system of decla-
rations of the areas sown shall be established.

Before 1 December,

2.
the revised estimate of
production of unginned cotton and the percentage
increase referred to in the second subparagraph of
Article 5(3a) shall be drawn up using the procedure
referred to in Article 11(1), account being taken of the
progress of the harvest.’

Article 2

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

2.
Aid shall be granted to those cotton ginning
undertakings which apply for it and which gin cotton

It shall apply from 1 September 1998.

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4. 7. 98

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

Done at Luxembourg, 22 June 1998.

For the Council

The President

J. CUNNINGHAM