CELEX: 51992PC0496
Language: en
Date: 1992-11-25
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) introducing a diversification and development programme for certain banana- producing countries of Latin America

20 . 2 . 93                          Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 50 /9
                                                              II
                                                     (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) introducing a diversification and development
                           programme for certain banana-producing countries of Latin America
                                                       (93 / C 50 /07)
                                                    COM(92) 496 final
                                    (Submitted by the Commission on 4 February 1993)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                                        Article 1
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235
thereof,                                                          A programme to provide support for diversification and
                                                                  development, hereinafter referred to as 'the programme',
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                is hereby instituted for the Andean countries and the
                                                                  countries of the Central American isthmus listed in the
Having regard to the opinion of the European                      Annex, for a period of five years .
Parliament,
                                                                                              TITLE I
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No ... (on the
common organization of the market in bananas)                             The Programme's objectives and resources
provides for common arrangements governing imports of                                        Article 2
bananas into the Member States ;
                                                                  The objectives of the programme shall be :
Whereas the economies of many Latin American
countries, in particular the poorest among them, depend           — to develop economic, industrial and technical
on a limited number of export products and whereas the                cooperation between the Community and the
diversification of such products calls for considerable               beneficiary countries by encouraging the devel­
financial resources which those countries cannot at                   opment of sectors relating to non-traditional
present provide in the present state of their economies ;             products, thereby reducing those countries'
                                                                      dependence on a restricted number of export
                                                                      products,
Whereas the Community supports the efforts of the
Andean and Central American countries in their process
of conducting economic restructuring in a difficult social        — to strengthen cooperation and regional integration, in
context, due in particular to the problems created by                 particular between poor countries and relatively more
                                                                      advanced countries .
drug production and trafficking ;
Whereas the Community attaches special importance to                                         Article 3
dialogue with the Latin American countries and to the
strengthening of their regional bodies ;                          1 . With a view to achieving the objectives of this
                                                                  Regulation, the programme's resources shall be used to
                                                                  support measures which may be supplementary to and
Whereas the Community actively supports initiatives to            different from those implemented under the aid provided
preserve natural resources and environmental balance ;            for in Regulation (EEC) No 443 /92 (*).
Whereas for those reasons Community cooperation with              2.    The programme's resources shall be employed
the banana-producing countries of Latin America should            within the framework defined in Articles 1 and 2 of
be stepped up by introducing a diversification and devel­         Regulation (EEC) No 443 /92 .
opment programme to assist them ;
Whereas the Treaty provides no powers other than those
in Article 235 for the adoption of this Regulation,               (») OJ No L 52, 27 . 2 . 1992, p. 1 .
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3 . The measures supported by the programme must                                          Article 7
not distort free competition.
                                                                 1 . Financial support under the programme may cover
                                                                expenditure in foreign as well as national currency if
4 . The measures supported by the programme must                such expenditure is necessary to achieve the measures
take account of the need to protect the environment and         selected .
natural resources .
                                                                2. Maintenance and current administrative expen­
                          Article 4                             diture may be chargeable under the programme, with the
                                                                proviso that, with the exception of training and research
1.    The measures eligible for financial support under         programmes, the defrayal of expenditure may cover only
the programme must be geared to production, special             the starting-up phase and shall be degressive.
attention being paid to the development and marketing
of products which are not traded in significant quantities
at the time of the entry into force of this Regulation.         3 . Recipients of financial support must contribute
                                                                towards the financing of a measure, within the limits of
                                                                their resources and in accordance with the type of
2.     Measures eligible shall comprise in particular :         measure concerned .
(a) at the pre-investment stage :
                                                                                         Article 8
     — sectoral or product-specific analyses or studies,        The resources of the programme shall consist of an
                                                                appropriation fixed on an annual basis by the budget
     — measures concerning training, research and tech­         authority.
         nology transfer,
                                                                                         TITLE II
     — reinforcing producer associations,
                                                                             Administration of the programme
     — improving the legal framework;                                                    Article 9
                                                                1 . The Commission shall administer the programme.
(b) at the investment stage :                                   It shall be assisted by the Committee provided for in
                                                                Article 15 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 443/92.
     — basic infrastructures relating to the production
         process ,                                              2. Projects qualifying for a Community contribution
                                                                in excess of ECU 1 million, together with substantial
     — credit lines with a view to creating or extending        amendments to and any overruns in approved projects in
         enterprises,                                           excess of 20 % of the amount originally approved, shall
                                                                be adopted in accordance with the procedure provided
                                                                for in Article 15 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 443 /92 .
     — crop diversification programmes,
     — technical assistance and the training of local                                    Article 10
         personnel.
                                                                When implementing the programme, the Commission
                                                                shall endeavour to establish dialogue and cooperation
                          Article 5
                                                                with the competent international institutions and with
                                                                the   contributors  concerned .   It shall   endeavour      to
The States listed in the Annex, together with their             stimulate as far as possible the mobilization of local
regional or local units, the international regional organ­      savings and the participation of local, regional and multi­
izations, public agencies, local communities, private           lateral financial operators .
institutes and operators, cooperatives, producer organiz­
ations and non-profit-making bodies may qualify for
financial support under this programme.                                                  Article 11
                                                                When examining measures the Commission shall consult,
                          Article 6                             as and when the need arises and in accordance with
                                                                suitable rules, the competent authorities of the States
Financial support under the programme may be granted            concerned, producers' associations, the financial auth­
in the form of special loans, subsidies, or a combination       orities and the Community economic operators present
thereof.                                                        in the region.
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                        Article 12                                   contain accurate, detailed information on awards of
                                                                     contracts for the implementation of the measures
At regular intervals of not more than one year, the                  financed .
Commission shall forward to the Member States the
information available to it on the sectors, projects and                                      Article 14
measures already identified which could be granted
financial assistance under the programme.                            This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day
                                                                     following its publication in the Official Journal of the
                        Article 13                                   European Communities.
The Commission shall submit an annual report to the                  The applicability of the present Regulation is conditional
European Parliament and the Council on the implemen­                 on that of Council Regulation (EEC) No . . . (on the
tation of the programme. That report shall outline the               common organization of the market in bananas).
results of the implementation of the resources in terms of
commitments and payments, progress in utilization of the             This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
resources and measures financed during the year. It shall            directly applicable in all Member States .
                                                            ANNEX
                                      List of recipient countries provided for in Article 1
                                       Panama                                    Colombia
                                       Costa Rica                                Venezuela
                                       Nicaragua                                 Ecuador
                                       Honduras                                  Peru
                                       El Salvador                               Bolivia
                                       Guatemala