CELEX: 51997PC0607
Language: en
Date: 1997-12-01
Title: Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on the financing of the common agricultural policy (consolidated version)

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                     Brussels, 01.12.1997
                                                     COM(97) 607 final
                                                     97/0317 (CNS)
                                      Proposal for a
                            COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
                   on the financing of the common agricultural policy
                                  (consolidated version)
                              (presented by the Commission)
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 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                 EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
 1.   In the context of a people's Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to
      simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible
      to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance to make use
      of the specific rights it gives him.
       This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended
       several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought
       partly in the original instrument and partly in later amending ones. Considerable
       research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the
       current rules.
                        «
       For this reason a consolidation of rules that have frequently been amended is also
       essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent.
2.    On 1 April 1987, the Commission therefore decided to instruct its staff that all legis-
      lative measures should be consolidated after no more than ten amendments, stressing
      that this was a minimum requirement and that departments should endeavour to con-
      solidate at even shorter intervals the texts for which they were responsible, to ensure
      that the Community rules were clear and readily understandable.
3.    The Conclusions of the Presidency of the Edinburgh European Council (December
      1992) confirmed this, stressing the importance of legislative consolidation as it offers
      certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time.
       It must be undertaken in full compliance with the normal Community legislative pro-
       cedure.
       Given that no changes of substance may be made to the instruments affected by
       legislative consolidation. Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed, by
       an interinstitutional agreement dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated proce-
       dure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codification instruments.
4.     The purpose of this proposal (2) for legislative consolidation of Council Regulation
       (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural
       policy prepared by the Legal Service in conjunction with the Directorate-General VI,
       is to undertake official codification of this type. The new regulation will supersede
       the various regulations incorporated in it ( 2 ); their content is fully preserved, and
       they arc brought together with only such formal amendments as arc required by the
       codification exercise itself.
4a.    Articles 6, 6a, 6b, 6c and 7 of the abovcracntioned Regulation (EEC) No 729/70,
      which specifically concern the EAGGF Guidance Section, have not been included in
       the present proposal for consolidation, since they have become obsolete for the follo-
      wing reasons:
       (a) Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 (3) as amended by Regulation
             (EEC) No 2085/93 states that 'Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, with the exception
             of Article 1 (1), (2) and (3), shall not apply as regards the Fund, subject to the
             implementation of Article 15 of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 and Article 33 of
             Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88'.
    (*) Entered in the legislative programme for 1996.
    (2) Sec Part B of the Annex.
    (3) Council Regulation of 19 December 198S laying down provisions for implementing Regulation
          (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the EAGGF Guidance Section.
                                          I                2
 ---pagebreak---       (b) Article 15 of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 (•) and Article 33 of Regulation
             (EEC) No 4253/88 ( 2 ) are transitional provisions relating to the rules for the
             Structural Funds which applied before the entry into force of the abovementio-
             ncd Regulations. These provisions set two 'cut-off' dates: 1 January 1989 and 30
             September 1995 ( 3 ). As these dates have now passed, the transitional period is
             over.
      (c)    Certain projects are still 'subject to suspension for judicial reasons' and a num-
             ber of projects decided on by the Commission prior to 1 January 1989 have not
             yet been wound up (cf. Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 as amended
             by Regulation (EEC) No 2085/93) but these considerations do not affect the
             above approach, since:
             —     the court concerned may, in accordance with general principles of law, rule
                   on the facts in dispute in the light of the legislation in force at the time the
                   legal situation in question arose, even if the said legislation has in the
                   meantime become obsolete or even been specifically repealed at a later
                   date;
             —     for any measure for the reduction or cancellation of assistance from the
                   Fund (EAGGF Guidance Section), the Commission has been required since
                   3 August 1993 to use only Article 24 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88,
                   since Regulation (EEC) No 355/77 ( 4 ) was repealed in its entirety on that
                   date (date of entry into force of Regulation (EEC) No 20S5/93 amending
                   Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88) without any provision having been made for
                   exceptions.
                   It should be noted that, although the original version of Article 10 (3) of
                   Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 stated that 'By way of derogation from para-
                   graph 2 ( 5 ), Articles 6 to 15 and 17 to 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 355/77
                   shall continue to apply to projects submitted by the date of entry into force
                   of the Council Decision referred to in paragraph 1 (6) (...)', the said Article
                   10 of Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 as amended by Regulation (EEC) No
                   2085/93 no longer refers to the continued applicability of certain provisions
                   of Regulation (EEC) No 355/77 to 'projects submitted by the date of entry
                   into force' of the above mentioned Council Decision ( 6 ).
5.  This legislative consolidation proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary
    consolidation, in all the official languages, of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 and the
    instruments amending it, carried out by the Office for Official Publications of the
    European Communities, by means of the data-processing system referred to in the
    conclusions of the European Council meeting at Edinburgh. Although the articles
    have been given new numbers, the old numbering has been retained in the margin for
    ease of reference; the correlation between the old and new numbers is shown in a
    table set out in the Annex, Part A to the consolidated Regulation.
   (*) Council Regulation of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness
          and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European
          Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments.
    2
   ( ) Council Regulation of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation
          (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds bet-
         ween themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing
          financial instruments.
   (3) Article 15 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93
          states that 'the provisions referred to in Article 3 (4) and (5) shall lay down specific transitional
          provisions relating to the implementation of this Article, including provisions to ensure (...) that
          the grant of assistance for projects granted assistance before 1 January 1989 shall be finally con-
        " eluded no later than 30 September 1995'.
   (4) Council Regulation of 1 February 1977 on common measures to improve the conditions under
         which agricultural products are processed and marketed.
   (5) Paragraph 2 reads 'With effect from the date of entry into force of the Council Decision referred
          to in paragraph 1, Council Regulation (EEC) No 355/77 is hereby repealed'.
   (6) Regulation (EEC) No 866/90, which entered into force on 1 January 1990.
                                                     2a
 ---pagebreak---                                                     Proposal for a
                                    COUNdL REGULATION (EC) No .J...
                                                           of...
                              on the financing of the common agricultural policy
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
   Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
   Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
   ment (!),
   Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Audi-
   tors ( 2 ),
   Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and So-
   cial Committee ( 3 ),
1) Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21
   April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural
   policy ( 4 ) has been frequently and substantially amen-
   ded ( 5 ); whereas for reasons of clarity and rationality the
   said Regulation should be consolidated;
2) Whereas by means of Regulation No 25 (6) on the fi-                     729/70
   nancing of the common agricultural policy, the Council                  (adapted)
   established the European Agricultural Guidance and
   Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), hereinafter referred to as
   'the Fund', which forms part of the general budget of
   the European Union; whereas that Regulation laid down
   under Title I the principles which should apply after the
   transitional period;
3) Whereas at the single market stage, in view of the fact                 729/70
   that price systems are standardised and the agricultural                (adapted)
   policy is a Community policy, the financial consequences
   devolve upon the Community; whereas, in accordance
   with that principle as laid down in Article 2 (2) of Re-
   gulation No 25, refunds on exports to third countries,
   intervention aimed at stabilising agricultural markets,
   and common measures adopted in order to achieve the
   objectives set out in Article 39 (1) (a) of the Treaty,
   including structural adaptation required for the proper
   working of the common market, are financed by the
   Fund;
   0
   ()
         OJ No C...
         OJ No C...
   ()    OJ No C...
   ( 4 ) OJ No L 94, 28. 4.1970, p. 13. Regulation as last amended by
         Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 (OJ No L 125,8. 6.1995, p. 1).
         See Part B of the Annex.
   (6) O J No 30,24.4.1962, p. 992/62. Regulation as last amended by
         Regulation (EEC) No 728/70 (OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 9).
 ---pagebreak--- 4) Whereas, in particular, the principle should be main-       3. 729/70
   tained that the Fund should include a Guarantee Section
   for the expenditure of the: common organisation of the
   agricultural markets and a Guidance Section for com-
   mon expenditure relating to agricultural structure;
   whereas the Commission is responsible for the adminis-
   tration of the Fund and whereas close co-operation be-
   tween Member States and the Commission is provided
   for within a Committee for the European Agricultural
   Guidance and Guarantee Fund;
5) Whereas the responsibility for checking the Fund's             1287/95
   Guarantee Section expenditure lies, in the first place,        (adapted)
   with the Member States, which designate the authorities
   and bodies empowered to effect expenditure; whereas
   the Member States must carry out this task fully and
   effectively; whereas the Commission, being responsible
   for implementing the Community budget, must verify the
   conditions under which payments and checks have been
   made; whereas the Commission can only finance ex-
   penditure where those conditions offer all necessary
   guarantees regarding compliance with Community
   rules; whereas, in a decentralized system of management
   of Community expenditure, it is essential that the Com-
   mission, as the institution responsible for funding, is en-
   titled and enabled to carry out all checks on the man-
   agement of expenditure it considers necessary and that
   there should be full and effective transparency and mu-
   tual assistance between the Member States and the
   Commission;
6) Whereas, during the clearance of accounts, the Commis-         1287/95
   sion is able to determine within a reasonable time the         (adapted)
   total expenditure to be entered against the Guarantee
   Section in the general account only if it has satisfactory
   assurance that the national controls are adequate and.
   transparent and that the paying agencies verify the legal-
   ity and regularity of the payment requests which they
   execute; whereas provision should therefore be made for
   the accreditation of paying agencies by Member States;
   whereas in order to ensure consistency in the standards
   required for accreditation in the Member States, the
   Commission provides guidance on the criteria to be ap-
   plied; whereas, for that purpose, it should be stipulated
   that only expenditure effected by paying agencies ac-
   credited by the Member States should be financed;
   whereas, moreover, in order to ensure the transparency
   of national controls, in particular as regards authoriz-
   ation, validation and payment procedures, the number of
   authorities and bodies to which these responsibilities are
   delegated should, where appropriate, be restricted taking
   account of the constitutional arrangements of each
   Member State;
 ---pagebreak---   7)  Whereas decentralized management of Community              1287/95
      funds, in particular following reform of the common
      agricultural policy, leads to the designation of several
      paying agencies; whereas, therefore, where a Member
      State accredits more than one paying agency, it must
      designate a single contact body to ensure consistency in
      the management of the funds, to provide liaison between
      the Commission and the various accredited paying
      agencies and to ensure that the information requested by
      the Commission concerning the operations of several
      paying agencies is made rapidly available;
 8)   Whereas financial resources must be mobilized by the      3183/87
      Member States in accordance with the needs of their       (adapted)
      disbursing agencies, while the Commission makes ad-
      vance payments against the booking of the expenditure
      effected by the disbursing agencies;
 9)   Whereas two types of decision should be established,      1287/95
      one concerning the clearance of the accounts of the       (adapted)
      Guarantee Section of the Fund, the other determining
      the consequences, including financial corrections, to be
     drawn from the results of the checks on conformity, with
     Community rules, of the expenditures;
10)  Whereas the checks on 'conformity and the ensuing          1287/95
     clearance decisions will therefore no longer be linked to  (adapted)
     the implementation of the budget in a particular finan-
     cial year; whereas the maximum period to which the
     consequences to be drawn from the checks on conform-
     ity may be applied must be determined;
11)  Whereas the financing costs which might arise from the     3183/87
     mobilization of financial resources by the Member States
     could be shared between some Member States and the
     Community;
12)  Whereas measures must be taken to prevent and deal         729/70
     with any irregularities and to recover the amounts lost as
     a result of such irregularities or negligence; whereas the
     financial responsibility for such irregularities or negli-
     gence must be determined;
13)  Whereas Community expenditure must be made subject         729/70
     to close supervision; whereas, in addition to supervision
     carried out by Member States on their own initiative,
     which remains essential, provision should be made for
     verification by officials of the Commission and for it to
     have the right to enlist the help of Member States;
 ---pagebreak--- 14) Whereas information technology needs to be used as         1287/95
    fully as possible for producing the information to be sent (adapted)
    to the Commission; whereas, when carrying out checks,
    the Commission must have full and immediate access to
    information on expenditure held in both documents and
    electronic files;
15) Whereas the extent of Community financing makes it         729/70
    necessary for the European Parliament and the Council      (adapted)
    to be kept regularly informed by means of financial re-
    ports,
    HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
 ---pagebreak---                            Article 1                         729/70             Article 1
1. The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee          (adapted)
Fund (hereinafter called the 'Fund') shall form part of the
general budget of the European Union.
