Proposal for a Council Regulation setting the limits to the Community financing of work programmes drawn up by approved operators' organisations in the olive sector provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1638/98 and derogating from Regulation No 136/66/EEC
Date: 2002-06-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, aid system, common organisation of markets, fats, marketing, product quality, production aid

C 262 E/292

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Official Journal of the European Communities

29.10.2002

Proposal for a Council Regulation setting the limits to the Community financing of work
programmes drawn up by approved operators' organisations in the olive oil sector provided for
in Regulation (EC) No 1638/98 and derogating from Regulation No 136/66/EEC

(2002/C 262 E/16)

COM(2002) 343 final — 2002/0134(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 28 June 2002)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

This proposal is being presented under Article 4a of Council Regulation (EC) No 1638/98 of 20 July 1998
amending Regulation No 136/66/EEC on the establishment of a common organisation of the market in
oils and fats (1), which aims to encourage operators in the olive oil sector to organise themselves,
particularly with a view to improving quality. To that end, the Article concerned allows Member States
to withhold a portion of production aid to finance work programmes in the areas specified in that Article
by approved producers' organisations, approved interbranch organisations and other approved operators'
organisations.

The new arrangements must be available to interested parties from 1 November 2002, and from
1 November 2004 will replace the other Community financing raised by withholding amounts from
production aid under Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC on the establishment of a common organisation
of the market in oils and fats.

The measures to improve quality provided for in Article 5(9) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC are currently
financed by compulsory withholding of 1,4 % of production aid, providing an annual budget of around
EUR 33 million for the whole of the Community, and concern work carried out during the production
cycle following the marketing year in which the amount is withheld from the aid. Additional national
financing is permitted subject to certain conditions.

Under Article 20d(1) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC, producer organisations and their associations
currently receive a compulsory levy of 0,8 % from the aid granted to their members, amounting to
some EUR 17 million per marketing year for all producer Member States. This assistance is paid as a
lump sum during the marketing year for which the deduction is made. Additional national financing is
permitted under certain circumstances.

The budgets for these two measures depend on the volume of production in each Member State and
therefore vary from one year to the next. This state of affairs is not conducive to multiannual
programming of work and unlikely to encourage approved organisations to undertake medium-term
projects.

The Commission therefore thinks that the ceiling on the amounts withheld from aid to finance the work
programmes of approved organisations should be fixed at the beginning of the marketing year concerned,
irrespective of the actual production volume. Given the key role that such organisations can play in
improving the quality of olive oil and table olives, Member States should be allowed to devote substantial
resources to them. However, the differences between the amounts withheld by the Member States must not
be allowed to distort the market.

The Commission is proposing that the maximum percentage that each Member State may withhold to
finance the work programmes of approved organisations be set at 3 % of the amount arrived at by
multiplying the unit amount of production aid, expressed in tonnes, by its national guaranteed
this level would bring expenditure up to a maximum of EUR 70
quantity. Setting the ceiling at
million, higher than the current amount of the compulsory deductions for the Community as a whole
and consistent with the planned expansion of work.

(1) OJ L 210, 28.7.1998, p. 32.

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The current deductions to finance measures to improve quality and assist producer organisations will stay
in force until the end of the 2003/04 marketing year, so that there will be a transitional period during
which they might co-exist with the newly introduced deduction to finance the work programmes drawn
up by approved organisations. The 3 % ceiling should therefore apply to all the amounts withheld from
production aid during the 2002/03 and 2003/04 marketing years.

However, the Member States concerned should be allowed to concentrate their resources on the new
measures to assist the work programmes of approved organisations. To that end, therefore, during the
2002/03 and/or 2003/04 marketing years, the Member States will be allowed to reduce or abolish the
compulsory deductions for quality improvement and/or assisting producer organisations and their
associations, provided that those reductions are accompanied by an equivalent increase in the resources
channelled into the work programmes provided for in Article 4a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1638/98.

The proposed measures conern the budgets for 2003 and subsequent years and entail no additional
expenditure.

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

the establishment of a common organisation of the market
in oils and fats (2), and the national guaranteed quantities
referred to in paragraph 3 of that Article.

(3) In order to prevent market distortions, there should be a
system preventing the total of amounts withheld by
Member States from the production aid for olive oil or
table olives pursuant to Article 5(9) and Article 20d(1) of
Regulation No 136/66/EEC and Article 4a(1) of Regulation
(EC) No 1638/98 from exceeding the limit fixed in this
Regulation pursuant to Article 4a(1) of Regulation (EC)
No 1638/98.

Whereas:

(1) Under Article 4a(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1638/98
of 20 July 1998 amending Regulation No 136/66/EEC on
the establishment of a common organisation of the market
in oils and fats (1), Member States producing olive oil may
withhold, within certain limits, a portion of the aid payable
to producers of olive oil and/or table olives, with a view to
providing Community funding for work programmes
drawn up by approved producers' organisations, approved
interbranch organisations and other approved operators'
organisations or their associations in one or more of the
areas provided for in that paragraph. Pursuant to the first
indent of Article 4a(3) of that Regulation, the ceiling on
that aid should be set.

from the other

amounts withheld

(4) In order to encourage the work programmes of approved
organisations during the 2002/03 and 2003/04 marketing
years, Member States must be allowed to concentrate the
resources
from
production aid as
referred to in Article 5(9) and/or
Article 20d(1) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC on those
the Member States must be
programmes. To that end,
abolish such withholding of
allowed to reduce or
amounts
the
resources available for the work programmes of approved
organisations. The Commission should be empowered to
set
the time limit within which this option may be
exercised,

commensurately

to increase

in order

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

(2) In order to be effective, such work programmes need a
forecast budget which is not affected by the volume of
olive oil or table olives, as the case may be, produced
each year
ceiling on
in each Member State. The
Community funding should therefore be based on fixed
parameters such as the unit amount of production aid as
referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC on

From the 2002/03 marketing year, the ceiling on the share of
the aid reserved pursuant to Article 4a(1) of Regulation (EC)
No 1638/98 for each Member State shall be equal to 3 % of
the amount arrived at by multiplying its national guaranteed
quantity, as fixed in Article 5(3) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC,
by the unit amount of the production aid in euro per tonne, as
fixed in Article 5(2) of that Regulation.

(1) OJ L 210, 28.7.1998, p. 32. Regulation amended by Regulation

(2) OJ 172, 30.9.1966, p. 3025/66. Regulation last amended by Regu-

(EC) No 1513/2001 (OJ L 201, 26.7.2001, p. 4).

lation (EC) No 1513/2001 (OJ L 201, 26.7.2001, p. 4).

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Article 2

By way of exception to Article 1,
for the 2002/03 and
2003/04 marketing years the percentage of 3 % referred to
in that Article shall be reduced, where applicable after
this Regulation, by the percentage
applying Article 3 of
points referred to in Articles 5(9) and 20d(1) of Regulation
No 136/66/EEC.

Article 3

By way of exception to Article 5(9) and Article 20d(1) of
Regulation No 136/66/EEC,
for the 2002/03 and 2003/04
marketing years each Member State may, before a date to be
referred to in those
fixed, either
it
paragraphs or not apply those provisions, provided that
allocates the funds thus released to the share of
the aid
reserved pursuant
to Article 4a(1) of Regulation (EC)
No 1638/98.

reduce the percentages

The date referred to in the first subparagraph shall be fixed by
the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to
in Article 38 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC.

Article 4

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 1 November 2002.

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