Commission Regulation (EC) No 2814/98 of 22 December 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1164/89 laying down detailed rules concerning the aid for fibre flax and hemp
Date: 1998-12-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: aid system, aid to agriculture, flax, hemp, production aid

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2814/98

of 22 December 1998

amending Regulation (EEC) No 1164/89 laying down detailed rules concerning
the aid for fibre flax and hemp

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

to be supplied in a cultivation declaration specific to the
aid scheme for fibre flax and hemp;

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), as last amended by the Act of
Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden and by Regula-
tion (EC) No 3290/94 (2), and in particular Article 4(5)
thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 of
22 March 1971 laying down general rules for granting aid
for flax and hemp (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1420/98 (4), and in particular Article 5(2) thereof,

control

system for

certain Community

Whereas in order to strengthen the administration and
control of the aid scheme and avoid the risk of aid being
paid twice for the same area, certain provisions of the
integrated administration and control system provided for
in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27
November 1992 establishing an integrated administration
and
aid
schemes (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 820/
97 (6), should be made applicable to this scheme; whereas
the detailed rules for submission of declarations of areas
sown should be harmonised with the rules of the in-
tegrated administration and control
system; whereas,
therefore, provision should be made for Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 of 23 December 1992
laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated
administration and control system for certain Community
aid schemes (7), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1678/98 (8), to apply to declarations of areas sown;

Whereas, in some cases, some of the information and
Annexes provided for in the declaration of areas referred
to in Article 5 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No
1164/89 (9), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2021/
98 (10), cannot be included in the area declarations under
the
therefore, provision
should be made for this information and these Annexes

integrated system; whereas,

(1) OJ L 146, 4. 7. 1970, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 349, 31. 12. 1994, p. 105.
(3) OJ L 72, 26. 3. 1971, p. 2.
(4) OJ L 190, 4. 7. 1998, p. 7.
(5) OJ L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 117, 7. 5. 1997, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 391, 31. 12. 1992, p. 36.
(8) OJ L 212, 30. 7. 1998, p. 23.
(9) OJ L 121, 29. 4. 1989, p. 4.
(10) OJ L 261, 24. 9. 1998, p. 8.

Whereas Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 lays
down the penalties to be applied for late submission of
area declarations under the integrated system; whereas the
penalties to be applied for late submission of cultivation
declarations and/or aid applications as referred to in
Articles 5 and 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 1164/89, respec-
tively, should be aligned on Article 8 of Regulation (EEC)
No 3887/92; whereas the penalties to be applied where a
discrepancy is found between the area ascertained during
a check and that declared in the cultivation declaration
and/or aid application should also be aligned on Regula-
tion (EEC) No 3887/92; whereas,
in the interests of
clarity, reference should be made to the provisions of
Regulation (EEC) No 1164/89 likely to affect the area on
the basis of which the amount of aid is calculated;

Whereas,
for the purposes of granting aid for hemp,
Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 provides for producers and
primary processors to conclude a contract, except
in
specific cases, and for primary processors to make an
undertaking to process and to have approval; whereas,
therefore, detailed rules should be laid down regarding
the undertaking and the conditions in which approval
may be granted should be specified; whereas detailed
rules should be laid down for verifying the performance
of contracts and compliance with undertakings to process
and conditions of approval and procedures should be
specified in cases where cooperation is required between
Member States; whereas approval should be withdrawn
where the conditions for approval are no longer met or
where irregularities are found; whereas the relevant provi-
sions for flax are to be found in Articles 5a and 5b of
Regulation (EEC) No 1164/89; whereas those provisions
should be applied, mutatis mutandis, to hemp; whereas,
however, the checks on compliance with the undertaking
to process and conditions for approval during the first two
marketing years of application should be strengthened in
order to ensure that the scheme operates properly;

Whereas, in order to prevent any possible abuse, provision
should also be made for approval to be withdrawn where
it is found that the flax or hemp have not been processed
for
concept of
processing should be defined;

commercial purposes; whereas

the

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Whereas Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 lays
down the maximum average tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
content for determining from which varieties seeds may
be accepted; whereas, in order to strengthen the measures
ensuring that production aid cannot be granted for areas
used for illicit cultivation, provision should be made for
the THC content to be determined also for a sufficient
percentage of cultivated areas; whereas provision should
be made for the Member States to forward a report on
their findings to the Commission once every marketing
year;

Whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 1614/98 of 24
July 1998 introducing transitional measures relating to
the aid scheme for hemp for the 1998/99 marketing
year (3) provides that the first and second subparagraphs
of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 should not
apply to the aid scheme for hemp for the 1998/99
marketing year;

Whereas the Management Committee for Flax and Hemp
has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by
its chairman,

