Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops to include flax and hemp grown for fibre
Date: 1999-11-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agro-industry, aid per hectare, flax, hemp, support policy

29.2.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 56 E/17

Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 establishing a
support system for producers of certain arable crops to include flax and hemp grown for fibre

(2000/C 56 E/06)

COM(1999) 576 final (cid:151) 1999/0236(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 15 November 1999)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Articles 36 and 37 thereof;

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Whereas:

(1) The

common agricultural policy aims

to attain the
objectives referred to in Article 33 of the Treaty, taking
account of the market situation.

(2) The flax and hemp sector has undergone profound changes
since the entry into force of Council Regulation (EEC) No
1308/70 on the common organisation of the market in
flax and hemp (1); in addition to the traditional production
of long flax fibre for textiles, flax is now also being grown
at lower cost purely for the production of short fibre.

(3) The aid per hectare for short flax fibre and hemp, which is
extremely high in relation to production costs and the
value of
itself, has prompted a certain
the product
the areas down to
amount of speculative production;
short-fibre flax and hemp have increased without any
comparable increase in either output or
real market
demand for these products. The steps that have been
taken to prevent this anomaly have not had the desired
success but
rather have further complicated the rules
governing the sector.

(4) In order to solve the problems facing the market in flax
and hemp grown for fibre, the amount of aid granted to
the growers concerned should be comparable to that for

competitor crops. To that end, and with a view to
simplifying the applicable legislation, these crops should
be included in the support
system for producers of
certain arable crops established by Council Regulation
(EC) No 1251/1999 of 17 May 1999 (2) Moreover, where
there is a need to ensure continued production, Council
Regulation (EC) No . . ./. . . on the common organisation
fibre (3)
of
provides for aid for processing flax and hemp straw.

in flax and hemp grown for

the market

(5) To ensure a smooth transition to the level of support
granted for cereals and to solve the current problems
caused by the existence of different aid schemes for fibre
flax and seed flax, the payments for flax and hemp grown
for fibre should be the same as those granted for linseed,
which must themselves be aligned on those for cereals by
the 2002/2003 marketing year.

(6) To avert the danger that the aims of Regulation (EC) No
1251/1999 might be circumvented, grant of the per-hectare
aid for flax and hemp grown for fibre should be made
subject to certain conditions as regards cultivation.

for

thereby

disturbing

area payments,

(7) Specific measures should be laid down for hemp, to ensure
illegal crops cannot be hidden among the crops
that
eligible
the
common market organisation for hemp. Provision must
therefore be made for area payments to be granted only
for areas sown to varieties of hemp known to have a low
psychotropic content.
the Member States
In addition,
should restrict the areas sown to hemp in each production
area to ensure that compliance with the maximum levels of
psychotropic substances can be closely monitored on the
areas covered by payment applications. A system of prior
approval should therefore be introduced to ensure that the
fixed by the Member States are not
maximum areas
exceeded.

(8)

In order that the quantities eligible for straw processing
aid under Regulation (EC) No . . ./. . . can be checked, straw
is
production must be linked to the area on which it
grown.
to
conclude sales contracts with authorised straw processors
providing certain assurances,

Producers

therefore

required

should

be

(1) OJ L 146, 4.7.1970, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(3) See page . . . of this OJ.

C 56 E/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.2.2000

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 is amended as follows:

1. Article 4(2) is replaced by the following:

The calculation mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be
(cid:145)2.
made using the average cereals yield. However, where
maize is treated separately, the (cid:147)maize(cid:148) yield shall be used
for maize and the (cid:147)cereals other than maize(cid:148) yield shall be
used for cereals, oilseeds, linseed and flax and hemp grown
for fibre.(cid:146)

2. In the first subparagraph of Article 4(3), the words (cid:145)for
linseed(cid:146) are replaced by (cid:145)for linseed and flax and hemp
grown for fibre(cid:146).

3. The following is inserted after Article 5:

(cid:145)Article 5a

1.
For flax grown for fibre, the area payment shall be
made only where sales of straw are covered by contracts
concluded with authorised primary processors.

For hemp grown for fibre, the area payment shall be

2.
made only where:

(cid:151) the varieties used have a tetrahydrocannabinol content
not exceeding 0,2%. However, that limit shall be set at
0,3% for the 2000/2001 marketing year,

(cid:151) the entire crop is sold under contract

to authorised
primary processors for uses other than human nutrition.

they can ensure verification of

3.
The Member States shall fix a maximum area eligible
for area payments for hemp for each production area so
that
the tetrahydrocan-
nabinol content of the crops grown on at least 30% of
the areas for which area payment applications have been
made. To ensure that the maximum areas fixed are not
exceeded, the Member States shall
introduce a system of
prior approval
the cultivation of hemp restricting
for
sowing under this scheme to those areas.(cid:146)

4. Article 9 is amended as follows:

(i) the arrangements for sales contracts with auth-
referred to in

orised primary processors as
Article 5a(3),

(ii) the specific control measures and methods for

determining tetrahydrocannabinol levels.(cid:146).

(b) the first indent of the second paragraph is replaced by

the following:

(cid:145)(cid:151) either make the granting of payments subject to the

use of:

(i) specific seeds,

(ii) certified seed in the case of durum wheat and

flax and hemp grown for fibre,

(iii) certain varieties in the cases of oilseeds, durum
linseed and flax and hemp grown for

wheat,
fibre,

(cid:151) or provide for the possibility for Member States to
to such

subject

make the grant of payments
conditions,(cid:146).

5. Point IV in Annex I is replaced by the following:

CN code

Description

IV. FLAX

ex 1204 00

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.)

ex 5301 10 00

Flax, raw or retted, grown for fibre (Linum
usitatissimum L.)

V. HEMP

ex 5302 10 00

Hemp,
(Cannabis sativa L.)

raw or

retted, grown for

fibre

Article 2

In accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 3(6) of
Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999, the Member States shall submit
to the Commission any revisions of their regionalisation plans
needed to include the data on flax and hemp for fibre by 1
May 2000 at the latest.

(a) in the first paragraph, the following is inserted after the

sixth indent:

(cid:145)(cid:151) with regard to flax grown for fibre, those relating to
the arrangements for sales contracts with authorised
primary processors as referred to in Article 5a(1),

Article 3

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 2000/2001 marketing year.

(cid:151) with regard to hemp grown for fibre, those relating

to:

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