Council Regulation (EC) No 1584/96 of 30 July 1996 amending Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 laying down the general rules for the system of aid for cotton

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1584/96 of 30 July 1996 amending Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 laying down the general rules for the system of aid for cotton
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Greece, and in particular Protocol 4 on cotton, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1553/95 (1),
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (2),
Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 5 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 (3) provides in particular for the possibility of lodging an application for aid before the application for supervised storage; whereas use of this provision has caused distortions of competition between operators; whereas, therefore, the provision should be withdrawn;
Whereas Article 5 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 provides in particular that aid may be paid in advance from 16 October following the start of the marketing year in which the unginned cotton enters the cotton-ginning undertaking; whereas the level of this advance, which is a set percentage of the guide price, is based on both the estimated production of unginned cotton and the likely amount of the aid; whereas, as a result, the level of the advance does not fluctuate during the marketing year in line with the world-market price; whereas, consequently, a drop in the world price causing an increase in the aid widens the gap between the level of the aid and the level of the advance to the detriment of operators; whereas such a situation is also likely to disturb commercial dealings between producers and ginning undertakings; whereas, to offset these disadvantages, it is proposed that advances be equal to the guide price minus the world price and reduced further by an amount determined by reference to the likely level of the aid, provided that the latter is set so as to include an adequate safety margin,