It shall comprise two sections:
—     the Guarantee Section;
—     the Guidance Section.
2.    The Guarantee Section shall finance:
(a) refunds on exports to third countries;
(b) intervention intended to stabilise the agricultural
      markets.
3. The Guidance Section shall finance common measures
adopted in order to achieve the objectives set out in Ar-
ticle 39 (1) (a) of the Treaty, including structural adapta-
tion necessary for the proper working of the common
market. However, such measures shall not take the place
of the activities of the European Investment Bank and the
European Social Fund.
4. Expenditure relating to administrative costs and per-
sonnel borne by Member States and by recipients of aid
from the Fund shall not be taken over by the Fund.
                          Article 2                                             Article 2
1. Refunds on exports to third countries, granted in ac-     (adapted)
cordance with the Community rules within the framework
of the common organisation of agricultural markets, shall
be financed under the terms of Article 1 (2) (a).
2. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a pro-
posal from the Commission, shall, as far as is necessary,
adopt the procedure for financing the refunds referred to
in paragraph 1.
                          Article 3                          (adapted)          Article 3
1. Intervention intended to stabilise the agricultural
markets, undertaken according to Community rules within
the framework of the common organisation of agricultural
markets, shall be financed under Article 1 (2) (b).
2. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a pro-
posal from the Commission, shall before 1 January 1972
lay down the general rules for financing such intervention
which are necessary for the application of paragraph 1.
                          Article 4                          1287/95 Art. 1 (1) Article 4
                                                             (adapted)
1. Each Member State shall communicate to the Com-
mission:
(a) details of the authorities and bodies it accredits to
      pay the expenditure referred to in Articles 2 and 3,
      hereinafter referred to as 'paying agencies';
 ---pagebreak---   (b) where more than one paying agency is accredited, de-      1287/95 Art. 1 (1)
         tails of the authority or body it charges, first, with
         bringing together the information to be supplied to
         the Commission and sending it the same, and, second,
         with promoting the harmonized application of Com-
         munity rules, hereinafter referred to as the 'coordi-
         nating body'.
  2. Paying agencies shall be authorities and bodies of the
  Member States, which, as regards payments in the areas
  for which they are responsible, offer sufficient guarantees
  that:
  (a) the admissibility of claims and compliance with Com-
        munity rules are checked before payment is autho-
        rized,
 (b) the payments effected are correctly and fully recorded
        in the accounts, and
 (c) the necessary documents are submitted within the
        time and in the form laid down in Community rules.
 3. The paying agencies must hold documents justifying
 the payments effected and documents concerning the
 carrying out of the prescribed administrative and physical
 controls. Where the relevant documents arc kept by the
 bodies responsible for authorizing the expenditure, those
 bodies must transmit reports to the paying agency on the
 number of checks carried out, their content and the mea-
 sures taken in the light of the results.
4. Only expenditure effected by accredited paying
 agencies may be the subject of Community financing.
5. Each Member State shall, taking into account its con-
stitutional and institutional structures, limit the number of
accredited paying agencies to the minimum necessary in
order to effect the expenditure referred to in Articles 2
and 3 under satisfactory administrative and accounting
conditions.
6. Each Member State shall communicate to the Com-
mission the following particulars concerning those paying
agencies:
(a) their name and their statutes,
(b) the administrative, accounting and internal control
      conditions under which payments are made relating to
       the implementation of Community rules within the
      framework of the common agricultural policy,
(c) the act of accreditation.
The Commission shall be informed forthwith of any
change in those particulars.
 ---pagebreak---  7. Where one or more of the conditions for accredit-         1287/95 Art. 1(1)
 ation are not, or are no longer, fulfilled by an accredited
 paying agency, accreditation shall be withdrawn ufilcss the
 paying agency makes the necessary adjustments within a
 time limit to be fixed in relation to the seriousness of the
 problem. The Member State concerned shall inform the
 Commission.
 8. The Commission shall make available to Member
 States, by means of advances on the provision for expendi-
 ture effected in a reference period, the financial resources
.required to cover the expenditure referred to in paragraph
 1 (a). Until the advances are paid, the resources necessary
 to meet that expenditure shall be mobilized by the
 Member States in accordance with the needs of their ac-
credited paying agencies.
 9. Detailed rules for the application of this Article
shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 12.
                            Article 5                         1287/95 Art. 1 (2) Article 5
                                                              (adapted)
 1. Member States shall at regular intervals transmit to
the Commission the following information concerning the
accredited paying agencies and coordinating bodies and re-
 lating to transactions financed by the Guarantee Section of
the Fund:
(a) statements of expenditure and estimates of financial
       needs;
(b) annual accounts, accompanied by the information re-
      quired for clearance and an attestation regarding the
      integrality, exactitude and veracity of the accounts
       transmitted.
2. The Commission, after consulting the Fund Commit-
tee referred to in Article 10, shall adopt the decisions set
out in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5.
3. The Commission shall decide on monthly advances
against the allocations of expenditure effected by the ac-
credited paying agencies. Expenditure for October shall be
attributed to October if it is effected from 1 to 15 October
and to November if it is effected from 16 to 31 October.
Advance payments shall be made to the Member State not
later than the third working day of the second month fol-
lowing that in which the expenditure is effected.
Additional advances may be made, the Fund Committee
being informed at the next consultation;
4. The Commission shall, before 30 April of the year
following the financial year concerned, on the basis of the
information referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1, clear
the accounts of the paying agencies.
 ---pagebreak---   The accounts clearance decision shall cover the integrality,  1287/95 Art. 1 (2)
  exactitude and veracity of the accounts submitted. The       (adapted)
  decision shall not prejudice the adoption of a subsequent
  decision pursuant to paragraph 5.
  5. The Commission shall decide on the expenditure to
  be excluded from the Community financing referred to in
  Articles 2 and 3 where it finds that expenditure has not
  been effected in compliance with Community rules.
 Before a decision to refuse financing is taken, the results
 of the Commission's checks and the replies of the Member
 State concerned shall be notified in writing, after which the
 two parties shall endeavour to reach agreement on the ac-
 tion to be taken.
 If no agreement is reached, the Member State may ask for
 a procedure to be initiated with a view to mediating be-
 tween the respective positions within a period of four
 months, the results of which shall be set out in a report
 sent to and examined by the Commission, before a deci-
 sion to refuse financing is taken.
The Commission shall evaluate the amounts to be excluded
 having regard in particular to the degree of non-com-
pliance found. The Commission shall take into account the
 nature and gravity of the infringement and the financial
 loss suffered by the Community.
A refusal to finance may not involve expenditure effected
prior to twenty-four months preceding the Commission's
written communication of the results of those checks to
the Member State concerned. However, the fifth subpara-
graph shall not apply to the financial consequences:
(a) of irregularities as referred to in Article 7 (2);
(b) concerning national aids, or infringements, for which
       the procedures referred to in Articles 93 and 169 of
      the Treaty have been initiated.
6. Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall
be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 12. Those rules shall cover in particular the attesta-
tion of the accounts referred to in paragraph 1 and the
procedures relating to the decisions referred to in para-
graphs 3, 4 and 5.
                           Article 6                           1287/95 Art. 1 (3)  Article 5a
To accommodate any difficulties which certain Member
States might encounter in setting up the system provided
for in Article 4 (8), appropriate measures enabling some
or all of the interest to be charged to the Community may
be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 12.
                                           10
 ---pagebreak---                           Article 7                             729/70             Article 8
1. The Member States shall, in accordance with national         (adapted)
provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative
action, take the measures necessary to:
(a) satisfy themselves that transactions financed by the
     Fund are actually carried out and are executed cor-
     rectly,
(b) prevent and deal with irregularities;
(c)  recover suras lost as a result of irregularities or negli-
     gence.
The Member States shall inform the Commission of the
measures taken for those purposes and in particular of the
state of the administrative and judicial procedures.
2. In the absence of total recovery, the financial conse-
quences of irregularities or negligence shall be borne by
the Community, with the exception of the consequences of
irregularities or negligence attributable to administrative
authorities or other bodies of the Member States.
The suras recovered shall be paid to the accredited paying      1287/95 Art. 1 (4)
agencies and deducted by them from the expenditure fi-
nanced by the Fund. The interest on sums recovered or
paid late shall be paid into the Fund.
3. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a pro-        729/70
posal from the Commission, shall lay down general rules
for the application of this Article.
                          Article 8                                                Article 9
1. Member States shall make available to the Commis-
sion all information required for the proper working of the
Fund and shall take all suitable measures to facilitate the
supervision which the Commission may consider it necess-
ary to undertake within the framework of the management
of Community financing, including inspections on the spot.
Member States shall communicate to the Commission
provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative
action which they have adopted for the application of legal
acts of the Community relating to the common agricultural
policy insofar as those acts have financial consequences for
the Fund.
2. Without prejudice to the supervision effected bv             1287/95 Art. 1 (5)
Member States in accordance with national provisions laid       (adapted)
down by law, regulation or administrative action and with-
out prejudice to Article 188c of the Treaty, or to any in-
spection organized on the basis of point (c) of Article 209
of the Treaty, authorized representatives appointed bv the
Commission to carry out inspections on the spot shall have
access to the books and all other documents, including in-
formation created or stored in electronic form, relating to
expenditure financed by the Fund.
They may in particular check:
(a) whether administrative practices are in accordance
     with Community rules;
                                            11
         O
 ---pagebreak--- (b) whether the requisite supporting documents exist and      729/70
      tally with the transactions financed by the Fund;
(c) the conditions under which transactions financed by
      the Fund are carried out and checked.
The Commission shall give due notice before the inspec-
tion is carried out to the Member State concerned or to
the Member State on whose territory it is to take place.
Officials of the Member State concerned may take part in
the inspection.
At the request of the Commission and with the agreement
of the Member State, inspections or inquiries concerning
the transactions referred to in this Regulation shall be car-
ried out by the competent authorities of that Member
State. Officials of the Commission may also participate.
To make verification more effective the Commission may,
with the agreement of the Member States concerned, ar-
range for administrative authorities of those States to par-
ticipate in certain inspections or inquiries.
3. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a pro-
posal from the Commission, shall, as far as is necessary,
lay down general rules for the application of this Article.
                           Article 9                                    Article 10
Before 1 July of each year, the Commission shall submit to    (adapted)
the European Parliament and to the Council a financial
report on the administration of the Fund during the pre-
ceding financial year and, in particular, on the state of its
resources and the nature of its expenditure and the condi-
tions for achieving Community financing.
                           Article 10                                   Article U
The Committee for the European Agricultural Guidance
and Guarantee Fund (hereinafter called the 'Fund Com-
mittee') shall assist the Commission in administering the
Fund, as laid down in Articles 11 to 14.
                           Article 11                                   Article 12
The Fund Committee shall consist of representatives of the    (adapted)
Member States and of the Commission. Each Member
State shall be represented on the Fund Committee by not
more than five officials.
The Fund Committee shall have a representative of the
Commission as Chairman.
                           Article 12                                   Article 13
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to
be followed, the matter shall be referred to the Fund
Committee by the Chairman, either on his own initiative
or at the request of the representative of a Member Sate.
 ---pagebreak---  2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to      95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC
 the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The
 Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a
 time which the Chairman may lay down according to the
 urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by
 the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in
 the case of decisions which the Council is required to
 adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of
 the representatives of the Member States within the Com-
 mittee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Ar-
 ticle. The Chairman shall not vote.
 The Commission shall adopt measures which shall be im-       729/70
 mediately applicable. However, if such measures arc not in
 accordance with the Opinion delivered by the Fund Com-       (adapted)
 mittee, they shall at once be communicated by the Cora-
 mission to the Council. In that case, the Commission may
 defer for not more than one month from the date of such
communication, application of the measures which it has
 adopted.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may adopt a
different decision within one month.
