Commission Regulation (EC) No 1564/98 of 20 July 1998 on a special intervention measure for barley in Spain

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1564/98 of 20 July 1998 on a special intervention measure for barley in Spain
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in cereals (1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 923/96 (2), and in particular Article 6 thereof,
Whereas production of barley in Spain exceeds that country's requirements;
Whereas the possibility of that surplus being absorbed by the Community market is slight;
Whereas the Spanish market can be relieved by the export of part of this surplus quantity of barley to non-member countries; whereas, in view of world market prices for barley, export is possible only with the aid of a refund;
Whereas, however, the refund arrangements laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 apply to export from any Member State; whereas such arrangements, therefore, are not only unsuitable for solving the problem in question but may also favour the export of barley from Member States where the market situation is different from that in Spain;
Whereas, in the absence of adequate measures, massive quantities of barley may be expected to enter intervention storage in Spain during the marketing year in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92, the only possibility of disposal being in any case export to non-member countries; whereas, to avoid the abovementioned intervention, a special intervention measure intended to relieve the Spanish market should be taken pursuant to Article 6 of the said Regulation; whereas, furthermore, such a measure should take the form of a direct export incentive, which would avoid the high cost to the Community budget of buying in and storing products which would in any case then have to be exported; whereas the granting of a refund, the amount of which would be determined by tendering and which would apply only to products exported from Spain, would be an appropriate measure for this purpose;
Whereas the purpose of the measure is such that refunds should be granted only on barley of the quality required for acceptance for intervention, as defined in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 689/92 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1424/98 (4); whereas the competent agency must make certain barley exported is of this standard;
Whereas the nature and objectives of the said measures make it appropriate to apply in respect of it, mutatis mutandis, Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 and the regulations adopted for the application thereof, in particular Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the granting of export refunds on cereals and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance on the market for cereals (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2052/97 (6);
Whereas Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 requires tenderers to apply for an export licence among their other undertakings; whereas compliance with this obligation may be ensured by requiring tenderers to lodge a security of ECU 12 per tonne when they submit their tenders;
Whereas the cereals in question should be actually exported from the Member State for which a particular intervention measure was implemented; whereas it is, therefore, necessary to restrict the use of export licences to exports from the Member State in which the licence was applied for;
Whereas, in order to ensure equal treatment of all concerned, it is necessary to make provision for the licences issued to have an identical period of validity;
Whereas, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the export tendering procedure, it is appropriate to prescribe a minimum quantity to be tendered for and a time limit and form for the communication of tenders submitted to the competent authorities;
Whereas the Management Committee for Cereals has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman,