Commission Regulation (EC) No 1278/2006 of 25 August 2006 on a special intervention measure for oats in Finland and Sweden for the 2006/07 marketing year
Date: 2006-08-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Finland, Sweden, award of contract, export licence, export refund, intervention agency, market intervention, oats

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1278/2006

of 25 August 2006

on a special intervention measure for oats in Finland and Sweden for the 2006/07 marketing year

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 of 29
September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in
cereals (1), and in particular Article 7 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Oats are one of the products covered by the common
organisation of
in cereals. They are not,
included among the basic cereals referred to
however,
in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 for
which provision is made for intervention buying-in.

the market

Oats are a major traditional crop in Finland and Sweden
and are well suited to the weather conditions obtaining
in those countries. Production far exceeds requirements
in those countries with the result that they are required
to dispose of surpluses by exporting them to third
countries. Membership of
the Community has not
altered the previous situation.

Any reduction in the quantity of oats grown in Finland
and Sweden would promote the growing of other cereals
qualifying for the intervention arrangements, especially
barley. Production of barley is in surplus both in these
two countries and across the whole of the Community. A
switch from oats to barley would only worsen the
is necessary
situation and create further surpluses.
to third
therefore
countries can continue.

that exports of oats

to ensure

It

Refunds may be granted in respect of oats under Article
13 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003. The geographical
situation of Finland and Sweden places those countries in
a less favourable position from the point of view of
exporting than other Member States. The fixing of
refunds on the basis of Article 13 favours primarily

(1) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 78. Regulation as

(EC) No 1154/2005 (OJ

amended by
L 187,

Commission Regulation
19.7.2005, p. 11).

It

exports from other Member States.
is anticipated
therefore that the production of oats in Finland and in
Sweden will give way increasingly to that of barley.
Consequently, in coming years, substantial quantities of
barley must be expected to enter intervention storage in
Finland and Sweden under Article 5 of Regulation (EC)
No 1784/2003, the only possibility of disposal being
export
to third countries. Exports from intervention
storage are more costly to the Community budget than
direct exports.

These additional costs can be avoided under a special
intervention measure within the meaning of Article 7
of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003. Such an intervention
measure may take the form of a measure intended to
relieve the market in oats in Finland and Sweden. The
grant of a refund by a tendering procedure, applicable
only to oats produced and exported from those two
countries, would be the most appropriate measure in
the circumstances.

The nature and objectives of the said measure make it
appropriate to apply to it, mutatis mutandis, Article 13 of
Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 and the Regulations
adopted for its implementation, in particular Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 laying down certain detailed
rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No
1766/92 on the granting of export refunds on cereals
and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance
on the market for cereals (2).

Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 requires tenderers, among
their other undertakings, to apply for an export licence
and lodge a security. The rate of that security should be
established.

The cereals in question should actually be exported from
the Member States for which a special
intervention
measure was implemented. It is necessary therefore to
limit
licences to exports from the
Member State in which application for the licence was
made and to oats produced in Finland and Sweden.

the use of export

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(2) OJ L 147, 30.6.1995, p. 7. Regulation as

last amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 777/2004 (OJ L 123, 27.4.2004,
p. 50).

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(9)

excluded from the

In view of the Europe Agreements establishing an asso-
ciation between the European Communities and their
Member States, of the one part and the Republic of
Bulgaria (1) and Romania (2), these two countries must
eligible destinations.
be
Furthermore, given the way the refund is calculated
using market prices on distant markets, the nearby desti-
nations of Switzerland and Norway,
for which these
measures are not justified by reason of the relatively
minor transport costs arising from their proximity and
the communication channels available to these desti-
nations, should also be excluded.

list of

(10)

To ensure that all parties are treated equally, all licences
issued should have the same period of validity.

(11)

To ensure the satisfactory operation of export tendering
procedures, a minimum quantity should be set and the
time-limit for the submission of tenders to the competent
authority and the form in tenders are to be forwarded
should be specified.

(12)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The invitation to tender shall relate to the quantity of oats
for export to all third countries,

2.
referred to in Article 1(1)
except Bulgaria, Norway, Romania and Switzerland.

3.
The invitations to tender shall be open until 28 June
2007. During that period, weekly invitations to tender shall
be made for which the date for submission of tenders shall
be set out in the notice of invitation to tender.

Notwithstanding Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1501/95,
the time-limit for the submission of tenders for the first partial
invitation to tender shall be 14 September 2006.

Tenders must be submitted to the Finnish and Swedish

4.
intervention agencies named in the notice of invitation.

The tendering procedure shall take place in accordance

5.
with this Regulation and Regulation (EC) No 1501/95.

Article 3

Offers shall not be valid unless:

(a)

they relate to not less than 1 000 tonnes;

1.
A special intervention measure in the form of an export
refund shall be implemented in respect of 100 000 tonnes of
oats produced in Finland and Sweden and intended for export
from Finland and Sweden to all third countries, except Bulgaria,
Norway, Romania and Switzerland.

(b) they are accompanied by a written undertaking from the
tenderer specifying that they relate solely to oats grown in
Finland and Sweden which are to be exported from those
countries.

Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 and the provisions
adopted for the application of that Article shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, to that refund.

Where the undertaking referred to in (b) is not fulfilled, the
security referred to in Article 12 of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1342/2003 (3) shall be forfeited, except in cases of
force majeure.

The Finnish and Swedish intervention agencies shall be
implementing the measure referred to in

2.
responsible for
paragraph 1.

Article 4

Article 2

Under the tendering procedure laid down in Article 2, one of
the following entries shall be made in box 20 of applications
and export licences:

Tenders shall be invited in order to determine the amount

1.
of the refund referred to in Article 1(1).

(1) Council Decision 2003/286/EC of 8 April 2003 (OJ L 102,
24.4.2003, p. 60), as adapted by Council and Commission
Decision 2005/430/EC, Euratom of 18 April 2005 (OJ L 155,
17.6.2005, p. 1).

(2) Council Decision 2003/18/EC of 19 December 2002 (OJ L 8,
14.1.2003, p. 18), as adapted by Council and Commission
Decision 2005/431/EC, Euratom of 18 April 2005 (OJ L 155,
17.6.2005, p. 26).

— in Finnish:

‘Asetus (EY) N:o 2006/1278 – Todistus on
voimassa ainoastaan Suomessa ja Ruotsissa’,

— in Swedish:

‘Förordning (EG) nr 2006/1278 – Licensen giltig
endast i Finland och Sverige’.

(3) OJ L 189, 29.7.2003, p. 12.

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Article 5

The refund shall be valid only for exports from Finland and
Sweden.

Notwithstanding Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No
3.
1291/2000,
tendering
procedure laid down in Article 2 of this Regulation shall be
valid in Finland and Sweden only.

issued under

licences

export

the

Article 6

Article 8

The security referred to in Article 5(3)(a) of Regulation (EC) No
1501/95 shall be EUR 12 per tonne.

Article 7

1.
Notwithstanding Article 23(1) of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1291/2000 (1), export licences issued in accordance
with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 shall,
for
the purpose of determining their period of validity, be
deemed to have been issued on the day on which the tender
was submitted.

2.
Export licences issued under the tendering procedure laid
down in Article 2 shall be valid from their date of issue, as
defined in paragraph 1 of this Article, until the end of the
fourth month following that of issue.

The Finnish and Swedish intervention agencies shall electro-
nically notify the Commission of the tenders submitted not
the
than one and a half hours following expiry of
later
deadline for the weekly submission of tenders as specified in
the notice of invitation to tender, using the form shown in the
Annex hereto.

If no tenders are received, the Finnish and Swedish intervention
agencies shall inform the Commission thereof within the period
specified in the first subparagraph.

The time laid down for submitting tenders shall be Belgian time.

Article 9

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Brussels, 25 August 2006.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.

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ANNEX

Tender for the refund for the export of oats from Finland and Sweden to all third countries, except Bulgaria,
Norway, Romania and Switzerland

Form (*)

[Regulation (EC) No 1278/2006]

[Time-limit for submission of tenders]

1

Numbering of tenderers

2

Quantity
(tonnes)

3

Amount of export refund
(EUR/tonne)

1

2

3

etc.

(*) To be sent to DG AGRI (Unit D.2)