Whereas the method for determining the THC content of
hemp is described in Annex C to Regulation (EEC) No
1164/89; whereas more modern methods have been
developed; whereas, pending amendment of the above
Annex, the Member States should be allowed to use these
new methods provided they provide equivalent assur-
ances;

Whereas, in order to avoid any abuse, provision must be
made for the Member States to fix the minimum sowing
rate
compatible with good hemp-growing practice;
whereas, in order to improve the monitoring of compli-
ance with the conditions laid down in the third subpara-
graph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 619/71, it
should also be laid down that in general no document
may replace the official
to
Council Directive 69/208/EEC (1) as last amended by
Directive 96/72/EC (2), for the hemp seed used;

labels made out pursuant

Whereas Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 619/71
provides for the introduction of an administration and
control arrangement including, where the Member State
deems it appropriate, a system of prior authorisation to
sow areas for which production aid for hemp is to be
granted; whereas provision should be made for
the
Member States to inform the Commission of the arrange-
ments they introduce;

Whereas, if there is no contract between the producer and
the primary processor, it is necessary to ensure that the
hemp straw is
actually processed without delaying
payment of the aid to the producer; whereas provision
should be made for a security to be lodged by the
producer undertaking to process hemp straw or to have it
processed on his behalf;

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 1164/89 is hereby amended as
follows:

1. Article 2 is amended as follows:

(a)

in the second paragraph, ‘the declaration of areas
sown' is replaced by ‘the cultivation declaration';

(b) the fourth paragraph is deleted;

2. Article 3 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

For the purposes of monitoring compliance
‘2.
with the conditions
laid down in the third
subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC)
No 619/71, the cultivation declaration for hemp
referred to in Article 5(1) shall be accompanied by
the official labels made out pursuant to Council
Directive
and in particular
Article 10 thereof, or under provisions adopted on
the basis thereof, for the seeds used.

69/208/EEC (*),

The Member State may lay down that if one and
the same label
refers to seed used which is
covered by more than one cultivation declaration,
the label is to accompany one of the declarations
in question and bear a reference to the other
declarations. The other declarations
shall be
accompanied by a certified photocopy of the label
in question. All the declarations concerned shall
be accompanied by a description of the case in
question.

(*) OJ L 169, 10.7.1969, p. 3.';

Whereas, in the interests of simple management, a final
date should be laid down for lodging the peformance
security; whereas there must be a reasonable period
between the deadline for lodging the security and that for
payment of the aid;

(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.
The competent authorities in the Member
State shall determine the average tetrahydrocan-
nabinol (THC) content of the variety cultivated on

(1) OJ L 169, 10. 7. 1969, p. 3.
(2) OJ L 304, 22. 11. 1996, p. 10.

(3) OJ L 209, 25. 7. 1998, p. 27.

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a plot selected from a cultivation declaration in
respect of not less than 5 % of the cultivation
declarations referred to in Article 5, taking into
account the geographical distribution of the areas
concerned.

The determination of the THC content referred
to in the third subparagraph of Article 3(1) of
Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 and in the first
subparagraph of this paragraph, and sampling for
the purpose of determining such content, shall be
carried out
in accordance with the method
described in Annex C. However, for areas to be
harvested during the 1999/2000 marketing year,
Member States may use another method, provided
they inform the Commission thereof in advance
and provided this method offers at least equi-
in particular with respect to
valent assurances,
precision and repeatability. Where there is any
doubt, credence shall be given to the results
obtained using the method described in Annex C.

Where the average THC content
for a plot
exceeds the limit laid down in the third subpara-
graph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 619/
71, a thorough on-the-spot check shall be made
on the holding to which the cultivation declara-
tion applies of all the conditions conferring enti-
tlement to the aid.

The Member States shall send the Commission,
before 1 February of the marketing year, a report
on the findings for the THC content. The report
shall indicate, for each variety:

— the number of tests carried out,

— the results in terms of THC content, shown

separately for each 0,1 %,

— the measures taken at the national level.';

(b) point (c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c) which are covered by a contract and/or an
undertaking to process in accordance with
Article 3(1) and (2) of Regulation (EEC) No
619/71.';

4. the following Article 4a is added:

‘Article 4a

Producers of

1.
fibre flax and/or hemp shall
submit each year a declaration of areas of fibre flax
and hemp using the “area” aid application form
provided for
in Council Regulation (EEC) No
3508/92 (*) under the integrated administration and
control system, by the deadline set by the Member
State.

However, growers as defined in Article 3a(b) of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 619/71 shall not be required to
submit the area declaration referred to in the above
subparagraph.

The Member State may set a specific deadline for the
introduction of changes to the declaration of areas
under fibre flax and hemp, which may be no later
than 15 June.

2. Without prejudice to this Regulation, Articles 3,
4, 5a, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 18 of Commis-
sion Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 (**) shall apply to
the area declarations referred to in paragraph 1.

The reduction in the aid referred to in Article 8 of
Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 and determination of
the area to be taken into account for calculation of
the aid under Article 9 of that Regulation shall be
applied having regard to Article 12 of this Regulation.

(*) OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 1.
(**) OJ L 391, 31.12.1992, p. 36.';

(c) the following second subparagraph is added to

paragraph 4:

5. Article 5 is amended as follows:

‘The Member States shall establish the minimum
sowing rate compatible with good growing prac-
tice and communicate this information to the
Commission';

3. Article 4 is amended as follows:

(a) point (b) is replaced by the following:

‘(b) for which a declaration of areas sown and a
cultivation declaration as provided for
in
Articles 4a and 5 have been made.';

(a)

in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, ‘declara-
tion of the areas sown' is replaced by ‘cultivation
declaration';

(b) in paragraph 1,

the second subparagraph is

deleted;

(c) the following paragraph is added:

‘1a. Without prejudice
to this Regulation,
Articles 3, 5a, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and
18(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 shall apply
mutatis mutandis to the cultivation declarations
referred to in paragraph 1.

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The reduction in the aid referred to in Article 8 of
Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 and determination
of the area to be taken into account for calcula-
tion of the aid under Article 9 of that Regulation
shall be applied having regard to Article 12 of this
Regulation.';

(d) in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3:

— the first indent is replaced by the following:

‘— the surname, the first name(s) and address
of the person making the declaration and
their
integrated
identification in the
administration and control system,'

— in the second indent, ‘variety sown' is replaced

by ‘variety or varieties sown',

— the third indent is replaced by the following:

‘— where more than one variety is cultivated,
an indication of the location of the areas
concerned', and

— they must be of sound and fair marketable

quality, and

— they must be the result of at least partial sepa-
ration of the fibre and the woody parts of the
stalk. If the stalk is subjected to a second
process to separate the fibre and the woody
parts of the stalk further, only the later opera-
tion shall be regarded as processing for the
purposes of this Regulation.

However, in the case of hemp, directly obtaining
a product of a nature different from straw by
operations other than the separation of fibre from
the woody parts of the stalk may be regarded as
processing for the purposes of this Regulation if
the processor proves to the satisfaction of the
Member State that the said product is of sound
and fair merchantable quality and subject
to
commercial or industrial use.';

(c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

— in the sixth indent,

‘their cadastral reference

or' is deleted;

‘3.
The approval procedure referred to in para-
graphs 1 and 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis:

(e) the following third subparagraph is added to para-

graph 3:

‘Where the person making the declaration is a
grower within the meaning of Article 3a(b) of
Regulation (EEC) No 619/71, a copy of the area
declaration submitted by the owner or farm oper-
ator under Article 4a must be attached to the
declaration. However, the Member State may lay
down that such copy may be replaced by indica-
tion of the identification number of the owner or
farm operator in the integrated administrative and
control system.';

(a)

to processors of hemp straw;

(b) to growers as defined in Article 3a(a) or (b) of
Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 who undertake
to process their own flax straw or hemp straw;

(c) to primary processors who process flax straw
on a grower’s behalf under Article 3(2)(b) or (d)
of Regulation (EEC) No 619/71;

(d) to primary processors who process hemp straw
the second
on a grower’s behalf under
subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation
(EEC) No 619/71.';

6. Article 5a is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, point (b) ‘These must be yielded
by the process of separating the fibre and the
woody parts of the stalk. If the stalk is submitted
to a process which renders necessary any addi-
tional treatment to lead to the separation, this
process shall not count as processing for the
purposes of this Regulation.' is deleted;

(b) the following paragraph 3a is added:

To be regarded as having been obtained
‘3a.
from the processing of flax straw or of hemp straw
for the purposes of this Regulation, the products
concerned must meet the following criteria:

(d) in paragraph 4, point

(c)

is replaced by the

following:

‘(c) estimated processing losses;'

7. Article 5b is amended as follows:

(a)

the first paragraph is amended as follows:

— ‘In cases covered by the first subparagraph of
Article 3(2)' is replaced by ‘In cases covered by
the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) and the
first subparagraph of Article 3(2)',

— ‘or hemp straw' is inserted after ‘flax straw';

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(b) the following paragraph is

inserted after

the

10. Article 8 is amended as follows:

fourth paragraph:

‘In cases covered by the second subparagraph of
Article 3(1) of that Regulation, the undertaking to
process must be made out by the grower and
include a commitment by the grower either to
process his own flax straw from the areas for
which aid is requested or to have it processed on
his behalf.';

8. Article 6 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is deleted;

(b) in paragraph 1a, the following is inserted after the

first subparagraph:

for

‘However,
the 1999/2000 and 2000/01
marketing years, all approved primary processors
of hemp straw shall be checked at least once each
marketing year.';

(c)

in the first and third subparagraphs of paragraph
1b, ‘and hemp straw' is inserted after ‘flax straw';

(d) in paragraph 2, the following second subpara-

graph is inserted:

‘In the case of hemp, the Member States shall
inform the Commission of
the administrative
control arrangements provided for in Article 4 of
Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 and, where applic-
able, of
the system of prior authorisation of
sowing of the areas covered by production aid.';

9. Article 7 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1,
deleted;

the second subparagraph is

(b) the following paragraph 1a is added:

‘1a. Without prejudice
to this Regulation,
Articles 3, 5a, 6(1), the second subparagraph of
6(3), 6(4), (5), (7) and (8) and Articles 7, 8, 9, 11, 12,
13, 14, 15 and 18(1) of Regulation (EEC) No
3887/92 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the aid
applications referred to in paragraph 1.

All the checks referred to in Article 6 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 3887/92 shall be carried out on at
least 5 % of those applications.

The reduction in the aid referred to in Article 8 of
Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 and determination
of the area to be taken into account for calcula-
tion of the aid under Article 9 of that Regulation
shall be applied having regard to Article 12 of this
Regulation. The distinction between the part
retted non-deseeded flax and the part
under
under flax other than retted non-deseeded flax
shall not be taken into account for the deter-
mination of the area referred to in Article 9 of
Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92.';

(c) paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

— In the second indent,

‘the cadastral register
number of those areas' is replaced by ‘their
identification under the Integrated Adminis-
tration and Control System',

— the fourth indent is replaced by the following:

(a) paragraph 1 is deleted;

‘— the date of gathering,'

(b) in paragraph 2,

the following subparagraph is

added after the third subparagraph:

‘If, during an inspection, the Member State finds:

— that a significant part of the flax straw or
hemp straw is not processed within at most 12
months of the end of the marketing year, or

— that a significant part of the processed prod-
ucts is not of sound and fair marketable
quality,

approval shall be withdrawn with effect from the
beginning of the marketing year following the
date of inspection and the primary processor or
grower in question shall not be granted fresh
approval before
second marketing year
following the date of inspection.';

the

— the fifth indent is replaced by the following:

‘— the quantity of straw harvested/gathered,'

— the sixth indent is replaced by the following:

‘— the

storage

the product
location of
concerned, where applicable separately for
flax and hemp seed, or, if the product has
been sold and delivered, the surname, the
first name(s) and address of the buyer.';

(d) in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3, ‘Articles

3(2)' is replaced by ‘Article 3(1) and (2)';

(e)

in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3,
‘the
date of 30 November referred to in paragraph 1' is
replaced by ‘the dates of 30 November in the case
of flax and 31 December in the case of hemp
referred to in paragraph 1';

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(f) paragraph 4 is deleted;

(g) paragraph 5 is amended as follows:

— ‘the checks provided for in Article 5 of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 619/71' is replaced by ‘the
checks provided for in Article 6 of Regulation
(EEC) No 3887/92';
— point (a) is deleted;

11. Article 12 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 12

The amount of aid shall be calculated on the

1.
basis of the smallest of the following areas:

— the area indicated in the declaration of areas
referred to in Article 4a, where applicable reduced
pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No
3887/92,

— the area on which seedlings have emerged as indi-
cated in the cultivation declaration referred to in
Article 5(3), where applicable reduced pursuant to
Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92,
— the area indicated in the aid application referred
to in Article 8(2), where applicable reduced
pursuant
this Regulation and
Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92.
However, the amount of the aid shall, where appro-
priate, be subject to the reductions provided for under
the following provisions:
— Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92, in the
case of late submission of area declarations,
— Article 5(1a), in the case of late submission of

to Article 4 of

cultivation declarations,

— Article 8(1a), in the case of late submission of aid

applications.

Any reduction in the area under flax eligible for aid
shall first be applied to areas under flax other than
non-deseeded retted flax.

2.
If a false declaration was made deliberately, the
person making the declaration in question shall be
excluded from the aid scheme for fibre flax and
hemp for the following marketing year for an area
equal to that for which his declaration was rejected.

3. Once all the checks provided for have been
carried out, Member States shall pay the aid for flax
and hemp before 16 October following the end of the
marketing year.

However, in cases where Article 12a(4) is applied this
time limit shall apply only to the quarter of the aid to
be paid to growers who concluded a contract as
referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of
Regulation (EEC) No 619/71.';

12. Article 12a is amended as follows:

(a)

(b)

‘Not later than the last day of the marketing year'
is inserted at the beginning of paragraph 1;

‘Not later than the last day of the marketing year'
is inserted at the beginning of paragraph 2;

(c) the following paragraph 6 is added:

Paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 shall apply mutatis

‘6.
mutandis to hemp straw.'

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 1999/2000 marketing year and in
respect of areas to be harvested in that year.

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

Done at Brussels, 22 December 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission