CELEX: 51988PC0422
Language: en
Date: 1988-07-28
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) laying down general rules on the disposal of alcohol held by intervention agencies and obtained from the distillation operations provided for in Articles 35, 36 and 39 of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 (presented by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
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COM (88) 422
Vol. 1988/0155
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                       COM ( 88 ) 422 final
                                                       Brussels , 28 July 1988
                             Proposai for a
                       COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
      laying down general rules on the disposal of alcohol held by
   intervention agencies and obtained from the distillation operations
  provided for in Articles 35 , 36 and 39 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 822 / 87
                     ( presented by the . Commission )
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      C*n yzt
                                   EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Changes since 1982 in Community wine sector legislation have made the
Community responsible for disposing of alcohol from the distillation
operations referred to in Articles 35 , 36 and 39 of Regulation ( EEC ) No
822 / 87 , held by intervention agencies .
Nonetheless it was not until 1986 that the Council adopted a Regulation laying
down general rules for the disposal of this alcohol ( 1 ). Although those rules
were only for a limited period , up to the end of 1986 , they gave the
Commission the opportunity of acquiring some experience as it attempted ,
twice , to sell some of the stocks of alcohol .
These attempts were unsuccessful and showed the mechanisms adopted to be
cumbersome ; the procedure for selling alcohol from distillation under Article
No 39 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 822 / 87 proved , that it was not possible to sell
even small quantities for the normal uses of alcohol at the price which would
have to be charged on those markets .
In view of the above , a procedure is now being proposed which will be uniform ,
in that it will treat all alcohol from compulsory distillation held by
intervention agencies in the same way , and will also be simpler , in that sales
are to be carried out in a single stage , the preliminary one which had turned
out to be pointless being eliminated .
The disposal of such alcohol in certain sectors or for certain uses and
destinations could raise major difficulties . By way of an example , alcohol of
vinous origin could compete with synthetic alcohol or with other petrochemical
products when being disposed of . Care must be taken to ensure that the
balance of the market in alcohol is not worsened by any such sales . Problems
of this sort also have an effect on external markets .
At present , the Community fuel sector could provide a preferential possibility
of disposal . However , for the sake of flexible application , provision should
be made for the possibility of any other sales .
It is also proposed that the minimum selling price be abolished . The
Commission , however , reserves the right to take no action on tenders received .
( 1 ) Régulation ( EEC ) No 139 / 86 ; OJ No L 19 , 25.1.1986 , p. 1
 ---pagebreak---                                          Proposal for a
                              COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
             laying down general rules on the disposal of alcohol held by
          intervention agencies and obtained from the distillation operations
         provided for in Articles 35 , 36 and 39 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 822 / 87
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community ,
Having regard to Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 822 /87 of 16 March 1987 on the
common organization of the market in wine ( 1 ), as last amended by Regulation
( EEC ) No 1441 / 88 ( 2 ), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article
37(2 ) and Article 40(4 ) thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Whereas Article 37(2 ) of Regulation ( EEC ) No 822 / 87 provides that alcohol from
the distillation operations provided for in Articles 35 and 36 of that
Regulation is to be disposed of in other sectors , under conditions to be
determined ; whereas , in the case of alcohol from the distillation operations
provided for in Article 39 of that Regulation , the conditions under which
intervention agencies may carry out operations concerning products taken over
before they are put on the market and the arrangements for disposal of
products held by intervention agencies should be laid down ;
Whereas the procedure for disposal of alcohol from the distillation operations
provided for in Article 39 of Regulation No 822 / 87 should be the same as that
for alcohol from the operations provided for in Articles 35 and 36 of that
Regulation , held by intervention agencies ;
( 1 ) OJ No L 84 , 27 . 3.1987 , p. 1 .
( 2 ) OJ No L 112 , Zi . S. 1988 , p. 1 .
                                                                                   3
 ---pagebreak---                                                2 -
Whereas the alcohol should be sold by the tendering procedure , which offers
 the same guarantees of non-discrimination between Community operators as the
auction procedure also provided for in Artie Le 40 ( 3 ) of Regulation ( EEC )
No 822 / 87 and has the additional advantage of being generally more accessible
to operators in the alcohol sector ;
Whereas experience in the two attempts to sell alcohol by a tendering
procedure , organized in 1986 under Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 139 / 86 laying
down general rules for the disposal of alcohol obtained from the distillation
operations referred to in Articles 39 , 40 and 41 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 337 / 79
and held by intervention agencies ( 3 ), shows that there is no point in trying
to sell alcohol from those distillation operations on the markets for the
various normal uses , because those markets are at present saturated ;       whereas
therefore the first stage of the tendering procedure as previously laid down
in Article 2(a ) and ( b ) of Regulation ( EEC ) No 139 / 86 may be dispensed with ;
Whereas the disturbance of the markets in alcohol and spirituous beverages in
the Community should be avoided with certainty ;
Whereas the possibility of such alcohol creating additional difficulties which
could arise under the present conditions of the market in other sectors of
utilization or for certain destinations should also be avoided ;        whereas such
difficulties seem slighter in the fuel sector ;        whereas a preferential outlet
must be sought in that sector without however excluding any other
opportunities of sale ;
Whereas , in order not to disturb competition with products which may be
replaced by alcohol the Commission should be granted the possibility of taking
no action on tenders received ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
                                           Article 1
1.    Alcohol obtained from the distillation operations provided for in Articles
      35 , 36 and 39 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 822 / 87 and held by intervention
      agencies shall be disposed of by tendering procedures . Such procedures
      shall be initiated in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
      8 ) of Regulation ( EEC ) No 822 / 87 .
( ; • 0J Klo L 19 , 25.1.1986 , p . 1 .                                           V
 ---pagebreak---                                            - 3 -
2.    The conditions governing tendering procedures must ensure equality of
      treatment for all interested parties wherever they are established in the
      Community .
3.    Tendering procedures shall be initiated for a given utilization and / or
      destination .
4.    Admission to the tendering procedures shall be limited to interested
      parties who have guaranteed compliance with their obligations by putting
      up a security .
5.    The alcohol may not be denatured before the tendering procedure .
                                        Article 2
For each tendering procedure as provided for in Article 1(1 ), the Commission
may , in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 83 of Regulation
( EEC ) No 822 / 87 , take no action on tenders received , in particular where it is
clear that the acceptance of such tenders is likely to lead to disturbance
either in certain sectors of industry or for certain destinations .
                                        Article 3
The conditions under which tendering procedures are organized and in
particular those relating to checks to be performed and guarantees to be
provided ( e.g. securities and possible denaturing ) shall be determined in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 83 of Regulation ( EEC ) No
822 / 87 .
                                        Article 4
During the third year of application of this Regulation the Commission shall
present a report on alcohol saLes .      The Council , acting on a Commission
proposal , shall decide whether it is necessary to retain or adjust the
measures introduced .
                                                                                    J
 ---pagebreak---                                       - и
                                    Artide 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply to products taken over by the intervention agencies after
1 September 1982 and still held when it enters into force .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States .
Done at                                          For the Council
                                                                          €
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           - AVIS DES PARTENAIRES SOCIAUX                                                                >jr
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