Commission Regulation (EC) No 2734/2000 of 14 December 2000 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1627/89 on the buying-in of beef by invitation to tender and derogating from or amending Regulation (EC) No 562/2000 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 as regards the buying-in of beef
Date: 2000-12-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: United Kingdom, beef, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, carcase, intervention buying, invitation to tender

15.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 316/45

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2734/2000

of 14 December 2000

amending Regulation (EEC) No 1627/89 on the buying-in of beef by invitation to tender and
derogating from or amending Regulation (EC) No 562/2000 laying down detailed rules for the
application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 as regards the buying-in of beef

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17
May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef
and veal (1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No
907/2000 (2), and in particular Articles 38(2) and 47(8)
thereof,

Whereas:

measures in respect of bovine animals reared in the
United Kingdom which are more than 30 months old.
Those measures comprise the slaughtering and subse-
quent destruction of such cattle. Castrated animals from
the United Kingdom exceeding that age are not therefore
eligible for public intervention. Moreover, Commission
lays down that all bovine
Decision 2000/764/EC (7)
animals over 30 months of age subject
to normal
slaughter for human consumption are to be examined
by one of the approved rapid tests listed in Annex IV(A)
to Commission Decision 98/272/EC (8), as amended by
Decision 2000/374/EC (9), as of 1 July 2001 at
the
latest. Animals that have not been subject to those tests
may not therefore be accepted into public intervention
with a view to subsequent disposal on the market.

(1)

(2)

(3)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1627/89 of 9 June
1989 on the buying-in of beef by invitation to tender (3),
as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2652/2000 (4),
in certain
opens buying-in by invitation to tender
Member States or regions of a Member State for certain
quality groups.

Recent events involving bovine spongiform encephalop-
athy (BSE) have provoked a serious loss of consumer
confidence in the safety of beef and veal. This has led to
a sharp drop in beef consumption and a significant
decline in prices, which may well last for some time. As
is severely
a result,
disrupted and there is a risk that
it might collapse
entirely. Urgent support measures are therefore required
in accordance with Article 38(1) of Regulation (EC) No
1254/1999.

for beef and veal

the market

In view of the market situation described above and to
improve the effectiveness of the measures to be taken,
additional products should be accepted into interven-
tion, carcases of animals which have had to be kept for a
longer period than usual due to low demand and which
exceed the maximum permitted weight
should be
accepted and, finally, the increase to be applied to the
average market price in order to calculate the maximum
buying-in price should be adjusted temporarily to take
account,
in particular, of increased costs and reduced
receipts in the sector.

(4)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 716/96 of 19 April
1996 adopting exceptional support measures for the
beef market in the United Kingdom (5), as last amended
by Regulation (EC) No 1176/2000 (6), adopted special

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 105, 3.5.2000, p. 6.
(3) OJ L 159, 10.6.1989, p. 36.
(4) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 9.
(5) OJ L 99, 20.4.1996, p. 14.
(6) OJ L 131, 1.6.2000, p. 37.

(5)

(6)

(7)

impact, a second
For intervention to develop its full
special
invitation to tender should be opened for the
month of December 2000. To this end, an additional
deadline should be laid down for the submission of
tenders and a delivery period fixed.

In view of the problems of recording prices where there
is very little activity in the market and taking into
account Community price trends, it may be necessary to
assume that the average Community market price, as
referred to in the first indent of Article 47(3) of Regula-
tion (EC) No 1254/1999, is less than 84 % of the inter-
vention price and that the latest weekly market price
recorded is sufficient to open the second invitation to
tender for December 2000.

In order to deal with the further disturbance of the
from the entry onto the
market which may result
market of substantial numbers of male store animals
originating in the Community, which have been kept on
their holdings of origin due to a lack of demand and for
which these holdings no longer have fodder, the neces-
sary support measures should be adopted and buying-in
of carcases from such animals permitted. Moreover, to
prevent
ready for
market, a limit should be placed on the weight of
eligible carcases under these arrangements. To avoid
granting duplicate aid, a mechanism should be intro-
the buying-in price
duced making full payment of

the buying-in of animals almost

(7) OJ L 305, 6.12.2000, p. 35.
(8) OJ L 122, 24.4.1998, p. 59.
(9) OJ L 135, 8.6.2000, p. 27.

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15.12.2000

conditional on the producer not having applied for the
special premium referred to in Article 4 of Regulation
(EC) No 1254/1999 for the animal concerned. Finally,
further additions to or derogations from the normal
intervention scheme as laid down by Regulation (EC) No
1254/1999 are also needed.

(8)

(9)

(10)

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing a
system for the identification and registration of bovine
animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef
products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/
97 (1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No
2258/2000 (2),
introduces a compulsory beef labelling
system with which intervention products must comply.

Certain provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No
562/2000 (3) should accordingly be derogated from or
amended.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 1627/89 is replaced by the
Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 562/2000, the additional products which may
be bought into intervention shall be as follows:

— category A, class O2 and class O3,

— Ireland: category C, class O4,

— United Kingdom-Northern Ireland: category C, class O4.

Article 3

In addition to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2000:

(a) carcases and half-carcases of castrated animals reared in the
United Kingdom which are more than 30 months old may
not be bought in;

(b) in the other Member States, carcases and half-carcases of
castrated animals which are more than 30 months old and
which have not been subjected to one of the approved
rapid tests listed in Annex IV(A) to Decision 98/272/EC
may not be bought in.

(1) OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 258, 12.10.2000, p. 26.
(3) OJ L 68, 16.3.2000, p. 22.

Article 4

A second special invitation to tender shall be opened for the
month of December 2000.

To this end:

— in addition to Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2000,
the deadline for the submission of tenders corresponding to
this invitation to tender shall be the third Tuesday of the
month of December 2000,

— notwithstanding Article 16(2) of Regulation (EC) No 562/
2000, the delivery period shall end on 12 January 2001.

Article 5

Notwithstanding Article 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 562/
2000:

— invitations to tender may be opened where a Member State
or region of a Member State meets the condition laid down
in the second indent of the first subparagraph of Article
47(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999,

— the latest weekly market prices recorded in Member States
or regions of Member States shall be sufficient to open the
buying-in referred to in Article 4 of this Regulation.

Article 6

1.
Notwithstanding Article 4(2)(g) of Regulation (EC) No
562/2000, the maximum weight of the carcases referred to
therein shall be 380 kg. However, for the first two invitations
to tender the maximum weight shall be 430 kg.

Notwithstanding Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 562/

2.
2000:

(a) in the case of invitations to tender under Article 47(3) of
Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999, the increase applicable to
the average market price shall be EUR 14 per 100 kg
carcase weight;

(b) in the case of invitations to tender under Article 47(5) of
Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999, the increase applicable to
the average market price shall be EUR 7 per 100 kg
carcase weight.

Article 7

Buying-in in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 562/2000
and this Regulation shall also be opened in respect of carcases
and half-carcases of male animals of Community origin under
12 months old in category A and under 14 months old in
category C.

To this end:

— the carcase weight shall be between 140 and 200 kg and
carcases shall not show any deformities or anomalies of
weight vis-à-vis the age of the animal,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 316/47

— where the carcases and half-carcases presented for interven-
tion are of animals at least nine months old, the buying-in
price to be paid to the successful tenderer shall be reduced
by EUR 61 per half-carcase delivered. However, where
proof is provided that no special premium has been applied
for in respect of the animal concerned, that reduction shall
not apply,

— the price offered shall be without reference to product

quality,

— Article 13(3) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2000 shall apply
to buying-in as referred to in this Article. However, the
coefficients laid down may be different from those laid
down under that Article in the case of buying-in of other
products,

— the following provisions of Regulation (EC) No 562/2000

shall not apply:

(a) Article 4(3)(b) and (c), with the exception of those
concerning the markings indicating the category and
the slaughter number;

(b) Article 18(3);

(c) Article 20, except in the United Kingdom and Portugal;

(d) Article 36;

(e) the information in Annex II relating to the classification

of products.

Moreover, with respect to products purchased in conformity
with this Article:

— notwithstanding Article 11(5)(a) of Regulation (EC) No
562/2000, tenders must relate to at least 5 tonnes,

— when notifying tenders to the Commission, the intervention

agencies must specify the quantities concerned,

— such products shall be stored separately, by invitation to
tender or by month of storage, in easily identifiable lots,

— the notifications provided for in Article 31(1), (2), (3) and
(4) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2000 shall be sent separately
from those required for other intervention products.

Article 8

The following point is added to Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC)
No 562/2000:

‘(d) labelled in accordance with the system introduced by

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000.’

Article 9

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall apply to the second invitation to tender opened in
December 2000 and to the invitations to tender opened during
the first quarter of 2001.

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

Done at Brussels, 14 December 2000.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANEXO — BILAG — ANHANG — ΠΑΡΑΡΤΗΜΑ — ANNEX — ANNEXE — ALLEGATO — BĲLAGE — ANEXO —
LIITE — BILAGA

Estados miembros o regiones de Estados miembros y grupos de calidades previstos en el apartado 1 del artículo
1 del Reglamento (CEE) no 1627/89

Medlemsstater eller regioner og kvalitetsgrupper, jf. artikel 1, stk. 1, i forordning (EØF) nr. 1627/89

Mitgliedstaaten oder Gebiete eines Mitgliedstaats sowie die in Artikel 1 Absatz 1 der Verordnung (EWG) Nr.
1627/89 genannten Qualitätsgruppen

Κράτη µέλη ή περιοχές κρατών µελών και οµάδες ποιότητος που αναφέρονται στο άρθρο 1 παράγραφος 1 του
κανονισµού (ΕΟΚ) αριθ. 1627/89

Member States or regions of a Member State and quality groups referred to in Article 1(1) of Regulation (EEC)
No 1627/89

États membres ou régions d'États membres et groupes de qualités visés à l'article 1er, paragraphe 1, du règlement
(CEE) no 1627/89

Stati membri o regioni di Stati membri e gruppi di qualità di cui all'articolo 1, paragrafo 1, del regolamento
(CEE) n. 1627/89

In artikel 1, lid 1, van Verordening (EEG) nr. 1627/89 bedoelde lidstaten of gebieden van een lidstaat en
kwaliteitsgroepen

Estados-Membros ou regiões de Estados-Membros e grupos de qualidades referidos no n.o 1 do artigo 1.o do
Regulamento (CEE) n.o 1627/89

Jäsenvaltiot tai alueet ja asetuksen (ETY) N:o 1627/89 1 artiklan 1 kohdan tarkoittamat laaturyhmät

Medlemsstater eller regioner och kvalitetsgrupper som avses i artikel 1.1 i förordning (EEG) nr 1627/89

Estados miembros o regiones
de Estados miembros

Medlemsstat eller region

Mitgliedstaaten oder Gebiete
eines Mitgliedstaats

Κράτος µέλος ή περιοχές
κράτους µέλους

Member States or regions
of a Member State

États membres ou régions
d'États membres

Stati membri o regioni
di Stati membri

Lidstaat of gebied
van een lidstaat

Estados-Membros ou regiões
de Estados-Membros

Jäsenvaltiot tai alueet

Medlemsstater eller regioner

Belgique/België
Deutschland
España
France
Irland
Italia
Nederland
Österreich
Northern Ireland

Categoría A

Kategori A

Kategorie A

Κατηγορία Α

Category A

Catégorie A

Categoria A

Categorie A

Categoria A

Luokka A

Kategori A

R

×
×
×
×

×
×

U

×
×
×

×

Categoría C

Kategori C

Kategorie C

Κατηγορία Γ

Category C

Catégorie C

Categoria C

Categorie C

Categoria C

Luokka C

Kategori C

R

×

×

O

×
×

×

O

×
×
×
×

×

×

U

×

×