                          Article 13                                                 Article 14
 1.    The Fund Committee shall be consulted:
(a) in cases where provision is made for it to be con-
       sulted;
(b) for the assessment of the Fund's credits to be entered
       in the Commission's estimate for the coming financial
      year and, if necessary, in additional estimates;
(c) on draft proposals from the Commission to the Coun-
      cil concerning the application of this Regulation and
       draft reports on the Fund to be submitted to the
       Council.
2. The Fund Committee may examine any other ques-
tion referred to it by its Chairman either on his own initi-
ative or at the request of a representative of a Member
State.
It shall be informed regularly of the activities of the Fund.
                          Article 14                                                 Article 15
The Chairman shall convene the Fund Committee.
Secretarial services shall be provided for the Fund Com-
mittee by the Commission.
The Fund Committee shall lay down its own rules of pro-
cedure.
                                           13
 ---pagebreak---                           Article 15                          729/70         Article 16
 1. The provisions of. Articles 4, 5, 6, 7 (2), second sub-   1287/95 Art. 2
 paragraph and 8 (2), first subparagraph, shall apply from    (adapted)
 the financial year beginning on 16 October 1995.
 2. Refusal to grant financing as referred to in Article
5 (5) may not relate to expenditure claimed against a fi-
nancial year prior to 16 October 1992, but without preju-
dice to decisions regarding the clearance of the financial
years prior to 15 June 1995.
                          Article 16
Regulation- (EEC) No 729/70 is hereby repealed.
References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed
as references to this Regulation and should be read in ac-
cordance with the correlation table set out in Part A of the
Annex.
                          Article 17
This Regulation enters into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels ...
                                         For the Council
                                          Vie President
                                          14
 ---pagebreak---                                                              ANNEX
                                                              Part A
                                                    CORRELATION TABLE
 Regulation <EEC) No 729/70                                       This Regulation
 Article 1                                                        Article 1
 Article 2                                                        Article 2
 Article 3(1)                                                     Article 3(1)
 Article 3 (2)                                                    Article 3 (2)
 Article 3 (3)
 Article 4 (1), first subparagraph, point (a), first subpara- Article 4 (1), point (a)
 graph
 Article 4 (1),firstsubparagraph, point (a), second subpara- Article 4 (2), point (a)
 graph, first indent
 Article 4 (1), first subparagraph, point (a), second subpara- Article 4 (2), point (b)
 graph, second indent
 Article 4 (1), first subparagraph, point (a), second subpara- Article 4 (2), point (c)
 graph, third indent
 Article 4 (1), first subparagraph, point (a), third subpara- Article 4 (3)
graph                                                                                    *'
Article 4 (1), first subparagraph, point (b)                      Article 4 (1), point (b)
Article 4 (1), second subparagraph                                Article 4 (4)
Article 4 (2)                                                     Article 4 (5)
Article 4 (3), first subparagraph, first indent                   Article 4 (6), first subparagraph, point (a)
Article 4 (3), first subparagraph, second indent                  Article 4 (6), first subparagraph, point (b)
Article 4 (3), first subparagraph, third indent                  Article 4 (6), first subparagraph, point (c)
Article 4 (3), second subparagraph                                Article 4 (6), second subparagraph
Article 4 (4)                                                    Article 4 (7)
Article 4 (5)                                                    Article 4 (8)
Article 4 (6)                                                    Article 4 (9)
Article 5(1)                                                     Article 5 (1)
Article 5 (2), introductory wording                              Article 5 (2)
Article 5 (2), point (a)                                         Article 5 (3)
Article 5 (2), point (b), first subparagraph                     Article 5 (4), first subparagraph
Article 5 (2), point (b), second subparagraph                    Article 5 (4), second subparagraph, first sentence
Article 5 (2), point (b), third subparagraph                     Article 5 (4), second subparagraph, second sentence
Article 5 (2), point (c), first subparagraph                     Article 5 (5), first subparagraph
Article 5 (2), point (c), second subparagraph                    Article 5 (5), second subparagraph
Article 5 (2), point (c), third subparagraph                     Article 5 (5), third subparagraph
Article 5 (2), point (c), fourth subparagraph                    Article 5 (5), fourth subparagraph
Article 5 (2), point (c), fifth subparagraph, first sentence     Article 5 (5), fifth subparagraph
Article 5 (2), point (c), fifth subparagraph, second sentence Article 5 (5), sixth subparagraph
Article 5 (2), point (c), fifth subparagraph, second sentence, Article 5 (5), sixth subparagraph, point (a)
first indent
                                                               15
 ---pagebreak---  Regulation (EEC) No 729/70                                      This Regulation
 Article 5 (2), point (c), fifth subparagraph, second sentence, Article 5 (5), sixth subparagraph, point (b)
 second indent
 Article 5 (3)                                                   Article 5 (6)
 Article 5a                                                      Article 6
Article 6
Article 6a
Article 6b
Article 6c
Article 7
Article 8 (1), first subparagraph, first indent                  Article 7 (1), first subparagraph, point (a)
Article 8 (1), first subparagraph, second indent                 Article 7 (1),firstsubparagraph, point (b)
Article 8 (1), first subparagraph, third indent                  Article 7 (1), first subparagraph, point (c)
Article 8(1), second subparagraph                                Article 7(1), second subparagraph
Article 8 (2)                                                    Article 7 (2)
Article 8 (3)                                                    Article 7 (3)
Article 9 (1)                                                    Article 8 (1)
Article 9 (2), first subparagraph, first sentence                Article 8 (2), first subparagraph
Article 9 (2), first subparagraph, second sentence               Article 8 (2), second subparagraph
Article 9 (2), first subparagraph, second sentence, point (a) Article 8 (2), second subparagraph, point (a)
Article 9 (2),firstsubparagraph, second sentence, point (b) Article 8 (2), second subparagraph, point (b)
Article 9 (2), first subparagraph, second sentence, point (c) Article 8 (2), second subparagraph, point (c)
Article 9 (2), second subparagraph                               Article 8 (2), third subparagraph
Article 9 (2), third subparagraph                                Article 8 (2), fourth subparagraph
Article 9 (2), fourth subparagraph                               Article 8.(2), fifth subparagraph
Article 9 (3)                                                   Article 8 (3)
Article 10                                                      Article 9
Article 11                                                      Article 10
Article 12 (1)                                                  Article 11
Article 12 (2)
Article 13 (1)                                                  Article 12 (1)
Article 13 (2)                                                  Article 12 (2), first subparagraph
Article 13 (3), first subparagraph                              Article 12 (2), second subparagraph
Article 13 (3), second subparagraph                             Article 12 (2), third subparagraph
Article 14                                                      Article 13
Article 15                                                      Article 14
Article 16 (1)
Article 16 (2)
                                                                Article 15
                                                                Article 16
                                                                Article 17
                                                                ANNEX
                                                              16
 ---pagebreak---                                                     Part B
                             Regulations amending Regulation (EEC) No 729/70
                                                                                Official Journal
                                                                            No      page          date
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1566/72 of 20 July 1972                        L167        5        25. 7.1972
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2788/72 of 28 December 1972                    L295         1     30.12.1972
Council Regulation (EEC) No 929/79 of 8 May 1979                           L117        4        12. 5.1979
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3509/80 of 22 December 1980                    L367       87      31.12. 1980
Council Regulation (EEC) No 870/85 of 26 March 1985                        L95         1         2. 4.1985
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3768/85 of 20 December 1985                    L362        8      31. 12. 1985
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3769/85 of 20 December 1985                    L362       17      31. 12. 1985
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3183/87of 19 October 1987                     L304         1      27.10.1987
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2048/88 of 24 June 1988                       L185         1        15. 7.1988
Council Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 of 22 May 1995                         L125         1         8. 6. 1995
                                                     17
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    ISSN 0254-1475
                                                            COM(97) 607 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                03 01 06
                                    Catalogue number : CB-CO-97-619-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-78-27605-7
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