Commission Regulation (EC) No 2007/98 of 21 September 1998 on a special intervention measure for cereals in Finland and Sweden
Date: 1998-09-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Finland, Sweden, award of contract, export refund, intervention agency

22. 9. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 258/13

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2007/98

of 21 September 1998

on a special intervention measure for cereals in Finland and Sweden

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92
of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the
market in cereals (1), as last amended by Commission
Regulation (EC) No 923/96 (2), and in particular Article 6
thereof,

Whereas oats are one of the products covered by the
common organisation of the market in cereals; whereas it
is not, however, included among the basic cereals referred
to in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 for which
provision is made for intervention buying-in;

Whereas oats is a major traditional crop in Finland and
Sweden which is well suited to the weather conditions
obtaining in those countries; whereas production far
exceeds requirements in those countries with the result
that they are required to dispose of surpluses by exporting
them to third countries; whereas membership of
the
Community has not altered the previously existing situa-
tion;

Whereas any reduction in the quantity of oats grown in
Finland and Sweden would be beneficial to other cereals
qualifying for the intervention arrangements, especially
barley; whereas production of barley is in surplus both in
the two Nordic countries and across the whole of the
Community; whereas a switch from oats to barley would
only worsen the situation and create further surpluses;
whereas it is necessary therefore to ensure that exports of
oats to third countries can continue;

Whereas refunds may be granted in respect of oats
pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92;
whereas the geographical situation of Finland and Sweden
places them in a less favourable position from the point
of view of exporting than other Member States; whereas
the fixing of refunds on the basis of Article 13 favours
primarily those other Member States; whereas it is anticip-
ated therefore that the production of oats in the two
Nordic countries will give way increasingly to that of
barley; whereas, consequently, in coming years, substan-
tial quantities of barley must be expected to enter inter-
vention storage in Finland and Sweden pursuant
to
Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92, the only poss-

ibility of disposal being export to third countries; whereas
exports from intervention storage are more costly to the
Community budget than direct exports;

Whereas a special
intervention measure within the
meaning of Article 6 of that Regulation could prevent
these additional costs; whereas this intervention measure
should be taken in the form of a measure intended to
relieve the market in oats in Finland and Sweden; whereas
the grant of a refund by a tendering procedure which
would apply only to oats produced and exported from
those two countries would be the most appropriate
measure in the circumstances;

its implementation,

Whereas the nature and objectives of the said measure
make it appropriate to apply to it, mutatis mutandis,
Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 and the Regu-
lations adopted for
in particular
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June
1995 laying down certain detailed rules for the applica-
tion of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the
granting of export refunds on cereals and the measures to
be taken in the event of disturbance on the market for
cereals (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2052/
97 (4);

Whereas Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 requires tenderers
to apply for an export licence among their other under-
takings; whereas compliance with this obligation may be
ensured by requiring tenderers to lodge a security of ECU
12 per tonne when they submit their tenders;

the cereals

Whereas
in question should actually be
exported from the Member States for which a special
intervention measure was implemented; whereas it
is
necessary therefore to limit the use of export licences to
exports from the Member State in which application for
the licence was made and to oats produced in Finland
and Sweden;

in order to ensure equal

Whereas,
concerned,
licences issued have an identical period of validity;

for all
it is necessary to make provision that the

treatment

Whereas, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the
export tendering procedure, it is necessary to prescribe a
minimum quantity and a time limit and form for the
submission of tenders to the competent agencies;

(1) OJ L 181, 1. 7. 1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 126, 24. 5. 1996, p. 37.

(3) OJ L 147, 30. 6. 1995, p. 7.
(4) OJ L 287, 21. 10. 1997, p. 14.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 9. 98

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Cereals,

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1162/95 (1) shall be
forfeited, except in cases of force majeure.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. A special intervention measure in the form of an
export refund shall be implemented in respect of 250 000
tonnes of oats produced in Finland and Sweden and
intended for export from Finland and Sweden to all third
countries.

Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 and the provi-
sions adopted for the application of that Article shall
apply, mutatis mutandis, to the said refund.

