Commission Regulation (EC) No 1486/2002 of 19 August 2002 amending Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001 laying down detailed rules for applying the cotton aid scheme
Date: 2002-08-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: aid system, cotton, production aid

20.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 223/3

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1486/2002

of 19 August 2002

amending Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001 laying down detailed rules for applying the cotton aid
scheme

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of Greece, and in parti-
cular Protocol 4 on cotton, as last amended by Council Regula-
tion (EC) No 1050/2001 (1),

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001 of 22
May 2001 on production aid for cotton (2), and in particular
Article 19(1) thereof,

Whereas:

for a time limit by which the on-the-spot checks of 5 %
of the area declarations must be made, which makes it
possible to verify effectively that national measures
restricting the area under cotton have been complied
with.

(5) With a view to managing the aid scheme soundly,
Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001 lists the
information that must be submitted by the Member
States to the Commission. Provision should also be made
for notifying the measures taken under Article 14(1) and
(2).

(6)

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

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

In order to ensure proper accounting of the respective
quantities of unginned cotton involved, the concepts of
production eligible for aid and of actual production as
referred to in Article 16(3) of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1591/2001 of 2 August 2001 laying down
detailed rules for applying the cotton aid scheme (3)
should be defined.

Article 17(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001
authorises the Member States to restrict the areas eligible
for aid based in particular on agro-environmental
criteria. Should a Member State apply this provision, the
quantities of cotton from areas exceeding the imposed
limit can still be ginned and placed on the market but
they cannot qualify for the Community aid scheme or be
required to comply with the minimum price require-
ment.

Article 15(4)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001
provides for the transmission, no later than 15 May each
year, of the information relating to the quantities for
which aid has been approved. So as to have the most
detailed possible information on the harvest coming to
market, provision should also be made for the transmis-
sion of information on the quantities for which aid has
not been approved.

Article 13(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001 states
that the Member State should verify the accuracy of the
declarations of areas by on-the-spot checks relating to
not less than 5 % of the declarations. Article 9(2) of that
Regulation provides for an adjustment in the declared
areas if they differ from those found during the inspec-
tions. Having as precise information as is possible on the
accuracy of the area declarations is an important element
of the aid scheme’s management, particularly as regards
the measures taken under Article 17(3) of Regulation
(EC) No 1051/2001. Provision should therefore be made

(1) OJ L 148, 1.6.2001, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 148, 1.6.2001, p. 3.
(3) OJ L 210, 3.8.2001, p. 12.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001 is hereby amended as follows:

1. the following subparagraph is added to Article 4(2):

‘The quantity eligible for the aid granted in euro per 100 kg
as referred to in the preceding subparagraph shall be the
quantity of unginned cotton of sound, fair and merchantable
quality, from areas declared in accordance with Article 9
and not excluded from the aid scheme by virtue of Article
17(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001, which has been
delivered by the producers to the ginning plants and in rela-
tion to which the provisions of Articles 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and
12 have been met.’;

2. Article 13(1)(a) is replaced by the following:

‘(a) that the declarations of areas sown to cotton are accu-
rate by an on-the-spot check of not less than 5 % of the
declarations,
than 15
to be carried out no later
November of the marketing year concerned.’;

3. the following subpoints are added to Article 15(4)(a):

‘(iv) a summary of the quantities satisfying the characteris-
tics of actual production as referred to in the second
subparagraph of Article 16(3) delivered by the produ-
cers to the ginning plants.

(v) a summary of the quantities delivered by the producers
to the ginning plants but not approved for aid for the
current marketing year, broken down by exclusion
category.’;

L 223/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

20.8.2002

4. the following paragraph 7 is added to Article 15:

‘7.
No later than 30 September each year, producer
Member States shall communicate the penalties imposed or
being considered under Article 14(1) and (2)
the
preceding marketing year.’;

for

5. the following subparagraph is added to Article 16(3):

fair and merchantable quality from areas declared under
Article 9 and not excluded from the aid scheme by virtue of
Article 17(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001, and which
has been delivered by the producers to the ginning plants.’

Article 2

‘Actual production as referred to in the first subparagraph
shall be the total production of unginned cotton of sound,

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following
its publication 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, 19 August 2002.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission