Proposal for a Council Regulation repealing certain obsolete Council acts in the field of the Common Agricultural Policy
Date: 2009-07-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community acquis, Council of the European Union, EU law, application of EU law, common agricultural policy, drafting of EU law

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 22.7.2009 
COM(2009) 377 final 

2009/0103 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

repealing certain obsolete Council acts in the field of the Common Agricultural Policy 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

A number of acts which were adopted over the last decades have exhausted all their effects, 
but  are  still  in  force.  They  have  become  obsolete  because  of  their  temporary  character  or 
because  their  content  has  been  taken  up  by  successive  acts.  Several  measures  linked  to  the 
accession  of  new  Member  States  have  become  obsolete  following  their  accession.  The 
European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  agreed  in  their  inter-institutional 
agreement  on  better  law  making  that  Community  law  should  be  updated  and  condensed  by 
repealing acts which are no longer applied.1 Acts which have no continued relevance should 
be removed from the 'acquis communautaire', in order to improve transparency and certainty 
of Community law. 

The  Commission  has  carried  out  several  exercises  to  remove  obsolete  legislation  from  the 
acquis,  partly  trough  the  traditional  repeal  procedure,  partly  by  declaring  the  relevant 
Commission  acts  obsolete.  Most  recently,  the  Commission  declared  some  250  agricultural 
acts obsolete.2 In its Communication "A simplified CAP for Europe - a success for all" of 18 
March  2009,  the  Commission  confirmed  its  intention  to  clean  up  agricultural  rules.3  The 
present  proposal  is  foreseen  in  the  Simplification  Rolling  Programme  adopted  in  the 
framework  of  the  implementation  of  the  Commission's  strategy  for  simplification  of  the 
regulatory  environment,  as  updated  recently  -  document  COM  (2008)  712  Annex  2  to  the 
2009 Commission's Legislative and Work Programme". 

The Commission has identified a number of Council acts related to the Common Agricultural 
Policy, which have exhausted all practical effects. It is not within the Commission's powers to 
declare Council acts obsolete. In the interest of legal certainty, the Commission suggests that 
the acts listed in this proposal shall be repealed by the Council. 

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OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1. 
OJ C 30, 6.2.2009, p. 18. 
COM(2009) 128 final, 18.3.2009. 

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2009/0103 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

repealing certain obsolete Council acts in the field of the Common Agricultural Policy 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 
36 and 37 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission4, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament5, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Improving  the  transparency  of  Community  law  is  an  essential  element  of  the  better 
lawmaking strategy that Community institutions are implementing. In that context it is 
appropriate  to  remove  from  active  legislation  those  acts  which  no  longer  have  real 
effect. 

(2) 

The following Regulations and Decision relating to the Common Agricultural Policy 
have become obsolete, even though formally they are still in force: 

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Council Regulation (EEC) No 2602/69 of 18 December 1969 on retaining the 
Management Committee procedure6. That Regulation has exhausted its effects 
since its content has been taken up by successive acts; 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 922/72 of 2 May 1972 laying down general rules 
for  granting  aid  in  respect  of  silkworms  for  the  1972/73  rearing  year7.  That 
Regulation  has  exhausted  its  effects  since  it  only  covered the  years  1972  and 
1973; 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3570/90 of 4 December 1990 on derogations in 
respect  of  agricultural  statistical  surveys  in  Germany  in  connection  with  the 
unification of Germany8. That Regulation has exhausted its effects since it was 
intended  for  application  during  the  transitional  period  following  the  German 
unification; 

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OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 324, 27.12.1969, p.23. 
OJ L 106, 5.5.1972, p.1. 
OJ L 353, 17.12.1990, p. 8. 

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Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2611/95  of  25  October  1995  establishing  the 
possibility  of  national  aid  being  granted  in  compensation  for  losses  of 
agricultural income caused by monetary movements in other Member States9. 
That Regulation has exhausted its effects since it concerned the possibility of 
granting three year aid to be notified before 30 June 1996; 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1107/2007 of 26 September 2007 derogating from 
Regulation  (EC)  No 1782/2003  establishing  common  rules  for  direct  support 
schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support 
schemes for farmers, as regards set-aside for the year 200810. That Regulation 
has exhausted its effects since it only covered the year 2008. 

Council  Decision  85/360/EEC  of  16  July  1985  on  the  restructuring  of  the 
system  of  agricultural  surveys  in  Greece11.  That  decision  has  exhausted  its 
effects since it covered the period between 1986 and 1996. 

(3) 

For  reasons  of  legal  security  and  clarity,  those  obsolete  Regulations  and  Decision 
should be repealed, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Regulations (EEC) No 2602/69, (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 3570/90, (EC) No 2611/95 and 
(EC) No 1107/2007 and Decision 85/360/EEC are repealed. 

Article 1 

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

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President  

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OJ L 268, 10.11.1995, p. 3. 
OJ L 253, 28.9.2007, p. 1.  
OJ L 191, 23.7.1985, p. 53. 

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