Commission Regulation (EC) No 686/2004 of 14 April 2004 laying down transitional measures concerning producer organisations in the market of fresh fruit and vegetables by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union
Date: 2004-04-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: aid system, fruit, producer organisation, production aid, vegetable

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 686/2004

of 14 April 2004

laying down transitional measures concerning producer organisations in the market of fresh fruit
and vegetables by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania,
Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of
the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta,
Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia, and in particular Article 2(3)
thereof,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland,
Slovenia and Slovakia, and in particular the first subparagraph
of Article 41 thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1432/2003 of 11
August 2003 laying down detailed rules for the applica-
tion of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 regarding
the conditions for recognition of producer organisations
and preliminary recognition of producer groups (1), and
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1433/2003 of 11
August 2003 laying down detailed rules for the applica-
tion of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards
operating funds, operational programmes and financial
assistance (2) set certain dates and conditions for the
recognition of and aid to producer organisations. Transi-
tional measures should be laid down in order to enable
producer organisations and producer groups in the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania,
Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (herein-
after referred to as ‘the new Member States’) to apply for
the aid provided for in those Regulations before 1
January 2005.

A number of new Member States have adopted national
legislation on the recognition of and aid to producer
organisations and producer groups, and a certain
number of producer organisations and producer groups
exist already.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(EC) No 2200/96. Those producer organisations and
producer groups may then apply for the available Com-
munity aid. The new Member States should verify before
the end of 2005 whether the producer organisations and
producer groups really meet
the recognition criteria
provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of
28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the
market in fruit and vegetables (3). The financial responsi-
bility for aid paid to those producer organisations and
producer groups falls on the new Member State in ques-
tion.

Certain new Member States have not provided in their
national
legislation recognition of producer organisa-
tions based on the categories of products referred to in
Article 11(1)(a)(ii) to (vii) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/
96. For the sake of clarity, the producer organisations or
groups which have been recognised before 1 May 2004,
should be
in accordance with national
considered as belonging to category ‘fruit and vegetables’
referred to in Article 11(1)(a)(i) of Regulation (EC) No
2200/96.

legislation,

In order to speed up the process, producer organisations
and producer groups recognised before 1 May 2004, in
should not be
accordance with national
application. The new
another
required to submit
Member States should notify them whether they are
recognised for 2004 under Regulation (EC) No 1432/
2003 or not.

legislation,

Neither the producer organisations nor the new Member
States have experience with operational programmes. As
a transitional measure for producer organisations in the
new Member States, an operational programme of a
maximum duration of one-and-a-half years may be
submitted. The drafting of short, simple programmes
should reduce the period required for preparation by the
producer organisations and the period required for
evaluation by the national authorities. The drafting,
evaluation,
those
programmes should help both producer organisations
and national authorities with the handling of operational
programmes of normal
the transitional
period.

implementation and

length after

control of

The new Member States should be given the possibility
of temporarily considering producer organisations and
producer groups
respective
recognised under
national legislation as being recognised under Regulation

their

(7)

For recognition plans approved in the new Member
States under their respective national legislation before 1
May 2004, the starting date should be deemed to be 1
May 2004.

(1) OJ L 203, 12.8.2003, p. 18.
(2) OJ L 203, 12.8.2003, p. 25; Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1582/2003 (OJ L 227, 11.9.2003, p. 3).

(3) OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1; Regulation as last amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 47/2003 (OJ L 7, 11.1.2003, p.
64).

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(8)

(9)

The new Member States have the obligation to check a
certain percentage of the producer organisations and
producer groups each year concerning compliance with
the recognition criteria, and the conditions for the grant
of aid. In view of the administrative burden which this
represents for the new Member States, they should be
allowed to reduce the percentage of checks of producer
organisations and producer groups to no less than half
of the normal level in 2005, but if they make use of this
possibility, the percentage should be increased by the
same rate in 2006, in order to reach the normal level on
a two-year average.

Operators in the new Member States are free to choose
not to make use of these transitional provisions and
apply the normal rules contained in Regulations (EC) No
1432/2003 and (EC) No 1433/2003 in Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1943/2003 of 3 November 2003
laying down rules for the application of Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards aid to producer
groups
and in
Commission Regulation (EC) No 103/2004 of 21
January 2004 laying down detailed rules for imple-
menting Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards
intervention arrangements and market withdrawals in
the fruit and vegetable sector (2).

granted preliminary

recognition (1)

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Definition

For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘new Member States’ shall
mean the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania,
Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Article 2

Recognition and preliminary recognition

1.
By way of derogation from Article 1 of Regulation (EC)
No 1432/2003 and Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96,
the new Member States may decide to consider producer orga-
nisations or groups which have been recognised before 1 May
2004 in accordance with national legislation, either as recog-
nised producer organisations or producer groups granted preli-
minary recognition under Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 (herein-
after referred to as ‘recognised producer organisations’ and
‘recognised producer groups’).

(1) OJ L 286, 4.11.2003, p. 5.
(2) OJ L 16, 23.1.2004, p. 3.

The new Member States shall notify each producer organisation
or group recognised in accordance with national
legislation
before 1 May 2004 of the decision concerning its recognition,
as provided for in the first subparagraph, as soon as possible
after 1 May 2004.

The decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply from

2.
the date of its notification until 31 December 2005.

The new Member States

shall communicate to the
3.
Commission, within 30 days following the notification of the
decision referred to in paragraph 1, the information referred to
in Article 12(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 and Article
17(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1432/2003 concerning producer
organisations and producer groups respectively, which have
been recognised or refused recognition in accordance with this
Regulation.

Article 3

Categories of producer organisations

If a new Member State has no legislative provisions regarding
the categories of producer organisations, provided for in Article
11(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96,
the recognised
producer organisations in such new Member States shall be
considered as belonging to category ‘fruit and vegetables’,
referred to in Article 11(1)(a)(i) of that Regulation.

Article 4

Operational programmes

1.
A producer organisation of a new Member State, recog-
nised before 1 May 2004 in accordance with national legisla-
tion, may submit an operational programme,
for a period
ending 31 December 2005 at the latest, for approval before 30
June 2004. Such applications shall be accompanied by an
undertaking from the organisation to submit a new operational
programme on 15 September 2005 at the latest. Operational
programmes shall indicate the estimated amounts of operating
funds as provided for in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1433/
2003, based on a reference period determined pursuant to
Article 4 of
that Regulation, and contain the information
referred to in Articles 8 and 9 of that Regulation.

2. Within three months from the submission of the applica-
tion referred to in paragraph 1, the competent national authori-
ties shall
take a decision on the operational programmes
submitted.

However, operational programmes
shall not be approved
unless a positive decision, as referred to in Article 2(1), has
been notified to the producer organisations concerned.

The competent national authorities

3.
shall notify the
producer organisations of their decisions approving operational
programmes. Implementation of operational programmes may
commence only after the competent national authorities have
approved them.

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Subject to Articles 18, 20 and 21 of Regulation (EC) No
4.
1433/2003, producer organisations may apply for aid to their
operational programme.

However, the relevant new Member State shall bear the finan-
cial responsibilities resulting from the use of aid received in
2004 and 2005 in violation of Article 6 or 8 of Regulation
(EC) No 1433/2003.

5.
Subject to Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 103/2004,
producer organisations recognised before 1 May 2004 in
accordance with national legislation may apply for Community
withdrawal compensation.

However,
the new Member State concerned shall bear the
financial responsibilities resulting from the notification of a
negative decision, as referred to in Article 2(1).

Article 6

Checks

In 2005, the new Member States may reduce the percentage of
checks at producer organisations and producer groups to no
less than half of the minimum percentages provided for in
Article 20(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1432/2003 and in Article
23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1433/2003.

If the new Member States make use of this possibility, the
percentage shall be increased by the same rate as the rate of
reduction in 2005 in 2006, in order to reach the normal level
on a two-year average.

Article 7

Article 5

Aid to recognised producer groups

Regulations (EC) No 1432/2003, (EC) No 1433/2003, (EC) No
1943/2003 and (EC) No 103/2004 shall apply subject to the
rules provided for in this Regulation.

Recognised producer groups may apply for aid referred to in
Article 14(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, if available in the
Member State concerned, subject to Article 5 of Regulation
(EC) No 1943/2003.

If
the implementation of a recognition plan, accepted in
accordance with national legislation, has started before 1 May
2004,
its date of acceptance referred to in Article 18(1) of
Regulation (EC) No 1432/2003 shall be deemed to be 1 May
2004.

Article 8

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force subject to and on the
date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession of the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary,
Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

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

Done at Brussels, 14 April 2004.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission