CELEX: 31977R2370
Language: en
Date: 1977-10-28 00:00:00
Title: Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2370/77 of 28 October 1977 on the sale at a reduced price of butter for direct consumption in the Community

No L 277/ 16                              Official Journal of the European Communities                            29 . 10 . 77
                                     COMMISSION REGULATION ( EEC) No 2370/77
                                                        of 28 October 1977
              on the sale at a reduced price of butter for direct consumption in the
                                                            Community
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                      without disturbing normal trade in butter ; whereas,
COMMUNITIES,                                                        should a Member State make use of Council Regula­
                                                                    tion (EEC) No 880/77 of 26 April 1977 on the
                                                                    granting of aid for butter consumption (5), the
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                measures laid down in this Regulation should be
Economic Community,                                                 combined with the aid granted under the abovemen­
                                                                    tioned Regulation ;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No
804/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organization                   Whereas, to ensure even distribution throughout the
of the market in milk and milk products ( J ), as last               Community of the butter made available to
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 559/76 (2), and in                   consumers under this measure and to avoid distur­
particular Articles 6 (7), 12 (3) and 28 thereof,                   bances of the market in certain Member States, the
                                                                     maximum quantities qualifying for this aid should be
                                                                     fixed for each Member State, particular account being
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No                         taken of the usual level of consumption in the
985/68 of 15 July 1968 laying down general rules for                Member State concerned ; whereas, given its social
intervention on the market in butter and cream (3), as              welfare character, the restricted quantities and the
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2714/72 (4), and                brief period involved, this sale of butter on the occa­
in particular Article 7a thereof,                                   sion of the Christmas and the New Year holidays can
                                                                    only achieve its aim if the butter in question is
                                                                    consumed in the Member State where it is stored and
Whereas a major feature of the Community butter                      if subsequent distribution to those concerned is
market is the existence of stocks built up following                 handled by the national authorities ;
intervention under Article 6 ( 1 ) and (2) of Regulation
(EEC) No 804/68 ;
                                                                    Whereas in the United Kingdom the market price for
                                                                     butter is appreciably lower than the intervention price
Whereas it will not be possible to dispose of these                  less the aid granted under Regulation (EEC) No
stocks on normal terms during the present milk year ;                880/77 ; whereas there are also large stocks of
whereas prolonged storage should be avoided in view                  imported butter which tend to keep prices down ;
                                                                    whereas in these circumstances it is reasonable not to
of the high cost involved ; whereas steps should there­
fore be taken to facilitate disposal of this butter ;                apply the present measure in that Member State, and
                                                                     indeed essential if a disturbance of the market is to be
                                                                    avoided ;
Whereas the Christmas and New Year holidays may
provide an opportunity for selling butter at a reduced
price for direct consumption ; whereas, if this measure              Whereas, with regard to Italy, which has neither
were applied only to butter in public storage, it would              public stocks nor private stocks under contract on its
be difficult to run down the stocks of butter in private             territory, and where the special features of production
storage ; whereas, therefore, the butter which has been              preclude the use of price support mechanisms to
the subject of storage contracts under Article 9 (2) of              prevent price fluctuations, Council Regulation (EEC)
Regulation (EEC) No 985/68 should also be released                   No 2291 /77 of 18 October 1977 on the granting of
to the market under this measure ;                                   aid for butter consumption in Italy (6) provides that
                                                                     aid may be granted for butter produced in Italy and
                                                                     intended for direct consumption in that Member State
Whereas either the reduction in the selling price of                 so that Italian consumers can benefit, on comparable
butter or the amount of the aid should be sufficient to              terms, from the reduction in the price of butter ;
ensure that additional quantities are disposed of                    whereas it is therefore necessary to adopt at the same
                                                                     time detailed rules for the application of the said
(>)  OJ No L  148 , 28 . 6 . 1968 , p. 13 .                          Regulation (EEC) No 2291 /77 ;
(2 ) OJ No L  67 , 15 . 3 . 1976, p. 9 .
(3)  OJ No L  169, 18 . 7 . 1968 , p. 1 .                            (5 ) OJ No L 106, 29 . 4. 1977, p. 31 .
(4)  OJ No L  291 , 28 . 12. 1972, p . 15 .                          (*) OJ No L 268 , 20 . 10 . 1977, p . 15.
 ---pagebreak---  29 . 10 . 77                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No L 277/ 17
 Whereas butter sold under this Regulation should be               2.     The quantities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
 clearly distinguished at all marketing stages from                as follows :
 other butter ; whereas, to this end, provisions should                                                                            (tonnes)
 be adopted concerning the putting-up of the butter in
                                                                                                                  Breakdown
 small packets ; whereas a time limit for packing
 should be fixed to ensure that the operation proceeds                 Member State   Total quantity Public storage      Private storage
                                                                                                       ( minimum           ( maximum
 smoothly ;                                                                                              quantity)           amount)
                                                                   Belgium and
 Whereas a system of supervision should be set up to               Luxembourg             5 500              200              5 300
 ensure that the butter is not diverted from its destina­
                                                                   Denmark                2 500           2 500                —
 tion ; whereas the keeping of stock records at all                Germany              24 000           17 000               7 000
 marketing stages, the provision of a security and, in             France               27 000            7 000              20 000
 the case of butter from private storage, the condition            Ireland                2 000            —
                                                                                                                              2 000
 that aid will be paid only if certain requirements are            Netherlands            4 000           2 500               1 500
 met, would contribute to this end ; whereas, moreover,
 as regards butter in public storage, the provisions of
 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1687/76 of 30                                                Article 2
June 1976 laying down common detailed rules for
verifying the use and/or destination of products from              1 . Butter from public storage shall be sold ex-cold
 intervention ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC)             storage depot at the buying-in price applied by the
 No 2375/77 (2), should apply ; whereas the same provi­            intervention agency concerned on the day when the
sions may be applied to butter in private storage ;                contract of sale is concluded, less 70 units of account
                                                                   per 100 kilograms.
Whereas the necessary information should be commu­                 It shall be sold in lots of not less than five tonnes .
nicated to the Commission regularly to enable it to
 follow the progress of the operation in the Member                2.     Contracts of sale shall be concluded before 10
States ;                                                           December 1977 .
                                                                   3 . The purchaser shall take delivery of the butter
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation               not later than 12 days after the contract of sale is
are in accordance with the opinion of the Manage­                  concluded .
ment Committee for Milk and Milk Products,
                                                                   Before taking delivery, the purchaser shall :
                                                                   — pay the purchase price of the butter,
                                                                   — give a packing security in an amount of 75 units
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
                                                                        of account per 100 kilograms.
                                                                   Except in case of force majeure, if the purchaser has
                                                                   not taken delivery of the butter within the limit speci­
                                                                   fied, the sale shall be cancelled in respect of the
                           Article 1                               remaining quantities.
 1 . The Member States shall , subject to the condi­                                         Article 3
tions laid down in this Regulation and, in particular,
to the maximum quantities specified in paragraph 2 :               1.     Butter from private storage shall qualify for aid
                                                                   of 70 units of account per 100 kilograms.
(a) sell at a reduced price butter which has been the
     subject of the measures provided for in Article 6             2. The person who concluded the storage contract
     ( 1 ) of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 and has been              shall, before 5 December 1977, submit an application
     stored for at least four months ;                             for removal from storage to the intervention agency
                                                                   with which he concluded the contract, stating the
(b) grant aid in respect of butter which has been ,                quantities of butter he proposes to remove from
     during the 1977/78 milk year, the subject of a                storage and specifying its characteristics in the
     storage contract pursuant to Article 8 (2) of Regula­         manner determined by the intervention agency, and
     tion (EEC) No 985/ 68 and which has been stored               the date fixed for removal from storage.
     under contract for at least four months on the date
     of the appplication referred to in Article 3 (2).             The agency shall without delay issue an acknowledge­
                                                                   ment of receipt authorizing or refusing, where appro­
(>) OJ No L 190 , 14 . 7 . 1976 , p. 1 .                           priate in part, in accordance with Article 4, removal
(2) See page 29 of this Official Journal .                         from storage in pursuance of this Regulation .
 ---pagebreak--- No L 277/ 18                       Official Journal of the European Communities                              29 . 10 . 77
                         Article 4                           — Boter tegen verlaagde prijs (Verordening (EEG) nr.
                                                                   2370/77)',
The Member States shall take the appropriate steps to
ensure as far as possible a balanced distribution of the     — 'Smør til nedsat pris (forordning (EØF) nr.
quantities of butter referred to in Article 1 , having             2370/77)',
regard in particular to the quantity of butter normally      — Burro a prezzo ridotto (regolamento (CEE) n .
sold by the parties concerned for direct consumption .             2370/77)'.
                         Article 5                                                      Article 7
1 . The butter shall be used exclusively for direct           1.     If the butter is resold, the obligations as regards
consumption in the Member State where removal                 the use to be made of the butter and the latest date for
from storage takes place .                                    packing shall be incorporated in the contract of sale.
For the purposes of this Regulation, Belgium and              Such contracts shall be drawn up in writing and shall
Luxembourg shall be regarded as a single Member               specify that the purchaser is aware of the penalties
State .
                                                              imposed by the relevant Member State for breaches of
2. The butter shall be marketed in packets                    the aforesaid obligations.
weighing not more than 500 grams, bearing on the              2. Holders of butter shall keep stock records setting
upper surface, in letters at least 5 mm high :                out in respect of each delivery the name and address
(a) one or more of the following designations :               of the purchaser and the quantity purchased.
     — 'Christmas butter',                                    3 . However, at the retail stage a record of quantities
     — ' Beurre de Noel',                                     purchased shall suffice . The retail trade may only sell
     — 'Weihnachtsbutter',                                    the butter for direct consumption .
     — 'Kerstboter ,
     — 'Julesmer ,                                                                      Article 8
     — 'Burro di Natale' ;
                                                              With regard to butter from private storage, the provi­
(b) the maximum price referred to in Article 1 1 (2),         sions of Regulation (EEC) No 1687/76 shall apply
     where the Member State concerned has fixed such          from     the date when     the butter is removed from
     a price pursuant to that provision .                     storage .
However, the Member States may fix the maximum
weight referred to above at 250 grams.                                                  Article 9
3.      The butter shall be packed before 31 December         For the purposes of Regulation (EEC) No 1687/76 the
 1977, in the Member State where the butter is to be          butter shall be considered as having complied with
offered for sale for direct consumption, and in an esta­      the prescribed use and/or destination when it is esta­
blishment approved for the purpose by the Member              blished that it has been put up in small packets and
State concerned and on the conditions determined by           taken over by the retail trade in the Member State
 that Member State .                                          where it was removed from storage.
                         Article 6                                                     Article 10
 1 . The butter shall remain in its original packing          The aid provdided for in Article 3 ( 1 ) shall be paid
until it is put up in small packets.                          only on production of the proof referred to in Article
 It shall be accompanied by a list of the packages             12 of Regulation (EEC) No 1687/76, and in respect of
 enabling the butter to be identified and specifying the      the quantities specified in such documents.
 date of removal from storage.
                                                                                        Article 11
 2. Packages containing butter in bulk or put up in
 small packets shall bear, in tetters at least 2 cm high,      1.    The Member States shall take all necessary steps
 one or more of the following designations :                  to ensure that the effect of the price reduction or aid
 — 'Butter at reduced price (Regulation (EEC) No               is felt at the retail stage.
     2370/77)',
                                                               2.    To this end, Member States shall fix a maximum
 — 'Beurre a prix réduit (règlement (CEE) n°                   retail price for the butter.
     2370/77)',
 — Butter zur herabgesetzten Preisen (Verordnung               However, the Member States may substitute for such a
     (EWG) Nr. 2370/77)',                                      provision other provisions of equivalent effect.
 ---pagebreak--- 29 . 10 . 77                      Official Journal of the European Communities                        No L 277/ 19
                       Article 12                           5. The provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1687/76
                                                            shall apply with effect from the date when the butter
1.    Subject to the conditions laid down in this
                                                            is put up in small packs.
Article and to a maximum of 7 000 tonnes, Italy shall
grant aid of 70 units of account per 100 kilograms for                                Article 13
the direct consumption of Italian Butter manufactured
from cream .                                                Member States shall inform the Commission on the
                                                            Tuesday of each week :
2.    The holders of the butter involved shall , before
10 December 1977, send an application for aid to the        — of the quantities of butter from public storage
Italian intervention agency setting the quantity, the           which have been the subject of contracts of sale
date and the packing centre where the butter is to be           with the intervention agency pursuant to this Regu­
                                                                lation ,
put up in small packets .
                                                            — of the quantities of butter from private storage in
3 . The Italian intervention agency shall as soon as            respect of which the Member State has issued
possible after the butter concerned has been                    acknowledgments of receipt as provided for in the
purchased and put up for sale for direct consumption ,          second subparagraph of Article 3 (2), or in the case
authorize or refuse, where appropriate in part, the aid         of Italy, the document provided for in Article 12
referred to in paragraph 1 .                                    (3) specifying the quantities authorized or refused .
4. The provisions of Articles 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 1 1 of                               Article 14
this Regulation shall apply to the distribution of the
quantity of butter referred to in paragraph 1 , its pack­   This Regulation shall enter into force on the day
aging in small packets, its marketing and the payment       following its publication in the Official Journal of
of the aid .                                                the European Communities.
             This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
             States .
             Done at Brussels, 28 October 1977 .
                                                                      For the Commission
                                                                         Finn GUNDELACH
                                                                            Vice-President