Council Regulation (EC) No 1420/98 of 26 June 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 laying down general rules for granting aid for flax and hemp
Date: 1998-06-26
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: flax, hemp, terms for aid

4. 7. 98

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EN

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 190/7

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1420/98

of 26 June 1998

amending Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 laying down general rules for granting
aid for flax and hemp

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

sion system in the hemp sector by a system of prior
authorisation for sowing;

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1308/70
of 29 June 1970 on the common organisation of the
market in flax and hemp (1), and in particular Article 4(4)
thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 4(1) or Regu-
lation (EEC) No 1308/70 stipulates that aid is granted
only for hemp grown from seed of varieties providing
certain safeguards to be determined in respect of
the
content of
in the harvested
intoxicating substances
product; whereas Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC)
No 619/71 (2) lays down a maximum limit for the average
content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to determine the
varieties of seeds which may be accepted; whereas in
order
land
to strengthen the measures ensuring that
eligible for production aid may not be used for illegal
cultivation the maximum limit currently laid down
should be reduced; whereas, for the same purpose, the
grant of aid should be made conditional upon harvesting
after seed formation;

Whereas Article 3(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 lays
down, for the grant of aid for fibre flax, a system of
compulsory contracts between producers and primary
processors containing a processing undertaking; whereas a
similar system of comupulsory contracts should be intro-
duced in the hemp sector so as to improve control of the
final use of the crop and to guarantee that the crop is
actually processed; whereas provision should also be made
for the case where the producer processes the hemp into
straw or has it processed on this behalf by a processor;

a

for

Whereas Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 619/71
administrative supervision
provides
guaranteeing that
the product of which aid has been
requested qualifies for that aid; whereas provision should
be made for the possibility of strengthening that supervi-

system of

(1) OJ L 146, 4. 7. 1970, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 3290/94 (OJ L 349, 31. 12. 1994, p. 105).
(2) OJ L 72, 26. 3. 1971, p. 2. Regulation as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 154/97 (OJ L 27, 30. 1. 1997, p. 1).

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation
must be implemented under the best possible conditions;
whereas, therefore, transitional measures may be needed
to facilitate the changeover to the new system,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 is hereby amended as
follows:

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

‘1.
For hemp, aid shall be granted only to growers,
who have concluded, before a date to be specified, a
contract with a primary processor approved by the
competent authority in the Member State on whose
territory his establishments are situated, under which
the primary processor obtains ownership of the hemp
and undertakes to process it.

However, aid shall also be granted to the producer if
he undertakes to process the hemp into straw and is
approved for that purpose by the competent authority
or if he undertakes to have the hemp processed on his
behalf into straw by an approved primary processor.

Aid shall be granted only for hemp harvested after seed
formation and grown from certified seed of varieties
contained in a list to be drawn up in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 12 of Regulation
(EEC) No 1308/70. This list shall include only varieties
for which a Member State has found by analysis that
in the
the weight of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
weight of a sample maintained at constant weight is
no more than:

— 0,3 % for the purposes of the grant of aid for the

marketing years 1998/99 to 2000/2001,

— 0,2 % for the purposes of
subsequent marketing.

the grant of aid for

The sample referred to above shall consist of the upper
third of a representative number of plants selected at
random at the end of their flowering period and with
stalks and seeds removed.’

L 190/8

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EN

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Official Journal of the European Communities

4. 7. 98

2. In Article 4(1), the following subparagraph shall be

added:

‘For hemp, if the Member State considers it appro-
priate, the arrangements shall comprise a system for
the prior authorisation of sowing on land eligible for
production aid.’

3. Article 6a shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 6a

Should transitional measures be strictly necessary to
facilitate the implementation of the adjustments to the
(EC)
arrangements
No 1420/98 (*) with effect from the 1998/99 marketing

in Regulation

down

laid

year, such measures shall be adopted in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 12 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 1308/70. They shall apply until the end
of the 1999/2000 marketing year at the latest.

(*) OJ L 190, 4. 7. 1998, p. 7.’

Article 2

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

It shall apply from the 1998/99 marketing year. However,
Article 1(3) shall apply from the date of the entry into
force of this Regulation.

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

Done at Luxembourg, 26 June 1998.

For the Council

The President

J. CUNNINGHAM