CELEX: 51975PC0690
Language: en
Date: 1975-12-22
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION ( EEC ) OF THE COUNCIL ON THE COMMON ORGANIZATION OF THE MARKET IN POTATOES

No C 61/2                          Official Journal of the European Communities                               17. 3. 76
                                                          II
                                                 (Preparatory Acts)
                                             COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Regulation on the common organization of the market in
                                                       potatoes
                         (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 23 January 1976)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                      Whereas application of these standards should have
                                                              the effect of keeping products of unsatisfactory
                                                              quality off the market, guiding production to meet
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                  consumers' requirements, and facilitating trade
European Economic Community, and in particular                relations based on fair competition, thus helping to
Articles 42 and 43 thereof,                                   improve the profitability of production;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                              Whereas standardization cannot be fully effective
                                                              unless applied at all stages of marketing; whereas,
Having regard to the opinion of the European                  however, there may be exceptions for certain
Parliament,                                                   activities at the start of the distribution process and
                                                              for products sent for processing;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                             Whereas provision should be made for adopting for a
                                                              limited period, in the event of particularly poor
                                                              harvests, measures derogating from the application of
Whereas the operation and development of the                  the quality standards in order to permit the
common market in agricultural products must be                marketing of products which do not conform to
accompanied by the establishment of a common                  those standards;
agricultural policy to include in particular a common
organization of agricultural markets which may take
various forms depending on the products;                      Whereas, should there be sufficient products
                                                              conforming to the quality standards to exceed
                                                              consumer demand, provision should be made for the
Whereas the production of potatoes constitutes a              possibility of adopting measures altering the
substantial factor in agricultural income and whereas         minimum or maximum size required for those
appropriate measures should therefore be taken to             products;
ensure the stability of the market and a fair income
for the producers concerned;
                                                              Whereas,     to ensure compliance with the quality
                                                              standards     and to secure uniform application,
Whereas, within the context of the objectives to be           provision   must be made for supervision and for
attained, one of the steps to be taken for the                obligatory   penalties in case of non-compliance;
introduction of a common organization of the market
is the adoption of common standards to be applied to
potatoes marketed within the Community or                     Whereas, given the special features of the market in
exported to non-member countries;                             potatoes in the fresh state, the formation of producer
 ---pagebreak--- 17. 3. 76                          Official Journal of the European Communities                          N o C 61/3
organizations whose members are obliged to comply             whereas this machinery might in exceptional
with certain rules, in particular as regards the             circumstances prove inadequate; whereas, in order
marketing of their entire crop through the producer          not to leave the Community market without defence
group to which they belong, is likely to contribute to        against disturbances which might arise in such cases
the attainment of the objectives of the common                after the import barriers which existed previously
organization of the market;                                  have been removed, the Community should be
                                                             enabled to take all necessary measures without delay;
Whereas provision should therefore be made for
measures to facilitate the formation and operation of
such organizations; whereas, to that end, Member              Whereas the competent authorities must be in a
                                                              position constantly to follow trade movements in
 States should be permitted to grant aid to such
organizations, this aid being in part financed by the         order to assess market trends, and whereas it is
Community; whereas, this aid should, however, be              appropriate to extend to main-crop potatoes the field
 limited in amount and be of a transitional and               of application of Council Regulation (EEC) No
degressive nature so that the financial responsibility        1439/74 of 4 June 1974 on common rules for
 of producers will progressively increase;                    imports (*), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No
                                                              1927/75 (2), and of Council Regulation (EEC) No
                                                              109/70 of 19 December 1969 establishing common
                                                              rules for imports from state-trading countries ( s ), as
Whereas such groups should be entrusted with the
                                                              last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1927/75;
 management of support measures so that they have
 some responsibility for the management of the
market;
                                                              Whereas, in order to enable the Community to
                                                              participate in international trade in potatoes,
Whereas, in order to ensure the regular supply of the         provision should be made for the payment of an
 market and a degree of stability in prices for               export refund;
 main-crop potatoes, provision should be made for the
 possible      implementation,     through      recognized
  producer groups and for limited periods, of support
