Commission Regulation (EC) No 398/2000 of 22 February 2000 amending Regulations (EC) No 659/97 and (EC) No 921/1999 as regards the calculation of the marketed quantity of producer organisations, production prices and the list of representative markets and the free distribution arrangements in the fruit and vegetables sector and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1559/70
Date: 2000-02-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: delivery, free service, fruit, producer organisation, trade volume, vegetable

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 398/2000

of 22 February 2000

amending Regulations (EC) No 659/97 and (EC) No 921/1999 as regards the calculation of the
marketed quantity of producer organisations, production prices and the list of representative
markets and the free distribution arrangements in the fruit and vegetables sector and repealing
Regulation (EEC) No 1559/70

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28
October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in
fruit and vegetables (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1257/1999 (2), and in particular Article 10 and Article 30(7)
thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EC) No 659/97 of 16 April
1997 laying down detailed rules for the application of
Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards inter-
vention arrangements
and vegetables
in the
sector (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 729/
1999 (4), can usefully be amended in the light of a study
evaluating food-aid programmes implemented under
Commissiuon auspices.

fruit

In order to bring Regulation (EC) No 659/97 into line
with the other provisions in force on the common
organisation of
components of
marketed production of producer organisations should
be altered to exclude quantities for direct sale, as these
do not involve any work on the part of the producer
organisations.

the markets,

the

In view of the large number of products and repres-
entative markets to be included in the weekly notifica-
tions of production prices, exclusive use should be made
of the IDES system to ensure rapid and efficient data
processing.

the complexity of

In view of
the free distribution
arrangements as shown by experience gained in recent
years and in order to make monitoring more effective,
the regulatory provisions and the information requested
of the Member States should be simplified.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

in the case of

Article 30(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, arrange-
ments should be laid down for their processing. In addi-
tion,
the free distribution operations
referred to in the first indent mentioned above, provi-
sion should be made for an invitation to tender, with the
possibility of payment being made in kind to processors
so as to avoid expenditure on processing. Member States
should be free to choose whether or not to launch such
a tender. Where appropriate, charitable organisations
should notify Member States of their requirements for
products processed from fresh fruit and vegetables. The
successful tenderer should be the one applying for the
smallest quantity of fresh product to supply a given
quantity of the processed product. The quantity of the
the quantity required to
fresh product
produce
free
intended for
distribution should constitute the payment in kind to the
tenderer. The tenderer must process this quantity also.

in excess of
the processed product

(7)

(8)

The arrangements for meeting transport, sorting and
packaging costs should be simplified and the amounts
increased.

In order to indicate clearly that a Community free-
distribution measure is involved, the European emblem
should be shown on the packaging.

(9)

The list of representative markets should be updated.

(10)

Errors have been found in Annexes III and IV to Regula-
tion (EC) No 659/97. They should be corrected.

(11)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 921/1999 of 30 April
1999 providing for special measures to distribute fruit
and vegetables withdrawn from the market to people
originating in Kosovo (5), as amended by Regulation (EC)
No 2134/1999 (6), refers to Regulation (EC) No 659/97.
Those references should be updated to take account of
the amendments to the Regulation referred to.

The minimum intervals at which Member States must
notify the Commission of the lists of approved charit-
able organisations should be set.

(12)

(6) With a view to disposing of additional quantities of
through free
products withdrawn from the market
distribution as referred to in the first and third indents of

feeding-stuffs industry of

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1559/70 of 31 July
1970 laying down conditions for the supply to the
animal
fruit and vegetables
withdrawn from the market (7), as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 771/95 (8), has become obsolete and
should be repealed.

(1) OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(3) OJ L 100, 17.4.1997, p. 22.
(4) OJ L 93, 8.4.1999, p. 11.

(5) OJ L 114, 1.5.1999, p. 46.
(6) OJ L 262, 8.10.1999, p. 3.
(7) OJ L 169, 1.8.1970, p. 55.
(8) OJ L 77, 6.4.1995, p. 9.

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(13)

The Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Veget-
ables has not delivered an opinion within the time limit
set by its chairman,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

ucts from the market and the charitable organ-
isation responsible for taking delivery of them,’;

(c) the fifth indent is replaced by the following:

‘— where appropriate, the name of the undertaking
responsible for processing the fresh products in
accordance with Article 14a,’.

Article 1

6. The following Articles 14a and 14b are inserted:

Regulation (EC) No 659/97 is amended as follows:

1. Article 3(1) is amended as follows:

‘Article 14a

(a) point (b) of the first subparagraph is deleted;

(b) the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘The marketed quantity referred to in the first subpara-
graph shall not include the production of members of
producer organisations marketed in accordance with
the first, second and third indents of Article 11(1)(c)(3)
of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.’

2. Article 7(2) is replaced by the following:

For the products and during the periods listed in
‘2.
Annex III, Member States shall send the Commission not
later than 12.00 noon (Brussels time) on the Wednesday of
each week information concerning, for each marketing
day, the prices recorded on their representative markets.
The Commission shall forward this information to the
Member States.

The information shall be sent to the Commission using the
Interactive Data Entry System (IDES).’

3. Article 11 is amended as follows:

(a) the following subparagraph is added to paragraph 1:

‘These products may be processed under the terms laid
down in Articles 14a or 14b;’

(b) the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 is replaced by

the following:

‘From March 2000 and at intervals of three years,
Member States shall notify lists of approved charitable
organisations as referred to in points (b) and (c) to the
to all
Commission, which shall
Member States.’

send those lists

4. The second paragraph of Article 13 is deleted.

5. In Article 14(3):

(a) the third indent is replaced by the following:

‘— the names of the charitable organisations involved
in the operation and their respective roles,’;

(b) the fourth indent is replaced by the following:

‘— the substance of

the agreements between the
producer organisation which withdraws the prod-

The charitable organisation can process or have processed
at its expense the products withdrawn from the market
with a view to their free distribution either to persons
recognised as entitled to public assistance under their
national legislation or to the needy in third countries. All
the resulting products must be distributed free of charge.

Article 14b

In line with the requirements of the charitable organ-
1.
isations,
indicated in accordance with paragraph 3,
Member States may organise one or more invitations to
tender for the processing by a successful tenderer of the
products withdrawn from the market.

The successful tenderer must process all the products with-
drawn from the market and offered to him. The quantities
of products withdrawn from the market in excess of the
quantities required for the manufacture of processed prod-
ucts for free distribution shall constitute the payment in
kind to compensate him for the manufacturing costs he
must incur.

The processed products for free distribution shall then be
distributed by the charitable organisations to those recog-
nised as entitled to public assistance under the legislation
of the Member State.

2. Member States wishing to implement the invitation
to tender procedure referred to in paragraph 1 shall under-
take the appropriate publicity and inform the Commission
of the type of fruit or vegetable involved and the period
covered by the procedure. This period must not exceed the
marketing year for the product in question.

3.
No later than the date fixed by the competent
national authority, the charitable organisations involved
shall notify it of their requirements for products processed
from fresh fruits or vegetables as referred to in paragraph
2 and shall give an undertaking to take them over and
distribute them all, free of charge. Taking over must be
completed no later than one month after the processing
period covered by the procedure referred to in paragraph
2.

4. Member States
shall, where appropriate, group
together the requirements as expressed in paragraph 3 into
lots of processed products and shall draw up a draft invita-
tion to tender.

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This shall contain at least the following information for
each lot:

— the fresh product

involved and the period during
which the products withdrawn from the market are
likely to be available,

— the geographical areas in which they are likely to be

stored,

— a detailed description of the product processed from
fruit or vegetables to be supplied and its packaging, the
deadline for its supply, together with the quantity the
tenderer must undertake to produce, if the products
withdrawn from the market are available.

The tendering security shall be EUR 20/tonne net weight
of final product processed.

5.
The draft invitation to tender referred to in para-
graph 4 shall be sent to the Commission for approval. It
shall be published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities. Once the Commission has taken a favourable
decision, published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities, the invitation to tender shall be launched. At
least
two tenders for each lot must be submitted in
response to each invitation to tender. The lot shall be
awarded to the tenderer applying for the smallest quantity
of fresh product against supply of the processed product.
Where the same amount is sought by more than one
tender, the award shall be made by drawing lots. Where all
the tenders submitted involve excessively high quantities
of fresh products, the Member State may decide not to
make an award under the tender for the lot in question.

The Member State shall
inform the Commission of the
outcome of the invitation to tender. The Commission shall
publish this information in the Official Journal of the Euro-
pean Communities. It may ask for details of the offers from
tenderers.

The Member State shall

inform the successful
6.
tenderer
for each lot, as withdrawals are made, of
producer organisations where he may obtain supplies of
fresh products withdrawn from the market with priority
over other beneficiaries as referred to in Articles 11 and
12 of this Regulation.

Upon manufacture, the processed product shall be
7.
made available to the charitable organisations at
the
earliest opportunity, in proportion to the quantity of fresh
product made available to the successful tenderer.

8.
To ensure performance of the tender, the successful
tenderer must provide a security. This shall be based on
the net weight of
the
processed product manufactured. It shall be equivalent:

fresh product requested against

— in the case of the products listed in Annex II to Regula-
tion (EC) No 2200/96, to five times the Community
withdrawal compensation referred to in Article 26 of
that Regulation,

— in the case of the other products, an amount set out in

the notice of invitation to tender.

The security shall be released as supplies of the processed
product are delivered and once the successful tenderer has
provided evidence that all the fresh products made avail-
able to him against the delivery of the processed product
have been processed.’

7. In Article 15(1), the words ‘point 1 of Annex V’ are

replaced by the words ‘Annex V’.

8. Article 15a is deleted.

9. Article 16 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 16

1.
The costs of sorting and packaging fresh fruit and
vegetables withdrawn from the market for free distribution
referred to in Article 30(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96
shall be borne by the Guarantee Section of the European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), at the
flat-rate amount of EUR 132 per tonne net weight, in the
case of products put up in packages of
less than 25
kilograms net weight. The cost of fresh products intended
for the manufacture of processed products as referred to in
Articles 14a and 14b shall not be so borne.

Packages of products

2.
free distribution shall
display the European emblem, together with one or more
of the following entries:

for

— Producto destinado a su distribución gratuita (Regla-

mento (CE) no 659/97)

— Produkt til gratis uddeling (forordning (EF) nr. 659/97)

— Zur kostenlosen Verteilung bestimmtes Erzeugnis

(Verordnung (EG) Nr. 659/97)

— Προϊόν προοριζόµενο για δωρεάν διανοµή (κανονισµός

(ΕΚ) αριθ. 659/97)

— Product for free distribution (Regulation (EC) No 659/

97)

— Produit destiné à la distribution gratuite (règlement

(CE) no 659/97)

— Prodotto destinato alla distribuzione gratuita (regola-

mento (CE) n. 659/97)

— Voor gratis uitreiking bestemd product (Verordening

(EG) nr. 659/97)

— Produto destinado a distribuição gratuita (Regulamento

(CE) n.o 659/97)

— Ilmaisjakeluun tarkoitettu tuote (asetus (EY) N:o 659/

97)

— Produkt för gratisutdelning (förordning (EG) nr 659/

97).

distribution is

Where
Community,
language(s) of the third countries concerned.

the
the entry shall also be shown in the

to take place outside

Where applicable, packages of fresh products to be used in
the manufacture of the processed products referred to in
Articles 14a and 14b shall not show these entries.

3.
The costs of sorting and packaging shall be paid to
the producer organisation which performed the sorting
and packaging.

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Payment shall be subject to the presentation of supporting
documents certifying in particular:
— the names of the beneficiary organisations,
— the quantity of the products concerned,
— acceptance by the beneficiary organisations.’.

(e) the following representative markets in Portugal are

added:
— for melons: Moura and Algarve
— for sweet oranges: Vidigueira
— for watermelons: Grandola.

10. In Annex II:

(a) the representative markets in Germany are replaced by

the following markets:
— for

cauliflowers:

Straelen, Maxdorf, Erzeuger-

großmarkt Thüringen-Sachsen

— for apples: Stade, Centralmarkt Rheinland, Boden-

seemarkt

— for pears: Stade, Bodenseemarkt
— for

tomatoes: Straelen, Heidelberg, Kitzingen,

Reichenau;

(b) the representative market for strawberries in Belgium is

the market at Sint-Truiden;

(c) the following representative markets in Portugal are

deleted:
— for clementines: Alcácer do Sal
— for sweet oranges: Santiago do Cacém
— for peaches and nectarines: Montargil
— for pears: Cova da Beira;

(d) the following representative markets in Portugal are

replaced:
— for strawberries: Oeste is replaced by Ribatejo/

Oeste

— for melons and watermelons: Ribatejo is replaced

11. In the introduction to Annex III, ‘Article 6(2)’ is replaced

by ‘Article 7(2)’.

12. In Annex IV, ‘Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 659/97’ is
replaced by ‘Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96’.

13. Annex V is replaced by Annex I hereto.

14. Annex VI is replaced by Annex II hereto.

Article 2

In Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 921/1999,
16(2)’

is deleted.

‘and Article

Regulation (EEC) No 1559/70 is repealed.

Article 3

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 March 2000.

However:

— Article 1(1) shall not apply until the beginning of the next
marketing year for each product starting after the date of
entry into force referred to in the first paragraph,

by Ribatejo/Oeste;

— Article 1(2) shall not apply until 1 June 2000.

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

Done at Brussels, 22 February 2000.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

‘ANNEX V

TRANSPORT COSTS UNDER FREE DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS

(referred to in Article 15)

Distance between the point of withdrawal and the place of delivery (1)

Transport costs
(EUR/tonnes)

Less than 25 km

25 km or more but less than 200 km

200 km or more but less than 350 km

350 km or more but less than 500 km

500 km or more

14,4

30

42

60

78

Supplement for refrigerated transport: EUR 7,2/tonne

(1) In the case referred to in Article 14a, the distance between the point of withdrawal and the place of delivery of the processed product,

passing through the place of processing.
In the case referred to in Article 14a, the distance between the point of withdrawal and the place of delivery of the processed product (the
fresh products referred to in Article 14b do not qualify for the transport allowance).’

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ANNEX II

‘ANNEX VI

INFORMATION CONCERNING FREE DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE THE COMMUNITY

(referred to in Article 14)

Member State:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commission Decision number (*):

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Quantity distributed (by product):

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name and headquarters of the producer organisation making the withdrawals: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name and headquarters of the charitable organisations involved in the operation:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name and headquarters of the undertaking responsible for processing the products (where applicable):

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Means of transport and name and headquarters of the transporter:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Country and place of final destination: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Population group for which the products are intended, with the estimated number of beneficiaries: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dates of withdrawal, departure and delivery of the products:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(*) Save for operations carried out under Regulation (EC) No 921/1999.’