Commission Regulation (EC) No 243/1999 of 1 February 1999 amending Regulations (EC) No 478/97 and (EC) No 20/98 laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards preliminary recognition and aid to producer organisations, respectively

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 243/1999 of 1 February 1999 amending Regulations (EC) No 478/97 and (EC) No 20/98 laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards preliminary recognition and aid to producer organisations, respectively
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables (1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/97 (2), and in particular Article 48 thereof,
Whereas Article 2(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 20/98 (3) provides that the aid to cover the costs of forming and operating producer organisations granted preliminary recognition is to be determined on the basis of their marketed production; whereas natural disasters can cause a steep fall in marketed production in a given year; whereas in such cases in order to avoid drastic reductions in the Community aid to producer organisations granted preliminary recognition as might jeopardise its operation, there should be a limit on the reduction in marketed production taken into account for the purposes of calculating the aid; whereas that limit must be determined by reference to the yield and the average prices obtained by the producer organisations granted preliminary recognition or by their members in the three years preceding the year of the disaster, and must be fixed to take account of normal production fluctuations due to weather conditions; whereas, in the case of Portugal, the marketed production thus fixed must also be used to calculate the aid granted pursuant to Article 14(7) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96;
Whereas Articles 2(2) and 5(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 478/97 (4) lay down two different dates for implementation of recognition plans; whereas, for the sake of consistency, a single date should be fixed for the start of implementation of any recognition plan;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,