2.
The Finnish and Swedish intervention agencies shall
be responsible for implementing the measure referred to
in paragraph 1.

Article 2

Tenders shall be invited in order to determine the

1.
amount of the refund referred to in Article 1.

2.
The invitation to tender shall relate to the quantity
of oats referred to in Article 1(1) for export to all third
countries.

3.
The invitation shall remain open until 24 June 1999.
During its period of validity weekly awards shall be made,
for which the time limits for the submission of tenders
shall be specified in the notice of invitation to tender.

Notwithstanding Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1501/
95, the time limit for the submission of tenders for the
first partial invitation to tender shall be 24 September
1998.

4.
Tenders must be submitted to the Finnish and
Swedish intervention agencies named in the notice of
invitation.

5.
The tendering procedure shall take place in accord-
ance with this Regulation and Regulation (EC) No 1501/
95.

Article 3

A tender shall be valid only if:

(a)

it relates to not less than 1 000 tonnes;

Article 4

Under the tendering procedure referred to in Article 2,
one of the following entries shall be made in box 20 of
applications and export licences:

(cid:190) ‘Asetus (EY) N:o 2007/98 (cid:190) Todistus on voimassa

ainoastaan Suomessa ja Ruotsissa',

(cid:190) ‘Förordning (EG) nr 2007/98 (cid:190) Licensen giltig endast

i Finland och Sverige'.

Article 5

The refund shall be valid only for exports from Finland
and Sweden.

Article 6

The security referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC)
No 1501/95 shall be ECU 12 per tonne.

Article 7

1. Notwithstanding Article 21(1) of Commission Regu-
lation (EEC) No 3719/88 (2), export licences issued in
accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1501/
95 shall, for the purpose of determining their period of
validity, be deemed to have been issued on the day on
which the tender was submitted.

Export licences issued under this tendering proce-
2.
dure shall be valid from their date of issue, as defined in
paragraph 1, until the end of the fourth month following
that of issue.

3. Notwithstanding Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No
3719/88, export
this tendering
licences issued under
procedure shall be valid in Finland and Sweden only.

Article 8

1. On the basis of tenders notified, the Commission
shall decide, in accordance with the procedure laid down
in Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92, either:

(cid:190) to fix a maximum export refund, taking into account
in particular the criteria laid down in Article 1 of
Regulation (EC) No 1501/95, or

(cid:190) to make no award.

(b) it is accompanied by a written undertaking from the
tenderer specifying that it relates solely to oats grown
in Finland and Sweden which are to be exported from
those countries.

2. Where a maximum export refund is fixed, a contract
shall be awarded to any tenderer whose tender specifies a
rate of refund not exceeding such maximum export
refund.

Where the undertaking referred to in paragraph (b) is not
in Article 10 of
fulfilled,

the security provided for

(1) OJ L 117, 24. 5. 1995, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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Article 9

Tenders submitted must reach the Commission via the
Finnish and Swedish intervention agencies not later than
one and a half hours following expiry of the deadline for
the weekly submission of
tenders as specified in the
notice of invitation to tender. They must be commun-
icated in the form shown in Annex I to the telex or fax
numbers given in Annex II.

If no tenders are received, the Finnish and Swedish inter-
vention agencies shall inform the Commission thereof
within the period specified in the first paragraph.

The times fixed for the submission of tenders shall corres-
pond to Belgian time.

Article 10

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

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

Done at Brussels, 21 September 1998.

For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 9. 98

Weekly tender for the refund for the export of oats from Finland and Sweden to all third countries

ANNEX I

(Regulation (EC) No 2007/98)

(Closing date for the submission of tenders (date/time))

2

Quantity
in tonnes

3

Amount of export refund
(in ecus per tonne)

1

Number
of tenderer

1

2

3

etc.

ANNEX II

The only numbers to use to call Brussels (DG VI-C-1, (Attention: Messrs Thibault and Brus)) are:
(cid:190) fax

295 25 15,
296 49 56,

(cid:190) telex

22037 AGREC B,
22070 AGREC B (Greek characters).