CELEX: 51988PC0120(01)
Language: en
Date: 1988-04-05
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) AMENDING REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 2727/75 ON THE COMMON ORGANIZATION OF THE MARKET IN CEREALS

30. 5. 88                                Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 139/1
                                                                 II
                                                        (Preparatory Acts)
                                                   COMMISSION
              Commission proposals on the prices for agricultural products and on related matters (1988/1989)
                                                        COM(88) 120 final
                               (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 7 April 1988)
              Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75 on the common
                                               organization of the market in cereals
                                                           (88/C 139/01)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            in the cereals in question, the levies on those products
                                                                    should be aligned on that applicable to barley;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               Whereas the intervention mechanism was adjusted from
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,           the 1978/1988 marketing year, in particular as regards the
                                                                    conditions for opening buying in by intervention agencies
                                                                    during the period when the latter is possible; whereas
                                                                    experience has shown that the new mechanism entails
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  highly cumbersome administrative management without
                                                                    affording any real advantages; whereas the previous
                                                                    system should accordingly be re-established;
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
                                                                    Whereas the restoration of balance on the market for
                                                                    cereals may be enhanced by greater incorporation of cereals
                                                                    in feed; whereas provision should therefore be made for the
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social             possibility of granting a premium, which could be financed
Committee,                                                          from revenue from the co-responsibility levy,
                                                                    HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75 ( ! ), as last
amended by Regulation (EEC) No ..., provides for the
introduction of the basic co-responsibility levy and an
                                                                                               Article 1
additional co-responsibility levy; whereas a system of
direct aid for small producers of cereals was also instituted,
with the aim, having regard to the social implications of the       Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75 is hereby amended as
measure, of offsetting the effect of the said co-responsibility     follows:
levies on their incomes; whereas that system must be
adjusted to ensure on the one hand that the levy paid fully
                                                                     1. The following subparagraph is added to Article 4(1):
corresponds to the aid received by each exempted producer
and on the other hand that it covers the effects of any
application of the additonal co-responsibility levy;                    'Without prejudice to the exemptions referred to in the
                                                                        preceding subparagraph, small producers shall qualify
                                                                        for an exemption from the co-responsibility levy in
                                                                        accordance with the arrangements laid down in Article
Whereas a feature of the world market in buckwheat, millet              4a.' .
and canary seed is a lack of transparency, which makes it
very difficult to assess the market with a view to fixing the
levies; whereas, for the sake of administrative simplifi-           2. Article 4a is replaced by the following:
cation and with a view to better management of the market
                                                                        'Article 4a
                                                                        1. Direct aid is hereby instituted for small producers.
(!) OJ No L 281, 1. 11. 1975, p. 1.                                     For the Community, the overall aid shall be fixed each
 ---pagebreak--- No C 139/2                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   30. 5. 88
   year before the beginning of the marketing year in              5. Article 7 is replaced by the following:
   accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
   43(2) of the Treaty.                                               'Article 7
                                                                      1. The intervention agencies designated by the
   The overall amount of the aid shall be established on the          Member States shall buy in cereals mentioned in Article
   basis of the total estimated amount produced by the co-            3 which are offered to them and have been harvested in
   responsibility levies provided for in Articles 4 and 4b on         the Community, provided that the offers comply with
   producers marketing not more than 25 tonnes.                       conditions, in particular in respect of quality and
                                                                      quantity, to be determined in accordance with para-
                                                                      graph 6.
    2. The Member States which experience special
    difficulties of an administrative or technical nature in          2. Buying in as provided for in paragraph 1 may only
    applying the rules provided for in paragraph 1 may                take place in the following periods:
    apply, under conditions to be determined in accordance
    with the procedures laid down in paragraphs 4 and 5,
                                                                      — from 1 August to 31 May in the case of Italy, Spain,
    the aid for small producers in the form of compensation
                                                                          Greece and Portugal,
    for levies payable by such small producers.
                                                                      — from 1 October to 31 May in the case of the other
                                                                          Member States.
    The overall amount of that compensation for the
    Member State in question may in no case exceed the
    amount which would have been paid to it had this                   3. Buying in as provided for in paragraph 1 shall be
    paragraph not been applied.                                        carried out on the basis of a price equal to 94 % of the
                                                                       intervention price for the cereals concerned, plus any
                                                                       price increase or reduction fixed pursuant to Article 3 or
                                                                       paragraph 5 of this Article, under the conditions laid
    3. Where paragraph 2 is applied, the overall amount
                                                                       down pursuant to paragraphs 5 and 6.
    referred to in paragraph 1 shall be reduced by the
    amount which would have been paid under the present
    aid scheme had paragraph 2 not been applied.                       4. Under conditions to be laid down pursuant to
                                                                       paragraphs 5 and 6, the intervention agencies shall offer
                                                                       for sale the product bought in pursuant to paragraph 1,
                                                                       for export to third countries or for supply to the internal
    4. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
                                                                       market.
    proposal from the Commission, shall define the concept
    of small producer and shall lay down general rules for
     applying this Article.                                            5. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
                                                                       proposal from the Commission, shall lay down general
                                                                       rules governing intervention.
     5. Detailed rules for the application of the aid, and in
     particular its apportionment, shall be adopted in                 6. Detailed rules for the application of this Article
     accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 26             shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid
     on the basis of objective criteria.'                              down in Article 26, in particular as regards:
                                                                       — the minimum quality and quantity required of each
                                                                           cereal for it to be eligible for intervention and, for
3. The following subparagraph is added to Article 4b(2):                   durum wheat, the technical criteria which that cereal
                                                                           must meet,
     'The amount of the direct aid to be granted to small              — the scales of price increases and reductions app-
     producers to offset the additional co-responsibility levy             licable for the purposes of buying in, including a
     shall be reduced by the amount of the levy reimbursed                 special reduction applicable to common wheat for
     pursuant to this paragraph.'                                          use as feed,
                                                                        — the specific quality criteria which common wheat of
                                                                           breadmaking quality and rye of breadmaking
 4. Article 5(2) is replaced by the following:                             quality must meet to qualify for the special increase
                                                                           provided for in Article 3(1),
     2. For oats, a threshold price shall be fixed for the              — the procedures and conditions for taking over by the
     Community for a standard quality in such a way that                   intervention agencies,
     the price for those cereals mentioned in paragraph 1
     which are in competition with that product shall reach             — the procedures and conditions for disposal by the
     the target price on the Duisburg market.'                             intervention agencies.'
 ---pagebreak--- 30. 5. 88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 139/3
6. Article l i b is replaced by the following:                     7. The second subparagraph of Article 13(1) is replaced by
                                                                       the following:
    'Article   lib
                                                                       'However, the levy applicable to barley shall be charged
     1. Aid may be granted for cereals harvested in the                on imports of the products falling within heading 1008
    Community and used for new industrial purposes. The                of the Combined Nomenclature with the exception of
    amount of that aid may not exceed that of the export               the product falling within subheading 1008 90 10; the
    refund for the cereal in question.                                 levy applicable to rye shall be charged on the product
                                                                       falling within subheading 1008 90 10.'
    2. A premium may be granted for quantities of cereals
    used as feed in excess of the quantity of the latter used
                                                                                             Article 2
    during a reference period.
                                                                   This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
    3. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
                                                                   following its publication in the Official Journal of the
    proposal from the Commission, shall adopt the general
                                                                   European Communities.
     rules for applying this Article.
                                                                   It shall apply from the 1988/1989 marketing year.
     4. The Commission shall adopt the detailed rules for
     applying this Article in accordance with the procedure        This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
     laid down in Article 26.'                                     applicable in all Member States.
                Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) fixing the prices applicable to cereals for the 1988/1989
                                                         marketing year
                                                          (88/C 139/02)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                           and structural policy and the application of the rules on
                                                                   competition contained in the Treaty;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,          Whereas in many cases surpluses can no longer be disposed
                                                                   of on normal terms either inside or outside the Com-
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and                 munity ; whereas, in order to reduce the cost to the budget
Portugal, and in particular Article 89(1) thereof,                 of disposing of surpluses on markets outside the Com-
                                                                    munity and to encourage greater consumption within the
 Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75 of            Community, the restrictive price policy should continue to
 29 October 1975 on the common organization of the                  be applied; whereas this aim may be achieved by
 market in cereals (l), as last amended by Regulation (EEC)         maintaining for 1988/1989 the intervention prices for
 No ..., and in particular Article 3(5) thereof,                    common wheat, barley, rye, maize and grain sorghum for
                                                                    the preceding marketing year;
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                    Whereas, as part of a quality policy, production of common
 Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,           wheat of higher breadmaking quality and production of rye
                                                                    of breadmaking quality should be supported; whereas,
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social            accordingly, the special premium for common wheat of
 Committee,                                                         breadmaking quality and for rye of breadmaking quality
                                                                    should be retained; whereas, however, the level of these
 Whereas the markets and prices policy, based on modern             premiums should be maintained at the same level;
 farms, is the main instrument of the incomes policy in
 agriculture; whereas full advantage cannot be drawn from           Whereas from the 1986/1987 marketing year the Council
 such a policy unless it is integrated into the common              began a process of aligning the intervention price of durum
 agricultural policy as a whole, including a dynamic social         wheat on that of common wheat; whereas, in view of, on
                                                                    the one hand, the present ratio between the prices of those
                                                                    cereals and, on the other, the imbalance recorded on the
 (!) OJ No L 281, 1. 11. 1975, p. 1.                                durum wheat market, it is advisable to pursue that process;