Commission Regulation (EC) No 539/2000 of 13 March 2000 on the issuing of a standing invitation to tender for the sale of common wheat of breadmaking quality held by the German intervention agency for export to certain ACP countries in the 1999/2000 marketing year
Date: 2000-03-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Germany, award of contract, common wheat, export, intervention agency, third country

L 65/14

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Official Journal of the European Communities

14.3.2000

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 539/2000

of 13 March 2000

on the issuing of a standing invitation to tender for the sale of common wheat of breadmaking
quality held by the German intervention agency for export to certain ACP countries in the
1999/2000 marketing year

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

(5)

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
1253/1999 (2).

Whereas:

particular
2131/93.

those laid down in Regulation (EEC) No

In addition to the conditions laid down in Article 30 of
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 (5), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1127/1999 (6), provi-
sion should be made for the release for consumption in
the ACP State(s) laid down in the Regulation.

(6) Where removal of the wheat is delayed by more than
five days, or the release of one of the securities required
is delayed, for reasons imputable to the intervention
agency the Member State concerned will have to pay
compensation.

(1)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93 (3), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 39/1999 (4), lays down
the procedure and conditions for the disposal of cereals
held by intervention agencies.

(7)

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

(2) With a view to supplying the markets of the ACP coun-
tries, favoured partners of the Community, significant
quantities of common wheat are required; whereas these
markets are usually supplied on the basis of regular
contracts to ensure stable prices for the ACP countries
over a certain period. It is therefore necessary to issue a
specific invitation to tender to ensure that users in these
countries have access to common wheat of breadmaking
quality under conditions appropriate to the highly
competitive situation on the world market.

(3)

(4)

stocks of
The German intervention agency holds
common wheat of breadmaking quality. Part of
the
wheat coming from the intervention stocks held by the
aforementioned agency should therefore be resold to the
ACP countries to meet their quantitative and qualitative
needs. The common wheat successfully tendered for
must be exported to the countries of destination by 31
August 2000 at the latest.

the common wheat

The specific nature of the operation and the accounting
position of
in question require
greater flexibility in the mechanisms and obligations
governing the resale of
intervention stocks and also
require exclusion of any refund, tax or monthly increase.
Special procedures must be laid down to ensure that the
operations and their monitoring are properly effected.
To that end provision should be made for a security
lodgment scheme which ensures that the aims are met
while avoiding excessive costs for the operators. Dero-
gations should accordingly be made to certain rules, in

(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 18.
(3) OJ L 191, 31.7.1993, p. 76.
(4) OJ L 5, 9.1.1999, p. 64.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. A standing invitation to tender is hereby issued for the
export of 150 024 tonnes of common wheat of breadmaking
quality, held by the German intervention agency.

2. The common wheat must be exported to an ACP State or
to several States within one of the groups of ACP States listed
in Annex I.

3. The regions in which the 150 024 tonnes of German
common wheat of breadmaking quality are stored are listed in
Annex II.

4. The intervention agency concerned shall prepare a notice
of invitation to tender indicating for each lot or, where appro-
priate, each part lot:

— the location,

— and at least the following features:

— specific weight,

— moisture content,

— Hagberg falling number,

— impurity contents and sprouted grains,

— protein content.

(5) OJ L 331, 2.12.1988, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 135, 29.5.1999, p. 48.

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It shall publish the notice of invitation to tender at least
5.
two days before the date set for the first partial invitation to
tender.

Article 2

3. The licence obliges the operator to export to the ACP State
or States for which the licence application was submitted.
However, up to a limit of 30 % of the quantity for which the
licence was issued. The operator may effect his contract at
another destination on condition that it belongs to the same
group of countries listed in Annex I.

to the provisions of

Subject
the sales of
common wheat of breadmaking quality referred to in Article 1
shall take place in accordance with the procedure and condi-
tions laid down by Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93.

this Regulation,

Article 3

1. The time limit for submitting tenders for the first partial
invitation to tender shall be 9 a.m. (Brussels time) on Thursday
16 March 2000.

2. The time limit for submitting tenders for the second partial
invitation to tender shall be 9 a.m.
(Brussels time) on the
following Thursday.

The time limit for the last partial invitation to tender shall be
25 May 2000.

4. The export
successful tenderers have been selected.

licences

shall be issued as

soon as

the

5. Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 notwith-
standing, the rights deriving from the licence referred to in this
Article shall not be transferable.

Article 6

1. The intervention agency,
the storer and the successful
tenderer, if he so wishes, shall, by common agreement, either
before or at the moment of removal from storage, as the
successful tenderer chooses, take reference samples at the rate
of at least one sample for every 500 tonnes, and shall analyse
the samples. The intervention agency may be represented by a
proxy, provided this is not the storer.

3. Tenders must be submitted to the German intervention
agency.

The Commission must be informed of the findings of the
analyses in the event of a dispute.

Article 4

1. Tenders shall only be admissible if:

subsidiary in the said country,

— the tenderer provides written proof from an official body in
the ACP country of destination or a company having its
overseas
that he has
concluded for the quantity in question a commercial supply
contract for common wheat for export to an ACP State or
to several States within one of the groups of ACP States
listed in Annex I. That contract may cover only those
deliveries to be made during the period April to August
2000 for quantities traditionally supplied; such proof shall
two
be lodged with the competent authorities at
working days before the date of the partial invitation to
tender against which the tender is to be submitted,
— they are accompanied by an application for an export

least

licence for the destination in question.

The proof provided for in the first indent shall also indicate the
quality provided for in the contract, the time limit for delivery
and the price terms.

The Member State shall send the Commission a copy of the
said proof forthwith, for information.

2. Tenders may not exceed the quantity laid down in the
commercial contract submitted.

Article 5

1. No export refund or export tax or monthly increase shall
be applied for exports carried out pursuant to this Regulation.

Reference samples shall be taken and analysed within seven
working days of the date of the successful tenderer's request or
within three working days if
the samples were taken on
removal from storage. If the final result of the sample analyses
indicates a quality:

(a) greater than that specified in the notice of invitation to
tender, the successful tenderer must accept the lot as estab-
lished;

(b) greater than the minimum characteristics required for inter-
vention but below the quality described in the notice of
invitation to tender, with the difference remaining within a
limit of up to:

— 2 kg/hl

for

the specific weight, which must not,

however, be less than 72 kg/hl,

— one percentage point for the mositure content,

— 20 percentage points for the Hagberg falling index,

— one percentage point for the protein content,

— half a percentage point for the impurities referred to in
B.2 and B.4 of the Annex to Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 689/92 (1),

and

— half a percentage point for the impurities referred to in
point B.5 of the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 689/92,
the percentages admissible for noxious grains and ergot,
however, remaining unchanged,

the successful tenderer must accept the lot as established;

(c) greater than the minimum characteristics required for inter-
vention but below the quality described in the notice of
invitation to tender with the difference surpassing the limit
referred to in point (b), the successful tenderer may:

2. The validity of the export licences issued in accordance
with this Regulation shall expire on 31 August 2000.

(1) OJ L 74, 20.3.1992, p. 18.

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— either accept the lot as established,

— or refuse to take over the lot in question. The successful
tenderer shall be released from all his obligations
relating to the lot in question, including the securities,
only once he has informed the Commission and the
intervention agency forthwith,
in accordance with
Annex V; however,
if he requests the intervention
agency to supply him with another lot of intervention
breadmaking wheat of the quality laid down, and that
without additional charges, the security shall not be
released. The lot must be replaced within a maximum
of three days from the date of the successful tenderer's
immediately
request. The successful
inform the Commission thereof
in accordance with
Annex V;

tenderer

shall

(d) below the minimum characteristics required for

inter-
vention, the successful tenderer may not remove the lot in
question. He shall be released from all his obligations
relating to the lot in question, including the securities, only
once he has informed the Commission and the intervention
agency forthwith, in accordance with Annex V; however,
he may request the intervention agency to supply him with
the
another lot of
quality laid down, without additional charges. In this case,
the security shall not be released. The lot must be replaced
within a maximum of three days from the date of the
successful tenderer's request. The successful tenderer shall
immediately inform the Commission thereof in accordance
with Annex V.

intervention breadmaking wheat of

2. However, if the breadmaking wheat is removed before the
results of the analysis are known, all risks shall be borne by the
successful
the lot,
tenderer from the time of removal of
without prejudice to the forms of recourse the successful
tenderer may have against the storer.

3.
If, after successive replacements, the successful tenderer
has not received a replacement lot of the quality laid down
within one month of the date of his request for replacement,
he shall be released from all his obligations,
including the
securities once he has informed the Commission and the inter-
vention agency forthwith in accordance with Annex V.

4. The costs of
the taking of samples and the analyses
referred to in paragraph 1, except those where the final result
of the analyses produces a quality inferior to the minimum
characteristics required for intervention, shall be borne by the
EAGGF up to a maximum of one analysis per 500 tonnes with
the exception of the transsilage costs.

The cost of transsilage and of any additional analyses requested
by the successful tenderer shall be borne by him.

Article 7

for removal is 31 August 2000. The payment due for each of
the lots to be removed shall be indivisible.

Article 8

1. The security lodged pursuant to Article 13(4) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2131/93 must be released once the export
licences have been issued to the successful tenderers.

2. The obligation to export and import
the
countries of destination listed in Annex I shall be covered by a
security amounting to EUR 50 per tonne of which EUR 15
per tonne shall be lodged upon issue of the export licence, with
the balance of EUR 35 being lodged before removal of the
cereals.

into one of

Article 15(2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92 (1)
notwithstanding:

— the amount of EUR 15 per tonne must be released within
20 working days of
the date on which the successful
tenderer supplies proof that the wheat removed has left the
customs territory of the Community,

— the amount of EUR 35 per tonne must be released within
15 working days of
the date on which the successful
tenderer supplies proof of entry for consumption into the
ACP State or States referred to in Article 5(3). This proof
shall be supplied in accordance with Articles 18 and 47 of
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87 (2).

3.
Except in duly substantiated exceptional cases, in particular
the opening of an administrative enquiry, any release of the
securities provided for in this Article after the limits specified in
this same Article shall confer an entitlement to compensation
from the Member State amounting to EUR 0,015/10 tonnes
for each day's delay.

This compensation shall not be charged to the EAGGF.

Article 9

Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92 notwithstanding,
the documents relating to the sale of common wheat in accord-
ance with this Regulation and in particular the export licence,
the removal order referred to in Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation
(EEC) No 3002/92, the export declaration and, where appro-
priate, the T5 control copy must bear the words:

— Trigo blando panificable de intervención sin aplicación de
restitución ni gravamen, destinado a (nombre del Estado o
de los Estados ACP), Reglamento (CE) no 539/2000

— Bageegnet blød hvede fra intervention uden restitutions-
ydelse eller -afgift bestemt for (navnet på det eller de pågæl-
dende AVS-lande), forordning (EF) nr. 539/2000

The successful tenderer shall pay for the common wheat before
removing it at the price indicated in the tender. The final date

(1) OJ L 301, 17.10.1992, p. 17.
(2) OJ L 351, 14.12.1987, p. 1.

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— Interventions-Brotweichweizen

von
Ausfuhrerstattungen oder Ausfuhrabgaben, Bestimmung
(Name des AKP-Staates oder der AKP-Staaten), Verordnung
(EG) Nr. 539/2000

ohne Anwendung

— Μαλακός αρτοποιήσιµος σίτος παρέµβασης, χωρίς εφαρµογή
επιστροφής ή φόρου προοριζόµενος για (όνοµα της χώρας ΑΚΕ
ή των χωρών ΑΚΕ), κανονισµός (ΕΚ) αριθ. 539/2000
— Intervention common wheat of breadmaking quality
without application of refund or tax, bound for (name of
the ACP State or States), Regulation (EC) No 539/2000
— Blé tendre d'intervention panifiable ne donnant pas lieu à
restitution ni à taxe, destiné à (nom de l'État ACP ou des
États ACP), règlement (CE) no 539/2000

— Frumento tenero d'intervento panificabile senza applica-
zione di restituzione o di tassa, destinato al (nome del paese
o dei paesi ACP), regolamento (CE) n. 539/2000

— Zachte tarwe van bakkwaliteit uit

interventie, zonder
toepassing van restitutie of belasting, bestemd voor (naam
van de ACS-Staat of de ACS-Staten), Verordening (EG) nr.
539/2000

— Trigo mole panificável de intervenção sem aplicação de
uma restituição, ou imposição destinado a (nome do Estado
ou dos Estados ACP), Regulamento (CE) n.o 539/2000

— Interventioleipävehnää,

jolle ei makseta vientitukea eikä
vientimaksua ja jonka määräpaikka on (AKT-maan nimi tai
AKT-maiden nimet), asetus (EY) N:o 539/2000

— Interventionsvete av brödkvalitet, ej utan bidrag eller avgift
namn),

eller AVS-staternas

för

avsett
förordning (EG) nr 539/2000.

(AVS-statens

Article 10

1. The German intervention agency shall inform the Commis-
sion of the tenders received within three hours of the expiry of
the time limit for submitting tenders. The information must be
sent in the form laid down in Annex III to one of the telex or
fax numbers listed in Annex IV.

2.
It shall inform the Commission on a monthly basis of the
quantities of common wheat removed pursuant to this Regula-
tion.

Article 11

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion 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, 13 March 2000.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

Groups of ACP States signatories to the Lomé Convention

Group I

Group II

Group III

Mauritania
Mali
Niger
Senegal
Gambia
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea
Cape Verde
Sierra Leone
Liberia
Côte d'Ivoire
Ghana
Togo

Chad
Central African Republic
Benin
Cameroon
Equatorial Guinea
São Tomé and Príncipe
Gabon
Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
Rwanda
Burundi
Burkina Faso

Seychelles
Comoros
Madagascar
Mauritius
Angola
Zambia
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Lesotho
Swaziland
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Eritrea

ANNEX II

(tonnes)

Region of storage

Quantities

Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg/Niedersachsen/
Bremen/Nordrhein-Westfalen

Hessen/Rheinland-Pfalz/Baden-Württemberg/
Saarland/Bayern

Berlin/Brandenburg/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Sachsen/Sachsen-Anhalt/Thüringen

53 149

16 307

20 396

60 172

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ANNEX III

Standing invitation to tender for the export of 150 024 tonnes of common wheat of breadmaking quality held
by the German intervention agency

(Regulation (EC) No 539/2000)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Registration
number of
the tenderet

Lot
number

Quantity
in tonnes

Offer price
(EUR/tonne)
(1)

Increases (+)
Reductions (–)
(EUR/tonne)
p.m.

Commercial
costs
(EUR/tonne)

Destination

1

2

3

etc.

(1) This price includes, the increases and reductions relating to the lot for which the tender is submitted.

ANNEX IV

The only telex and fax numbers in Brussels to be used are: DG AGRI/C/1:

— telex:

— fax:

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

296 49 56,
295 25 15.

ANNEX V

Communication of refusal of lots under the standing invitation to tender for the export of 150 024 tonnes of
breadmaking common wheat held by the German intervention agency

(Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 539/2000)

— Name of successful tenderer:

— Date of award of contract:

— Date of refusal of lot by successful tenderer:

Lot
No

Quantity
in tonnes

Address
of silo

Reason for refusal to take over

— Specific weight (kg/hl)

— % sprouted grains

— % miscellaneous impurities (Schwarzbesatz)

— % of matter which is not wheat of unimpaired

quality

— Other