Commission Regulation (EC) No 1123/2004 of 17 June 2004 fixing, for the 2003/04 marketing year, the actual production of unginned cotton and the amount by which the guide price is to be reduced as a result
Date: 2004-06-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Greece, Portugal, Spain, cotton, distribution of production, production aid

18.6.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 218/3

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1123/2004

of 17 June 2004

fixing, for the 2003/04 marketing year, the actual production of unginned cotton and the amount by
which the guide price is to be reduced as a result

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to the Act of Accession of Greece, and in
particular Protocol 4 on cotton (1),

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

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

The first subparagraph of Article 16(3) of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001 of 2 August 2001 laying
cotton aid
down detailed rules
scheme (3), provides
that actual production in each
marketing year is to be established before 15 June of
that year.

applying the

for

The third indent of Article 19(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1051/2001 provides that actual production is to be fixed
taking account in particular of the quantities on which
aid has been applied for.

The second subparagraph of Article 16(3) of Regulation
(EC) No 1591/2001 states the terms on which the
quantity of unginned cotton produced is
to be
reckoned as the actual production.

The Greek authorities, using fibre yield as a quality
criterion,
of
unginned cotton as eligible for aid.

1 006 248

recognised

tonnes

have

they did not

The Greek authorities have informed the Commission
recognise as
that, on 15 May 2004,
eligible
for aid 1 019 tonnes of unginned cotton
consisting of 335,7 tonnes from 137,4 hectares not
declared in line with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No
1591/2001, 291,7 tonnes in respect of which national
area reduction measures under Article 17(3) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1051/2001 were disregarded, and 391,6
tonnes which were not of sound and fair merchantable
quality in accordance with Article 15(1) of that Regu-
lation.

(1) Protocol as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1050/2001

(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. 10. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 1486/2002 (OJ L 223, 20.8.2002, p. 3).

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Consequently, actual Greek production of unginned
cotton for
the 2003/04 marketing year must be
considered to total 1 006 248 tonnes.

The Spanish authorities, using fibre yield as a quality
criterion, have recognised 305 394 tonnes of unginned
cotton as eligible for aid.

The Spanish authorities have informed the Commission
that on 15 May 2004 they did not recognise as eligible
for aid 834 tonnes of unginned cotton consisting of 779
tonnes
in respect of which national area reduction
measures under Article 17(3) of Regulation (EC)
No 1051/2001 were disregarded, 56 tonnes that was
not of sound and fair merchantable quality as required
by Article 15(1) of
that Regulation, and 22 tonnes
because the rules concerning contracts referred to in
Article 11 of that Regulation were not complied with.

Exclusion from actual production of the abovementioned
22 tonnes of unginned cotton on account of non-
compliance with the rules concerning contracts is not
justified. Moreover, this quantity meets the requirements
of the second subparagraph of Article 16(3) of Regu-
therefore be
lation (EC) No 1591/2001 and must
added to the quantity of 305 394 tonnes.

(10)

In consequence by application of fibre yield as a quality
criterion actual Spanish production of unginned cotton
in the 2003/04 marketing year must be considered to
total 305 417 tonnes.

(11) Having applied the quality criterion of fibre yield, the
Spanish authorities recognised as eligible for the aid
632 tonnes of unginned cotton originating from crop
areas in Portugal. This quantity meets the requirements
of the second subparagraph of Article 16(3) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1591/2001 and must accordingly be
regarded as Portuguese actual production of unginned
cotton for the 2003/04 marketing year.

(12) Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001 states that
if the sum of the actual production determined for Spain
and Greece exceeds 1 031 000 tonnes the guide price
indicated in Article 3(1) of
that Regulation is to be
reduced in any Member State where actual production
exceeds the guaranteed national quantity.

L 218/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

18.6.2004

(13)

(14)

(15)

For the 2003/04 marketing year the guaranteed national
quantity is exceeded in both Spain and Greece. The guide
price reductions for these countries are to be set in line
with the percentage overshoot of the respective guar-
anteed national quantity.

The first subparagraph of Article 7(4) of Regulation (EC)
No 1051/2001 states that the guide price reduction in
each Member State is to be 50 % of
the percentage
overshoot of its guaranteed national quantity.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

For the 2003/04 marketing year actual production of

1.
unginned cotton is determined as:

— 1 006 248 tonnes for Greece,

— 305 417 tonnes for Spain,

— 632 tonnes for Portugal.

The amount by which the guide price is to be reduced for

2.
the 2003/04 marketing year is fixed at:

— Greece: EUR 15,201 per 100 kg of unginned cotton,

— Spain: EUR 12,012 per 100 kg of unginned cotton,

— Portugal: EUR 0 per 100 kg of unginned cotton.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following
the European
that of
Union.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

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

Done at Brussels, 17 June 2004.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission