Commission Regulation (EC) No 2808/98 of 22 December 1998 laying down detailed rules for the application of the agrimonetary system for the euro in agriculture
Date: 1998-12-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Monetary System, agri-monetary policy, common agricultural policy, exchange rate, national currency, representative rate

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2808/98

of 22 December 1998

laying down detailed rules for the application of the agrimonetary system for the
euro in agriculture

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 of
15 December 1998 establishing the agrimonetary arrange-
ments for the euro (1), and in particular Article 9 thereof,

Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 establishes new
agrimonetary arrangements following the introduction of
the euro; whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No
1068/93 of 30 April 1993 on detailed rules for deter-
mining and applying the agricultural conversion rates (2),
as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 961/98 (3), and
Commission Regulation (EC) No 805/97 of 2 May 1997
laying down detailed rules for compensation relating to
appreciable revaluations (4), as amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1425/98 (5), must be radically amended to bring
them into line with Regulation (EC) No 2799/98;
whereas, in order to facilitate implementation of the new
agrimonetary arrangements, the Regulations in question
should be repealed and the relevant provisions should be
included in a new Regulation;

Whereas it is necessary to establish the operative events
for the exchange rates applicable, without prejudice to
any specific definitions or exemptions provided for in the
rules for the sectors concerned on the basis of the criteria
mentioned in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98;

Whereas for all the prices or amounts involved in trading
transactions the acceptance of the customs declaration
represents a suitable operative event; whereas in the case
of prices and amounts linked to those prices the commer-
cial objective of buying or selling operations is attained
when the product is paid for or taken over and, in the
case of withdrawal operations by producer groups, on the
first day of the month concerned; whereas, in the case of
aid paid for a given quantity of product and in particular
where the aid is granted subject to a specific use of that
product such as its processing, preservation, packaging or
consumption, the commercial objective is attained when
the product is taken over by the relevant operator and,
where applicable, when the particular use of that product

(1) See page 1 of this Official Journal.
(2) OJ L 108, 1. 5. 1993, p. 106.
(3) OJ L 135, 8. 5. 1998, p. 5.
(4) OJ L 115, 3. 5. 1997, p. 13.
(5) OJ L 190, 4. 7. 1998, p. 16.

is guaranteed; whereas, in the case of private storage aid,
products are no longer available on the market from the
first day for which the aid is granted;

in the case of aid granted per hectare,

the
Whereas,
commercial objective is attained when the product
is
harvested, usually at the beginning of the marketing year;
whereas the operative event for structural aid should be
established at 1 January;

Whereas, for amounts not linked to the market prices of
agricultural products, the operative event can be estab-
lished as a date to be determined on the basis of the
period during which the operation occurs; whereas it
should be stated that the operative event applicable for
the recording of prices or offers on the market is to occur
on the day on which the prices or offers themselves are
applicable; whereas, in the case of advances and securities,
the exchange rate must approximate to that applicable to
the prices or amounts in question where this is known at
the time the advances or securities are paid;

Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 allows Member
States to grant compensation to farmers who have suffered
the effects of an appreciable revaluation or an actual
reduction in direct aid; whereas that Regulation lays down
certain conditions for granting compensation and its
phasing over time, and indicates the method for deter-
mining the maximum amount that may be allocated by a
Member State; whereas the compensation concerned is
partly financed by the Community budget;

Whereas it is necessary to define the operative event that
determines the exchange rate used to convert amounts
expressed in euros into the national currencies of the
Member States; whereas, to facilitate financial manage-
ment, the payment of more than one annual instalment
of compensation in the same budget year should be
avoided; whereas,
the European
Community’s international commitments, and in the
interests of administrative transparency, the procedures to
be
followed by Member States wishing to grant
compensation should be laid down;

to take account of

Whereas, in order to fulfil its purpose, the compensation
must be granted directly to the beneficiaries, in principle
farmers, within a fixed period and for amounts not

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the

income

concerned; whereas,
exceeding
however,
to avoid administrative complications arising
from the grant of small amounts to beneficiaries, simpli-
fied procedures may be used in certain cases;

losses

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of the relevant manage-
ment committees,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

— guarantees the appropriate use of

the products in

question and entails grant of the aid,

and

— occurs on or after the date of taking over of the
products by the operator concerned and, where appro-
priate, before the date of specific use.

3.
For private storage aid the operative event for the
exchange rate shall be the first day in respect of which
the aid relating to a particular contract is granted.

TITLE I

Article 4

Exchange rate and operative events

Article 1

The exchange rate to be used shall be the rate most
recently fixed by the European Central Bank (ECB) prior
to the operative event.

Article 2

The operative event for the exchange rate for prices and
amounts fixed in euros in Community legislation and to
be applied in trade with third countries shall be the
acceptance of the customs declaration.

Article 3

For prices or, without prejudice to Article l and
this Article, amounts linked to those

1.
paragraph 2 of
prices,

— fixed in ecus in Community legislation,

or

— fixed in euros by a tendering procedure,
the operative event for the exchange rate shall be:

— in the case of purchases or sales, the taking over by
the purchaser of the batch of products concerned or
the transfer of the first payment, whichever is earlier,
— in the case of withdrawals of products in the fruit and
vegetable or fishery product sectors, the first day of
the month in which the withdrawal takes place.

agencies,

For the purposes of this Regulation, for purchases by
the
taking
intervention
commencement of physical delivery of
the batch
concerned or, where there is no physical movement,
provisional acceptance of the seller’s tender.

shall

over

be

For aid granted by quantity of marketed product or
2.
by quantity of product to be used in a specific way, the
operative event for the exchange rate shall be the first
operation which:

1. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, in the case of aid per
hectare the operative event for the exchange rate shall be
the commencement of the marketing year in respect of
which the aid is granted.

2.
In the case of amounts of a structural or environ-
mental character, in particular those granted under envir-
onmental protection, early retirement or afforestation
schemes, the operative event for the exchange rate shall
be 1 January of the year during which the decision to
grant the aid is taken.

However,
in cases where, under Community rules,
payment of the amounts referred to in the first subpara-
graph is staggered over several years, the annual instal-
ments shall be converted using the exchange rate applic-
able on l January of the year for which the instalment in
question is paid.

Article 5

1.
For costs of transport, processing or, without preju-
dice to Article 3(3), storage and for amounts allocated to
studies or promotional measures, determined under a
tendering procedure, the operative event for the exchange
rate shall be the final day for the submission of tenders.

2.
For the recording of prices, amounts or tenders on
the market, the operative event for the exchange rate shall
be the day in respect of which the price, amount or
tender is recorded.

3.

For advances:

(a)

the operative event for the exchange rate shall be:

— the event applicable to the price or amount to
which the advance relates, where this event has
occurred by the time the advance is paid,

or

— in other cases, the date of fixing in euros of the
advance or, failing that, the date of payment of the
advance;

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(b) the operative event for the exchange rate shall be
applied without prejudice to application to the entire
price or amount in question of the operative event
determined for that price or amount.

The operative event for the exchange rate for secur-

4.
ities shall be, for each separate operation:

— for advances,

that defined for the amount of

the
advance, where this event has occurred by the time
the security is paid,

— for the submission of tenders, the day on which the

tender is submitted,

— for the execution of tenders, the closing date of the

invitation to tender,

— in other cases, the date on which the security takes

effect.

TITLE II

Compensation for appreciable revaluations

the criteria laid down in the second subparagraph of
Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.

In determining the size of the holding, account shall be
taken only of the types of production referred to in point
(1)(a) of the Annex to the said Regulation.

Member States may set minimum holding sizes only to
the extent necessary to facilitate administration of the
compensatory aid.

In all cases, the compensatory aid must be compat-
the

commitments

international

of

2.
ible with the
Community.

Article 9

1. Where the amount of compensatory aid which is to
be granted for any annual instalment divided by the esti-
mated number of agricultural holdings concerned is
below EUR 400, that amount may be granted for meas-
ures concerning the agricultural sector:

Article 6

— which are collective and of general interest,

or

1.
This Title lays down the detailed rules for granting
the compensatory aid referred to in Article 4 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2799/98.

— for which Community provisions allow Member States
to grant national aid, provided the intensities under
the State aid policy are respected.

2.
The maximum amounts of compensatory aid shall
be determined in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2799/98.

Article 7

1. Without prejudice to Article 9:

(a) Member States may grant compensatory aid only by
to beneficiaries and without

means of payments
conditions relating to its use;

and

(b) compensatory aid may be granted only to agricultural
holdings,
the definition of an agricultural holding
being established by the Member State concerned on
the basis of objective criteria.

2.
The maximum level of the aid shall be converted
into national currency using the average exchange rate for
the year in which the appreciable revaluation occurred.

Article 8

1.
The amount of compensatory aid granted to the
beneficiary shall be linked to the size of the holding
during a period to be stipulated in each case, according to

2.
To be eligible for Community finance the measures
shall be additional, either by their nature or in terms of
aid intensity, to those which the Member State would
have applied in the absence of the aid, and shall not
benefit from other Community financing.

TITLE III

Compensation for reductions in the exchange rates
applied to direct aid

Article 10

This Title lays down the detailed rules for granting
1.
the compensatory aid referred to in Article 5 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2799/98.

2.
The maximum amounts of compensatory aid shall
be determined in accordance with Article 5(2) of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2799/98.

If, for the amounts mentioned in paragraph 3 of the
present Article, an amount fixed in national currency is
lower than the ceiling, a reduction of the ceiling which
does not affect the fixed amount is not to be considered
as a reduction.

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For the purposes of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No
3.
2799/98, amounts of a structural or environmental char-
acter that are not:

— flat-rate aid fixed per hectare or per livestock unit,

or

— a compensatory premium per ewe or she-goat,

the Financial

shall be those financed from the EAGGF Guidance
for Fisheries
Section or
Guidance (FIFG), those referred to in Council Regulation
(EEC) No 1992/93 (1) or those fixed in Council Regula-
tions (EEC) No 2078/92 (2), (EEC) No 2079/92 (3) or (EEC)
No 2080/92 (4).

Instrument

4.
The compensatory aid shall be granted for the 12-
month period preceding the respective application of the
reduced exchange rate.

5. Member States may grant compensatory aid only by
means of additional payments to beneficiaries of aid as
referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.
They may not impose conditions as to the use of such
payments.

The maximum level of aid shall be converted using

6.
the exchange rate which gave rise to that amount.

TITLE IV

General provisions

Article 11

to approve the compensatory aid. If

The Commission may take up to two months from
4.
the date of receipt of the full application referred to in
paragraph l
the
Commission has not delivered an opinion within that
the measures planned may be implemented
period,
provided that the Member State gives the Commission
prior notification of its intention.

5. Any Member State intending to grant compensatory
aid shall adopt the necessary national measures within
three months of the date of the Commission decision or
the prior notification by the Member State provided for in
paragraph 4.

Article 12

1.
Payment to the same beneficiary of an amount of the
same compensatory aid instalment may not be made
during the same budget year as payment of the cor-
responding amount of another instalment.

Payment of the amount of the first instalment of

2.
compensatory aid as referred to in:

— Title II shall be made within one year following the
date of the appreciable revaluation which gave entitle-
ment to the aid concerned,

— Title III shall be made within a period beginning on

the date of the operative event and ending:

— 18 months later in the case of recipients of a cattle

premium,

— 12 months later

recipients of
amounts of a structural or environmental char-
acter, or

in the case of

1.
The application for authorisation to grant compens-
atory aid as referred to in Titles II and III shall be
submitted to the Commission by the Member State
concerned before the end of the third month following
that in which the appreciable revaluation or the reduction
concerned occurred. The application must include suffi-
cient
the Commission to check the
compatibility of the measure with the rules as provided in
paragraph 2.

information for

2.
In accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 93(3) of the Treaty and with this Regulation, the
Commission shall check the compatibility of
the aid
applications with the rules in force concerning compensa-
tion for appreciable revaluations and for reductions.

3.
The total amount of compensatory aid granted must
be proportionate to the loss affecting each sector in the
Member State concerned. How the aid is distributed
within a given sector must not alter the conditions of
competition to an extent detrimental to the common
interest.

(1) OJ L 182, 24. 7. 1993, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 85.
(3) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 91.
(4) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 96.

— nine months later in the case of recipients of other
direct aid as referred to in Article 5(1) of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2799/98.

3.
The time limits referred to in Article 11(1) and (5)
and in paragraph 2 of this Article may be amended by the
Commission at
the duly justified request of Member
States.

The Commission shall have two months in which to
4.
approve the measures referred to in Article 8 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2799/98 from the date of receipt of such
measures envisaged by a non-participating Member State.
If the Commission fails to deliver an opinion within that
time the measures may be implemented provided that the
Commission has been notified in advance by the Member
State.

Article 13

Every year the Member State concerned shall submit to
the Commission a report on the implementation of the
compensatory aid measures, giving details of the amounts
paid out. The first of these reports shall be submitted not
later than 18 months after the decision or the notification
by the Member State referred to in Article 11(4).

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Article 14

or

Amounts quoted in tenders submitted in response to
invitations
to tender organised under an instrument
forming part of the common agricultural policy shall,
with the exception of amounts the Community contribu-
tion to which is financed from the EAGGF Guidance
Section, be expressed in euros.

Article 15

1.
The percentage of appreciability of an appreciable
revaluation and the reduction in the exchange rate shall
be expressed to three decimal places, the third decimal
being rounded off. The average annual exchange rate shall
be established to six significant figures, the sixth figure
being rounded off.

2.
For
figures' means:

the purposes of

this Regulation ‘significant

— all figures, in the case of a number whose absolute

— all decimal places starting from the first one which is

not zero, in other cases.

The roundings-off referred to in this Article shall be
effected by increasing the figure concerned by one unit in
cases where the following figure is greater than or equal
to five and by leaving it unchanged in other cases.

Article 16

Regulations (EEC) No 1068/93 and (EC) No 805/97 are
hereby repealed

Article 17

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

value is greater than or equal to 1,

It shall apply from 1 January 1999.

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