CELEX: 31986D0648
Language: en
Date: 1986-12-16 00:00:00
Title: 86/648/EEC: Council Decision of 16 December 1986 on the grant of a national aid in the form of a payment on account of the premium for ewes in the sheepmeat sector in France

31 . 12 . 86                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                       No L 382 / 3
                                                        COUNCIL DECISION
                                                         of 16 December 1986
                  on the grant of a national aid in the form of a payment on account of the premium for ewes in
                                                    the sheepmeat sector in France
                                                            ( 86 / 648 / EEC )
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                 market prices in French francs which are comparable to those
                                                                           of 1981 ; whereas the turnover of the farmers concerned is
                                                                           currently dropping very considerably as a result ;
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
 Economic Community , and in particular the third
 subparagraph of Article 93 ( 2 ) thereof,                                Whereas the Commission , in view of the high level of
                                                                           indebtedness of the farmers and of the ensuing cash flow
                                                                          difficulties , has authorized the French Government , as an
                                                                          exceptional measure , to make a payment on account
Having regard to the request submitted by the French                       amounting to 75 % of the premium for ewes to farmers
 Government on 2 December 1986 ,                                          whose holdings are situated in the less-favoured areas of
                                                                          France ;
Whereas Articles 92 , 93 and 94 of the Treaty , which concern
national aid , were made applicable to the production and                 Whereas , however , the same acute cash flow problems are a
marketing of the sheepmeat and goatmeat products referred                 burden on all French sheep farmers whether or not their
to in Article 23 of Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1 837 / 80 of           holdings are situated in a less-favoured area ; whereas the
27 June 1980 on the common organization of the market in                  relevant rules provide for the possibility of making a payment
sheepmeat and goatmeat (');                                               on account only to holdings situated in less-favoured
                                                                          areas ;
Whereas the two consecutive periods of drought in the                     Whereas the French Government has decided to come to the
summer of 1985 and the summer of 1986 resulted in serious
                                                                          aid of those farmers whose holdings are situated in an area
feeding problems in the sheepmeat sector in France ; whereas              which is not less-favoured ; whereas , to this end , the French
farmers have been obliged to slaughter a large proportion of              Government has considered advancing to them also , but
their herds and to incur debts to buy replacement fodder as               from national funds , a sum corresponding to 75 % of the
feed for the animals which were not slaughtered ;                         premium for ewes which those farmers may claim at the end
                                                                          of the marketing year , i.e. in March 1987 ;
Whereas the additional supply of meat resulting from this
abnormal slaughter of herds has resulted in a considerable                Whereas the French Government notified this projected
drop in the market prices of sheepmeat in France ; whereas ,              national aid to the Commission in accordance with Article 93
furthermore , the debts incurred by farmers to purchase                   ( 3 ) of the Treaty ;
fodder which otherwise would have been unnecessary weigh
heavily on the cash flow of farmers and even threaten the
survival of some holdings ;                                               Whereas the Commission considered that the projected aid
                                                                          was not compatible with the common market , and
                                                                          particurlarly with the common organization provided for by
                                                                          Regulation ( EEC ) No 1837 / 80 ;
Whereas the considerable drop in the pound sterling on the
exchange markets as from August 1986 has stimulated
United Kingdom exports of sheepmeat to the French market ;                Whereas the drop on the sheepmeat market in France is the
whereas this meat may be supplied at relatively low prices in             result of the unforeseeable and abnormal combination of two
French francs as a result of the exchange rate trends ; whereas           factors foreign to the normal operation of that market , and
this additional low-priced supply has also affected the level of          whereas this drop represents a heavy burden on the income of
French prices , which were already falling as a result of the             the farmers in question ;
effects of the drought ;
                                                                          Whereas there are therefore exceptional circumstances to
Whereas the combination of these two factors foreign to the               justify considering the national aid in question as a
normal operation of the said market has resulted in current               derogation , to the extent and for the period strictly necessary
                                                                          in order to relieve the cash flow problems of the French
                                                                          farmers in question , as compatible with the common
(M OJ No L 183 , 16 . 7 . 1980 , p. 1 .                                   market ,
 ---pagebreak--- No L 382 / 4                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                31 . 12 . 86
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :                                                                    Article 2
                           Article 1
                                                                   This Decision is addressed to the "French Republic.
The national aid granted by the French Government in the
form of a payment on account of the premium for ewes , to          Done at Brussels , 16 December 1986 .
French sheep farmers whose holdings are situated in areas
which are not less-favoured areas of France , shall be                                                    For the Council
considered , up to a rate of 75 % of the estimated premium
                                                                                                           The President
and until the end of the 1985 / 86 marketing year , as
compatible with the common market .                                                                        M. JOPLING