Council Regulation (EC) No 724/97 of 22 April 1997 determining measures and compensation relating to appreciable revaluations that affect farm incomes

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 724/97 of 22 April 1997 determining measures and compensation relating to appreciable revaluations that affect farm incomes
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3813/92 of 28 December 1992 on the unit of account and the conversion rates to be applied for the purposes of the common agricultural policy (1), and in particular Article 9 thereof,
Whereas appreciable revaluations have occurred for the Irish pound, the pound sterling and the Italian lira; whereas it is necessary to take steps at Community level to prevent distortions in the implementation of the common agricultural policy due to monetary causes;
Whereas Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3813/92 provides for the Council to take all necessary measures in the event of an appreciable revaluation, which, primarily to comply with obligations under the GATT Agreement and budgetary discipline, may involve derogations from the provisions of the said Regulation concerning aid and the amount by which the monetary gaps are dismantled, without, however, resulting in the threshold being extended; whereas the measures provided for in Articles 7 and 8 of the said Regulation cannot be applied as they stand;
Whereas compensation for appreciable reductions in the agricultural conversion rates before 1 January 1997 was regulated by Regulations (EC) No 1527/95 (2) and (EC) No 2990/95 (3); whereas equality of treatment requires that new cases should be dealt with in the same way, while taking account of experience; whereas, on the basis of the information available, it is impossible to know what the situation will be for more than twelve months ahead;
Whereas problems could arise, in particular upon the introduction of the euro, if the agricultural conversion rates applicable to the amounts referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 3813/92 were to be maintained until 1 January 1999, the planned date for the implementation of the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union; whereas the monetary gap for the agricultural conversion rate applicable to the amounts in question should consequently be limited for all the currencies for which it has proved possible to show an appreciable revaluation;
Whereas the rules for granting compensatory aid should be amplified on the basis of experience; whereas the amplification should involve taking account of currency developments in the months following appreciable revaluation, and introducing a threshold below which the grant of aid makes little economic sense;
Whereas the amount of compensatory aid should be established in each case as a function of the latest known economic and financial data; whereas this amount should be determined by the Commission by the management committee procedure, on the basis of the methods devised and applied under Regulations (EC) No 1527/95 and (EC) No 2990/95; whereas these methods lead to calculation, on a flat-rate basis, of a toward estimate of annual income loss related to the appreciable revaluation, with a deduction for budgetary purposes;
Whereas the appreciable revaluation of the Irish pound on 8 November 1996 did not lead to the granting of compensatory aid; whereas aid should be authorized in this case in accordance with the conditions of this Regulation,