 measures in the form of storage aid and aid for              Whereas the establishment of a single market would
 dehydration of this product of Community origin;             be jeopardized by the granting of certain aids;
 whereas, to that end, it is advisable to prepare a            whereas the provisions of the Treaty which allow the
 forward assessment for each marketing year;                  assessment of aids granted by Member States and the
                                                              prohibition of those which are incompatible with the
                                                              common market should therefore be applicable to
                                                              potatoes;
  Whereas the establishment of a single Community
  market in potatoes requires the introduction of a
  single trading system at the external frontiers of the
  Community; whereas the application of the Common             Whereas the Community should bear the financial
  Customs Tariff duties should suffice, as a rule, to          responsibility for the expenditure incurred by the
  stabilize the Community market by preventing the             Member States as a result of the obligations arising
  price level in non-member countries and fluctuations         out of the application of this Regulation, in
  thereof from having repercussions on prices ruling           accordance with the legislative provisions relating to
  within the Community;                                        the financing of the common agricultural policy;
  Whereas disturbances on the Community market                 Whereas the transition from the Community
  arising from offers at abnormal prices from                  arrangements and those currently in force in the
  non-member countries must, however, be avoided;              Member States to those set up by this Regulation
  whereas, to that end, provision should be made for           should be effected as smoothly as possible; whereas
  the fixing of reference prices and the levying of a          transitional measures may thus prove necessary;
   countervailing charge in addition to the customs duty
  for potatoes when the entry price of imported
  products is below the reference price;
  Whereas, in most cases, the system thus introduced            (!) OJ No L 159, 15. 6. 1974, p. 1.
  will enable all quantitative restrictions at the external     (2) OJ No L 198, 29. 7. 1975, p. 9.
   frontiers of the Community to be dispensed with;             (3) OJ No L 19, 26. 1. 1970, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 61/4                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                      17. 3. 76
Whereas the common organization of the market in
potatoes must take appropriate account, at the same                            CCT heading N o                   Description
time, of the objectives set out in Articles 39 and 110
of the Treaty;
                                                                          (e)     07.01 A III b)    Other potatoes (unspecified)
                                                                          (f) ex 07.02 B            Potatoes (whether or not cooked),
Whereas the common organization of the market in                                                    preserved by freezing
potatoes should cover not only potatoes in the fresh                      (g) ex 07.03 E            Potatoes provisionally preserved
 state but also all derived products governed until                                                 in brine, in sulphur water or in
 now by other common rules; whereas Council                                                         preservative solutions, but not
 Regulation (EEC) N o 865/68 of 28 June 1968 on the                                                 prepared for immediate consump-
                                                                                                    tion
 common organization of the market in products
 processed from fruit and vegetables (1), as last                         (h) ex 07.04 B            Dried, dehydrated or evaporated
 amended by Regulation (EEC) N o 1420/75 ( 2 ), and                                                 potatoes, whole, cut, sliced,
                                                                                                    broken or in powder, but not
 Council Regulation (EEC) N o 1067/74 of 30 April                                                   further prepared
 1974 on the common organization of the market in
 dehydrated fodder (3), as last amended by Regulation                      (i) ex 11.05             Flour, meal and flakes of potato
  (EEC)        No      1420/75 (4), should            be    amended        (j) ex 20.01 B            Potatoes prepared or preserved by
 accordingly;                                                                                        vinegar or acetic acid, with or
                                                                                                     without sugar, whether or not
                                                                                                     containing salt, spices or mustard
  Whereas, in order to facilitate implementation of the                    (k) ex 20.02 H            Potatoes prepared or preserved
                                                                                                     otherwise than by vinegar or
 proposed measures, a procedure should be provided                                                   acetic acid
 for establishing close cooperation between Member
  States and the Commission within a Management
  Committee,
                                                                           2.     For the purposes of this Regulation, 'new
                                                                           potatoes' means potatoes harvested usually before
                                                                            full maturity and whose skin may easily be removed
                                                                           by friction.
  HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                                                                                      Article 2
                                Article 1                                   1.    For the products listed in Article 1 under (b)
                                                                            and (c), the marketing season shall begin on 1 April
                                                                            of each year and end on 31 July of the same year.
   1.      A common organization of the market in
   potatoes shall be established and shall cover the                        2.    For the products listed in Article 1 under (a), (d)
   following products:                                                      and (e), the marketing year shall begin on 1 August
                                                                            of each year and end on 30 June of the following
                                                                            year.
         CCT heading N o                     Description
                                                                                                       TITLE I
    (a)     07.01 A I            Seed potatoes (a)
    (b)     07.01 A II a)        New    potatoes,      1   January     to                        Marketing standards
                                 31 March
    (c)     07.01 A II b)        New potatoes, 1 April to 31 July                                     Article  3
    (d)     07.01 A III a)       Potatoes for the manufacture of
                                 starch (a)                                  For the products listed in Article 1 or for groups of
                                                                             such products, common marketing standards may be
    (a) Inclusion under this subheading shall be subject to conditions to
                                                                             established together with the field of application
         be determined by the competent authorities.                         thereof; they may, in particular, concern the
                                                                             classification of the product by quality, size, weight,
                                                                             packaging, market presentation and labelling.
     (*)  OJ No   L 153, 1. 7. 1968, p. 8.                                                             Article 4
     (2)  OJ No   L 141, 3. 6. 1975, p. 1.
     (3)  OJ No   L 120, 1. 5. 1974, p. 2.                                    1.   When standards have been adopted, products to
     (4)  OJ No   L 141, 3. 6. 1975, p. 1.                                   which they apply may not be displayed or offered for
 ---pagebreak---  17. 3.76                         Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 61/5
 sale, sold or marketed in any other manner unless          consumer demand, measures may be taken to adjust
 they conform to the said standards, subject to any         the minimum or maximum size requirement for
 specific requirements which may he laid down:              marketing within the Community under the
                                                            provisions of Article 3.
 — for products at an early, stage of the distribution
     process and those consigned to processing plants,
                                                            3.      The measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2
— for products traded with non-member countries.            shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
                                                             laid down in Article 27.
2.     The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
 proposal from the Commission, shall decide for
which products quality standards are to be                                           TITLE II
 established. Those standards and the specific
 requirements referred to in paragraph 1 shall be                                 Producer groups
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down
 in Article 27.
                                                                                      Article 7
                        Article 5                           1.     For the purposes of this Regulation, 'recognized
                                                            producer group' means a group of producers of
 1.    The Member States shall, by sampling, check          potatoes in the fresh state recognized by a Member
the conformity of products with common marketing            State under the provisions of paragraph 3 and formed
standards which have been laid down.                        on the initiative of the producers for the purpose of,
                                                            in particular:
Such checks may be made at any stage of marketing
 and also during transport.                                 (a) concentration of supply and stabilization of the
                                                                  market by marketing all the produce of their
2.     The Member States shall take all necessary                 members;
measures to impose penalties for infringements of the
provisions of Article 3.                                    (b) joint adaptation of their production to the
                                                                  requirements of the market and improvement of
3.     The Member States shall notify the other                  product;
Member States and the Commission within one
month following the entry into force of each                (c) promotion of rationalization and mechanization
marketing standard, of the name and address of the               of cultivation and harvesting operations in order
bodies responsible for controls in respect of the                 to render production more profitable;
products or groups of products for which the said
standard has been adopted.                                  (d) adoption of common rules for production;
4.     The detailed rules for the application of the        (e) the application of the market support measures
provisions of paragraph 1 shall be adopted in                    provided in Articles 10 and 11 to the best
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article               advantage of the group.
27, account being taken, in particular, of the need to
ensure coordination of the work of the bodies
responsible     for   controls    and    the   uniform      2.     For the purposes of this Regulation, 'recognized
interpretation and application of the common                union' means a union of recognized producer groups
marketing standards.                                        pursuing the same objectives as these groups and
                                                            recognized by a Member State under the provisions
                                                            of paragraph 3.
                        Article 6
                                                            3.     Member States shall recognize, for the purposes
1.     In the event that the supply of products             of the production and marketing of potatoes in the
conforming to the quality standards is insufficient to      fresh state, the producer groups and unions thereof
cover consumer demand, derogations from the                 which request recognition and fulfil the following
application of these standards may be adopted for           general conditions; they should:
limited periods.
                                                            (a) apply common rules for the production of
2.     In the event that the supply of products                  potatoes and for putting them on the market
conforming to the quality standards exceeds                      (first stage of marketing) in the fresh state;
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 61/6                          Official Journal of the European Communities                               17. 3. 76
(b) include in their statutes the obligation for              4.      Rules for the application of this Article, and in
     producers who are members of groups and for              particular the definition of 'putting on the market'
     recognized producer groups which are members             for the purposes of paragraph 3 (a) and (b), and rules
     of unions:                                               concerning the condition laid down in paragraph 3
                                                               (c) shall be adopted according to the procedure
     — to comply        with    the  common     rules for     provided for in Article 27.
          production,
     — to put all their produce on            the market                                 Article 8
          through the group or union.
                                                               1.     Member States may grant aid to recognized
     This obligation shall not apply, however, to              producer groups for three years following the date of
     products for which the producers had concluded             their recognition as laid down in Article 13 (3), to
     sales contracts before joining the group, provided        encourage their formation and to facilitate their
     that the group was informed of such contracts             operation. For the first, second and third years
      and approved them;                                       respectively, the amounts of such aid may not exceed
                                                               3 % , 2 % and 1 % of the value of the products put
(c) provide pfoof of economically viable activity;             on the market and to which the recognition refers.
                                                               The aid must not, however, exceed during the first
(d) exclude, throughout their field of activity, any           year 60 % , during the second year 40 % and during
      discrimination between Community producers or            the third year 20 % of the administrative costs of the
      groups in respect of, in particular, their               producer group.
      nationality or place of establishment;
                                                               The value of products marketed shall be calculated,
(e) include in their statutes provisions ensuring that          for each year, on the basis of:
      members of a group or union who wish to give
                                                                — the average output marketed by member
      up their membership may do so only after a
                                                                     producers during the three calendar years
      three-year period of membership following
                                                                     preceding their joining,
      recognition and provided they inform the group
      or union of their intention at least one year             — the average producer prices obtained by those
      before they leave. Those provisions shall apply                producers during the same period.
      without prejudice to the national laws or
      regulations designed to protect, in specific cases,
      the group or union or creditors thereof against            2.    The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
      the financial consequences which might arise              proposal from the Commission, shall adopt general
      from a member leaving, and to prevent a member            rules for the application of this Article.
       from leaving during the budgetary year;
                                                                 Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall
 (f) have the necessary legal status or capacity                 be laid down in accordance with the procedure
      according to the provisions of national legislation        provided for in Article 27.
       to be subject to rights and obligations;
 (g) include in their statutes the obligation to keep                                    TITLE III
       separate accounts for the activities in respect of
       which they have been recognized;                                             Support measures
 (h) refrain from occupying a dominant position on
                                                                                         Article 9
       the common market or on a substantial part
       thereof.
                                                                 At the beginning of each marketing year, the
                                                                 Commission shall draw up a forward estimate
 The authority competent to recognize producer                   relating to the products listed in Article 1- (e) to
 groups and unions thereof shall be the Member State             determine the Community's requirements and
  within whose territory the producer group or union             resources, including foreseeable imports from and
 has its registered office.                                      exports to non-member countries.
 In order to determine the condition laid down under                                     Article 10
  (h), Member States shall apply the criteria dictated by
  Commission practice and the case law of the Court               1.   Private storage aid may be granted to
  of Justice.                                                     recognized producer groups in respect of a product,
 ---pagebreak--- 17. 3. 76                           Official Journal of the European Communities                            N o C 61/7
listed in Article 1 (e) and produced in the Community                                 TITLE IV
where the forward estimate for the marketing year
shows that supplies of that product will considerably                     Trade with non-member countries
exceed requirements for that marketing year of that
product.
                                                                                      Article 12
2.     The granting of private storage aid shall be
subject to a storage declaration made by the producer          1.    In order obviate disturbances caused by supplies
group to a body designated by the Member State.                from non-member countries at normal prices,
                                                               reference prices shall be fixed each year before the
                                                               beginning of the marketing season for new potatoes.
3.     The amount of the aid may cover only technical
storage costs and set at a fixed amount representing
interest.                                                      2.    These prices, which shall be valid for the whole
                                                               Community, shall be fixed for a specified period.
