Commission Regulation (EC) No 290/2007 of 16 March 2007 establishing, for the 2007/2008 marketing year, the percentage provided for in Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006
Date: 2007-03-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: common organisation of markets, regulation of agricultural production, sugar, withdrawal from the market

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Official Journal of the European Union

17.3.2007

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 290/2007

of 16 March 2007

establishing, for the 2007/2008 marketing year, the percentage provided for in Article 19 of
Regulation (EC) No 318/2006

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 of 20
February 2006 on the common organisation of the markets in
the sugar sector (1), and in particular the second subparagraph
of Article 19(3), Article 40(2)(d)(v) and Article 42 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 lays down
that a percentage, common to all Member States, of
sugar and isoglucose may be withdrawn from the
market in order to preserve the structural balance of
the market at a price level which is close to the
reference price.

for

forecast

supply balance

from a smaller

resulting in particular

The
the 2007/2008
marketing year indicates a surplus on the Community
market,
than
expected abandonment of quotas under Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 320/2006 of 20 February 2006 estab-
lishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the
sugar industry in the Community and amending Regu-
lation (EC) No 1290/2005 on the financing of
the
common agricultural policy (2). This surplus, which may
amount
four million tonnes of sugar and
isoglucose,
is likely to cause a significant decrease in
the Community market price during the 2007/2008
marketing year.

to almost

Consequently, a withdrawal percentage should be estab-
lished in application of Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC)
No 318/2006 in order to preserve the structural balance
of the market.

However, applying the withdrawal as laid down by
Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 does not
provide an incentive to producers to reduce production,
as the withdrawal percentage is applied in a linear
fashion to all quantities produced under quota, without
taking into account attempts by some undertakings to

(1) OJ L 58, 28.2.2006, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 2011/2006 (OJ L 384, 29.12.2006, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 58, 28.2.2006, p. 42.

(5)

(6)

(7)

adapt their production. The withdrawal instrument may
therefore be considered insufficient insofar as it does not
make it possible to prevent the creation of a surplus on
the market. Article 19 does not prevent
surplus
production; it simply makes it possible to withdraw the
surplus sugar already produced. This results in costs that
could be avoided if the surplus production were to be
prevented at an earlier stage.

to make the withdrawal

instrument more
In order
effective by creating an incentive for producers
to
reduce production, the Commission intends to propose
to the Council an amendment to Regulation (EC) No
318/2006 that would introduce a threshold above
which quantities produced under quota by each under-
taking would be withdrawn. In other words, undertakings
whose production is below the threshold will be exempt
from the withdrawal requirement, reflecting the fact that
they contributed less to the surplus. In this way, under-
takings would be able to adapt their production and
decide whether or not
the
threshold.

to produce in excess of

For the threshold for applying the withdrawal percentage
to have a real effect on production, the scope of the
obligation provided for in Article 6(5) of Regulation
(EC) No 318/2006 should be limited to avoid sugar
undertakings being obliged to pay the minimum price
for quantities of beet corresponding to their entire
including the quantities for which no delivery
quota,
contracts have been concluded.

However, it will not be possible to adjust the withdrawal
instrument in time for it to have a preventative effect on
production during the 2007/2008 marketing year. Given
the forecasts are indicating a particularly large
that
surplus for this marketing year on account of the poor
functioning of the instrument for the restructuring of the
sugar industry,
it is considered necessary to resort to
Article 42 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 in order to
introduce, as a matter of urgency, a preventative measure
consisting in the introduction of a threshold for applying
the withdrawal percentage and consequently limiting the
withdrawal requirement for those undertakings that do
not contribute to the surplus. The threshold should be
that makes it possible to prevent a
fixed at a level
significant quantity of sugar from being produced,
in
other words a quantity comparable to that which
would otherwise have been withdrawn under Article 19
of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006.

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(8)

In the same context, account should be taken of the fact
that
the constraints associated with the preventative
measure could have serious economic consequences for
undertakings
in Member States which have made
particular efforts under the restructuring scheme estab-
lished by Regulation (EC) No 320/2006. This effect
would be contrary to the very objective of this scheme
and of the common organisation of the markets in the
sugar sector, which is to guarantee the viability and
competitiveness of this sector. It is therefore necessary
to provide for an exemption from applying the with-
drawal percentage for the Member States in proportion
to the percentage of the national quota which has been
released under the above restructuring scheme.

(9)

In order for it to be fully effective, the measure must be
adopted before beet sowing gets into full swing, thereby
enabling producers and manufacturers
to plan and
manage production for the 2007/2008 marketing year
as best as possible.

(10) At the same time, in order to make allowances for the
uncertainty of
the forecasts concerning production in
particular, provision should be made for the withdrawal
percentage to be adapted if necessary when final figures
are available for the 2007/2008 marketing year. If the
adapted percentage is greater than the percentage initially
established by this Regulation, the difference must be
applied to the entire production under quota, since the
aim of the measure at that stage will no longer be to
obtain a preventative effect but to manage the market
according to a surplus that has occurred.

(11)

(12)

the

supply of

to facilitate

In order
sugar and/or
isoglucose for the manufacture of the products referred
to in Article 13(2) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, the
quantity withdrawn should be regarded as surplus sugar
or isoglucose for the 2007/2008 marketing year available
to become industrial sugar or isoglucose.

In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article
19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, the traditional
supply need for
should be
reduced by the same percentage as that established for
the withdrawal.
the withdrawal
percentage is adapted, the reduction of the traditional
supply need must also be adjusted.

refining as white sugar

In the

event

that

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

For

the 2007/2008 marketing year,

1.
the percentage
provided for in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006
shall be 13,5 %.

2.

By way of derogation from paragraph 1:

(a)

the percentage laid down in that paragraph shall not apply
to undertakings whose production is less than 86,5 % of
their quota for the 2007/2008 marketing year;

(b) for undertakings that produce a quantity equal to or higher
than 86,5 % of their quota for the 2007/2008 marketing
year,
the quantities produced over the 86,5 % threshold
shall be withdrawn;

(c)

the percentage laid down in paragraph 1 shall not apply to
quantities produced in the Member States in which at least
50 % of the national sugar quota has been released from
1 July 2006 as a result of quotas being renounced under
Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.

least 50 % of

For the Member States in which at
the
national sugar quota has been released from 1 July 2006
as a result of quotas being renounced under Article 3 of
Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, the withdrawal percentage
provided for in the first paragraph shall be reduced in
proportion to the quotas released.

The percentage applicable under this point shall be as laid down
in the Annex hereto.

3.
The percentage laid down in the first paragraph may be
adapted up until 31 October 2007 at the latest. If the second
percentage is higher than the first percentage, the difference
shall be applied to the entire production under quota.

(13)

The Management Committee for Sugar has not delivered
an opinion within the time limit set by its Chairman,

4.
The quantities withdrawn in accordance with paragraphs
2(b) and 3 shall be considered to be surplus sugar or surplus
isoglucose for
the 2007/2008 marketing year available to
become industrial sugar or industrial isoglucose.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The obligation referred to in Article 6(5) of Regulation
5.
(EC) No 318/2006 to pay at least the minimum price shall
apply only to the quantities of beet produced under quota
after the application of paragraphs 1 and 2.

Article 2

1.
For the 2007/2008 marketing year, the traditional supply
need for refining sugar under Article 29(1) of Regulation (EC)
No 318/2006 shall be a maximum of 2 110 371 tonnes,
broken down as follows:

(a) 171 917 tonnes for Bulgaria;

(b) 256 582 tonnes for France;

(c) 43 250 tonnes for Italy;

(d) 308 488 tonnes for Portugal;

(e) 285 135 tonnes for Romania;

(f) 16 941 tonnes for Slovenia;

(g) 51 835 tonnes for Finland;

(h) 976 223 tonnes for the United Kingdom.

In the event of application of Article 1(3), the amount

2.
established in paragraph 1 shall be adapted accordingly.

Article 3

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, 16 March 2007.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission

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Official Journal of the European Union

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ANNEX

Withdrawal percentage set pursuant to Article 1(2)(c)

Member State

Withdrawal percentage

Czech Republic

Greece

Spain

Italy

Hungary

Portugal (mainland)

Slovakia

Finland

Sweden

7,29

0

10,53

0

6,21

0

4,32

3,24

10,26