4.     Products shall be stored for a limited period to
be determined.                                                 3.    The reference prices shall be fixed:
5. Decisions concerning the granting of private                — on the basis of the average of producer prices in
storage aid shall be taken in accordance with the                  each Member State plus the amount defined in
procedure laid down in Article 27.                                 paragraph 5,
Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall       — taking into account the average trend of market
be adopted in accordance with the same procedure.                  prices.
                                                               4.    Producer prices shall correspond to the average
                         Article 11                            of the prices recorded on the representative market or
                                                               markets situated in the production areas where prices
 1.    If, at the expiring of the storage, period,             are lowest, during the three years prior to the date
                                                               for fixing the reference price, for a home-grown
 marketing difficulties persist, a decision may be
taken, in accordance with the procedure provided for           product with defined commercial characteristics,
 in Article 27 and after examination of the products            which conform to the quality standard of Class
 stored, to grant producer groups aid for the                  Superior and to specified requirements as regards
dehydration of the products stored.                            market preparation.
                                                               When the average of prices recorded on each
 2.    Such aid shall be granted only on condition that        representative market is being calculated, prices
 the dehydrated product is for use as animal feed.             which could be considered excessively high or
                                                               excessively low in relation to normal price
 3.    The quantities of potatoes which may be                  fluctuations on the market shall be disregarded.
 dehydrated, the price at which they shall be delivered
 for dehydration and the amount of the aid, shall               5.    The amount referred to in paragraph 3 shall be
 also be fixed in accordance with the procedure                based on the cost of transporting products between
 provided for in paragraph 1.
                                                               the production       areas and the representative
                                                                Community consumption centres for the marketing
 These provisions:                                             of home-grown products and products imported
                                                                from non-member countries.
 (a) must be such as to ensure that the balance of the
      market in dehydrated fodder will not be
      disturbed;
                                                                                      Article 13
 (b) must not constitute an incentive            to   the
      production of lower-quality potatoes.                     1.    The Commission shall, on the basis of infor-
                                                                mation supplied by Member States or data obtained
                                                                by the Commission itself, regularly follow the trend of
 4.    Detailed rules for the application of this Article       average prices of new potatoes originating in
 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure              non-member countries on the most representative
 laid down in Article 27.                                       import markets of the Member States, for a product
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 61/8                         Official Journal of the European Communities                               17. 3. 76
with defined commercial characteristics, for each             in respect of several origins for the same product and
origin.                                                       the same period, a single charge shall be applied in
                                                              respect of these countries of origin unless the entry
                                                              prices for one or more of these countries are
2.    An entry price for this product shall be                abnormally low in relation to entry prices recorded
calculated each market day for each origin on the              for the other country or countries of origin in
basis of prices recorded at, or converted to, the              question. Where the same charge is applied in
wholesale import stage.                                       respect of several origins, the amount of the charge
                                                              shall be equal to the difference between the reference
                                                              price and the average of the average entry prices for
3.    The entry price for a given origin shall be equal
                                                              each origin in question in accordance with the
to the lowest representative price or to the average of
                                                              provisions of the preceding paragraph.
the lowest representative prices recorded for at least
30 % of the quantities from the origin in question
which are marketed on all the representative markets          3.     The countervailing charge, which shall be the
for which prices are available, the following having           same for all Member States shall be levied in
previously been deducted from this price or these             addition to the customs duties in force.
prices:
— the custom       duties in the   Common      Customs
    Tariff,
                                                                                      Article IS
— any countervailing charges,
— any other import charges the incidence of which              1.    When it is noted that during a period of five to
    is included in the prices.                                 seven successive market days entry prices for a given
                                                               product from a given origin are alternately above and
                                                               below the reference price, even when during two
4.    However, the prices of Community products                consecutive market days the entry prices are above or
shall also be used in calculating the entry price in           below the reference price without this having led to
cases where:                                                   Article 14 being applied, a countervailing charge
                                                               shall, notwithstanding the provisions of that Article
— large quantities of imports are involved,                    and subject to conditions set out below, be
                                                               introduced in respect of the origin concerned, save in
— the quantities marketed on representative import             exceptional circumstances.
    markets are insignificant in relation to total
    imports.
                                                               The charge shall be introduced when:
The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
proposal from the Commission, shall adopt general              — three entry prices fall below the references price,
rules for the implementation of this paragraph.                    and
                                                               — on condition that one of these entry prices is at
                        Article 14                                 least 0-5 unit of account below the reference
                                                                   price.
1.    If the entry price of a product originating from
a non-member country remains at least 0-5 unit of              This charge shall be equal to the difference between
account below the reference price for two consecutive          the reference price and the last available entry price
market days, a countervailing charge shall be                  price at least 0-5 unit of account below the reference
introduced in respect of the origin in question, save          price.
in exceptional circumstances. This charge shall be
equal to the difference between the reference price
and the average of the last two entry prices available         2.     Article 14 (2) shall not apply to the chiarges
for that origin, hereinafter called the average entry          introduced in implementation of paragraph 1 of this
price. This average entry price shall then be calculated       Article.
each market day for each origin until such time as the
charge is withdrawn in respect of that origin.
                                                               3.     The countervailing charge introduced in
                                                               implementation of paragraph 1 of this Article, which
2.     Where it would be appropriate under the fore-           shall be the same for all Member States, shall be
 going provisions to apply a countervailing charge             levied in addition to the customs duties in force.
 ---pagebreak--- 17. 3 . 7 6                         Official Journal of the European Communities                            N o C 61/9
                         Article 16                                                   Article 18
1.     The charge introduced in implementation of              1.    T o the extent necessary to enable the products
Article 14 shall not be altered so long as:                    listed in Article 1 to be exported on the basis of
                                                               quotations or prices for those products on the world
                                                               market, the difference between those quotations or
— the variation of the factors in its calculation does
                                                               prices and prices in the Community may be covered
    not lead, after it is put into effect, to an alteration
                                                               by an export refund.
    of its amount by more than 1-0 unit of account
    for three consecutive market days,
                                                               2.    The refund shall be the same for the whole
                                                               Community. It may be varied according to use or
— the regrouping of countries of origin does not
                                                               destination.
    become necessary.
                                                               The refund shall be granted on application.
A decision to withdraw the charge for a given origin
shall be taken when the entry price has been at least          When the refund is being fixed particular account
equal to the reference price for two consecutive               shall be taken of the need to establish a balance
market days. This decision shall also be taken if there        between the use of Community basic products in the
are no prices in respect of that origin for six                manufacture of processed goods for export to
consecutive working days, except where Article 13              non-member countries and the use of non-member
(4) applies, or if application of the first indent of          country     products    brought    in   under    inward
paragraph 1 leads to the charge being fixed at zero.           processing arrangements.
                                                                Refunds shall be fixed at regular intervals in
2.     The charge introduced in implementation of              accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
Article 15 shall be applied for six days.                      27.
                                                               Where necessary the Commission may, at the request
It may not be withdrawn before the end of that                 of a Member State or on its own initiative, alter the
period unless:                                                  refunds in the intervening period.
— the application of Article 14 (1) and, should the
                                                               3.     The amount of the refunds applicable to the
     occasion arise, Article 13 (4) leads to the fixing of
                                                                export of products listed in Article 1 shall be that
    a new, higher countervailing charge, or
                                                               applicable on the day of exportation.
— the entry price, for three consecutive market days
    after the charge is put into effect, is at least equal     4.     The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
    to the reference price.                                    proposal from the Commission, shall adopt general
                                                               rules for granting export refunds and criteria for
                                                               fixing the amount of such refunds.
                         Article 17
                                                               5.     Detailed rules for the application of this Article
                                                               shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
 1.     The following shall be determined in accordance        laid down in Article 27.
with the procedure laid down in Article 27:
— detailed rules for the application of Articles 12,                                   Article 19
    13, 14, 15 and 16,
                                                                T o the extent necessary for the proper working of the
— the reference prices.                                        common organization of the market in potatoes, the
                                                               Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal
                                                               from the Commission, may prohibit in whole or in
2.      A decision to introduce, alter or withdraw the         part the use of inward processing arrangements in
charge shall be taken in accordance with the same              respect of products listed in Article 1 which are
procedure.                                                     intended for the manufacture of products listed in
                                                               that Article.
However,       between     regular    meetings     of    the
Management Committee, these measures shall be
adopted by the Commission. In that event they shall                                    Article 20
be valid until such time as any measures adopted in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article             1.     The general rules for the interpretation of the
27 enter into force.                                           Common Customs Tariff and the special rules for its
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 61/10                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                17. 3. 76
application shall apply to the tariff classification of          The Council, acting by a qualified        majority on a
products covered by this Regulation; the tariff                  proposal from the Commission, shall      adopt rules for
nomenclature resulting from application of this                  the application of this paragraph and    define the cases
Regulation shall be incorporated in the Common                   in which and the limits within which     Member States
Customs Tariff.                                                  may take protective measures.
2.     Saving Community provisions to the contrary               2.     If the situation mentioned in paragraph 1 arises,
and to exceptions decided upon by the Council,                   the Commission shall, at the request of a Member
acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the            State or on its own initiative, decide upon the
Commission,                                                      necessary      measures;     the   measures   shall     be
— the levying of any customs duty or charge having               communicated to the Member States and shall be
     equivalent effect,                                          immediately applicable. If the Commission receives a
                                                                  request from a Member State, it shall take a decision
— the application of any quantitative restriction or             thereon within 24 hours following receipt of the
     measure having equivalent effect,                           request.
on imports from non-member countries of the
                                                                 3.     The measures decided upon by the Commission
products referred to in Article 1 shall be prohibited.
                                                                 may be referred to the Council by any Member State
                                                                 within three working days following the day on
                                                                 which they were communicated. The Council shall
                         TITLE V                                 meet without delay. It may, acting by a qualified
                                                                 majority, amend or repeal the measures in question.
                    General provisions
                                                                                          Article 24
                         Article 21
                                                                  1.    The provisions laid down by Regulation on the
Save as otherwise provided in this Regulation,
                                                                 financing of the common agricultural policy shall
Articles 92 to 94 of the Treaty shall apply to the
                                                                 apply to the market in the products referred to in
production of and trade in the products listed in
                                                                  Article 1.
Article 1.
                                                                  2.     50 % of the aid granted by the Member States
                         Article 22
                                                                  under Article 8 (1) shall be reimbursed by the
                                                                  Guidance Section of the European Agricultural
 1.    If, for one or more products referred to in                Guidance and Guarantee Fund.
Article 1, it appears from the forward estimates, the
 state of stocks or the persistence on the world or               The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
Community market of standing abnormally high                      proposal from the Commission, shall adopt detailed
prices, that the Community market is disturbed or                 rules for the application of this paragraph.
threatened      with    disturbance,    the    appropriate
measures may be taken.
                                                                                          Article 25
 2.    The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
 proposal from the Commission, shall adopt general
                                                                  1.     Member States and the Commission shall
rules for the application of this Article.
                                                                  communicate to each other the information necessary
3.     Detailed rules for the application of this Article         for applying this Regulation. Detailed rules for the
 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure                communication and distribution of such information
laid down in Article 27.                                          shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
                                                                  laid down in Article 27.
                         Article 23                               2.     Member States shall notify the Commission of
                                                                  provisions laid down by law, regulation or
 1.    If by reason of imports or exports, the                    administrative action pursuant to this Regulation not
 Community market, in one or more of the products                 later than one month after adoption thereof.
 listed in Article 1, experiences or is threatened with
 serious disturbances which may endanger the op-
 jectives set out in Article 39 of the Treaty, appropriate                                Article 26
 measures may be applied in trade with non-member
 countries until such disturbance or threat of                     1.    A Management Committee for Potatoes
 disturbance has ceased.                                          (hereinafter called the 'Committee') shall be
 ---pagebreak---   17. 3. 76                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 61/11
 established, consisting of representatives of Member                                  Article 31
 States and presided over by a representative of the
 Commission.                                                   In Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 865/68 the
                                                               descriptions relating to subheadings ex 07.02, ex
 2.     Within the Committee the votes of Member               07.03, ex 07.04, ex 20.01 and ex 20.02 are amended
 States shall be weighted in accordance with Article           as follows:
 148 (2) of the Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.
                                                                   CCT heading No                   Description
                        Article 27
                                                                     ex 07.02          Vegetables (excluding olives and
 1.     Where the procedure laid down in this Article is                               potatoes), whether or not cooked,
 to be followed, the chairman shall refer the matter to                                preserved by freezing
 the Committee either on his own initiative or at the                ex 07.03          Vegetables (excluding olives and
 request of the representative of a Member State.                                      potatoes) provisionally preserved
                                                                                       in brine, in sulphur water or in
                                                                                       other preservative solutions, but
2.     The representative of the Commission shall                                      not specially prepared for immedi-
 submit a draft of the measures to be taken. The                                       ate consumption
 Committee shall deliver its opinion on such measures                ex 07.04          Dried, dehydrated or evaporated
 within the time limit to be set by the chairman                                       vegetables (excluding olives and
 according to the urgency of the questions under                                       potatoes), whole, cut, sliced,
                                                                                       broken or in powder, but not
 consideration. An opinion shall be adopted by a                                       further prepared
majority of 41 votes.
                                                                     ex 20.01          Vegetables (excluding potatoes)
                                                                                       and fruit prepared or preserved in
3.     The Commission shall adopt measures which                                       vinegar or acetic acid, with or
shall apply immediately. However, if these measures                                    without salt, spices, mustard or
                                                                                       sugar
are not in accordance with the opinion of the
 Committee, they shall forthwith be communicated by                  ex 20.02          Vegetables (excluding potatoes)
the Commission to the Council. In that event, the                                      prepared or preserved without
                                                                                       vinegar or acetic acid
Commission may defer application of the measures
which it has adopted for not more than one month
from the date of such communication.
                        Article 28                                                    Article 32
                                                               1.    Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1067/74 is
The Committee may consider any other question
                                                              amended as follows:
referred to it by its chairman either on his own
initiative or at the request of the representative of a            'A common organization of the market in
Member State.                                                      dehydrated fodder shall be established and shall
                                                                   cover the following products:
                       Article 29
                                                                    CCT heading No             Description of goods
The Common Customs Tariff is amended as shown
in the Annex.
                                                                      ex 12.10 B      Lucerne, sainfoin, clover, lupines,
                                                                                      vetches,    and       similar  forage
                                                                                      products, dehydrated by artificial
                       Article 30                                                     heat-drying, except hay and forage
                                                                                      kale and products containing hay'
Subheading 07.01 A III b) is inserted:
— in columns 1 and 3 of Annex I to Regulation
     (EEC) No 1439/74,                                        2.     Article 2 is amended as follows:
— in the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 109/70 in                   'The marketing year for the products mentioned
     respect of all the countries mentioned in that               in Article 1 shall begin on 1 April of each year
     Annex.                                                       and end on 31 March of the following year'.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 61/12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                             17. 3. 76
                          Article 33                                         rise to substantial difficulties, such measures shall be
                                                                             adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down
This Regulation shall be so applied that appropriate                         in Article 27. They shall be applicable until 31 July
account is taken, at the same time, of the objectives                        1977 at the latest.
set out in Articles 39 and 110 of the Treaty.
                                                                                                         Article 35
                          Article 34
                                                                             This Regulation shall enter into force on . . .
Should transitional measures be necessary to facilitate
the transition from the system in force within the                           It shall be applicable until . . .
Community and in Member States to that established
by this Regulation, in particular if the introduction of                     This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
the new system on the date provided for would give                           directly applicable in all Member States.
                                                                    ANNEX
                                             Amendment to the Common Customs Tariff
              In Chapter 7, paragraph 1 of the additional note and subheading 07.01 A are amended as
             follows:
             Additional Notes
              1. For the purposes of subheadings 07.01 A II a) and 07.01 A II b), 'new potatoes' means
                 potatoes harvested usually before full maturity, whose skin may easily be removed by
                 friction.
                                                                                                           Rate of duty
                     CCT                                                                         autonomous
                   heading                                 Description
                                                                                                      %            conventional
                      No
                                                                                                   or levy               %
                                                                                                     (L)
                       1                                       2                                      3                  4
                    07.01             A. Potatoes:
                                             I. Seed potatoes (a)                                    10                   9
                                            II. New potatoes:
                                                a) From 1 January to 31 March                        15                 —
                                                b) From 1 April to 31 July                           21                 —
                                           III. Other:
                                                a) For the manufacture of
                                                    starch (a)                                         9
                                                b) Other                                             18                 —
             (a) Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions to be determined by the competent authorities.