Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 913/2014 of 21 August 2014 laying down temporary exceptional support measures for producers of peaches and nectarines

22.8.2014 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 248/1
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) No 913/2014
of 21 August 2014
laying down temporary exceptional support measures for producers of peaches and nectarines
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (1), and in particular Article 219(1) in conjunction with Article 228 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The seasonally high supply levels in peaches and nectarines and the slowdown in consumption due to adverse weather conditions at the peak of the harvest created a difficult market situation with significant price falls for those fruits. The limited storage possibility for those perishable fruits does not allow for a rapid improvement in such a situation. Furthermore, the ban announced by Russia on imports of fruits and vegetables from the Union to Russia risks to aggravate the situation in the peach and nectarine markets. Accordingly, a situation has arisen on the market which the normal measures available under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 appear to be insufficient to address.
(2) In order to prevent the existing market situation from turning into a more severe or prolonged market disturbance, urgent action is needed to provide for exceptional support measures for producers of peaches and nectarines at this stage of the harvest.
(3) Market withdrawals are an effective crisis management measure in case of surplus of fruit and vegetables due to temporary and unpredictable circumstances.
(4) In order to mitigate the impact of a sudden drop in prices this summer, the existing Union financial assistance for market withdrawals to be freely distributed to certain organisations, such as charitable organisations and schools, should be temporarily increased. Union financial assistance should therefore be granted up to a maximum of 10 % of the volume of marketed production of each producer organisation.
(5) In the light of the exceptional market disturbances and in in order to ensure that all producers of peaches and nectarines are supported by the Union, Union financial assistance should be extended to producers of peaches and nectarines who are not members of a recognised producer organisation.
(6) Producers who are not members of a producer organisation should receive 50 % of the amounts provided for under the existing Union financial assistance. However, they should fulfil the same or similar conditions as producer organisations. Therefore, in this context, they should be subject, like recognised producer organisations, to the relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 (2).
(7) Moreover, increased consumption of peaches and nectarines should help to stabilise the market situation more rapidly. Promotion campaigns should be used to encourage consumption. Therefore, additional Union support should be given to producer organisations as regards promotion campaigns.
(8) That additional support for promotion activities should be distributed between the Member States on the basis of their production of peaches and nectarines in 2012. Most production is concentrated in four Member States. Twenty-four Member States together account for only 3,7 % of the Union production of peaches and nectarines. In order to ensure an efficient use of the available budget, no allocation should be granted to Member States with a share of the Union production below 1 %.
(9) It should be left to the Member States concerned to determine how they will allocate the additional support provided for in this Regulation in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, except where derogations to those Regulations are provided in this Regulation.
(10) In order to have an immediate impact on the market and to contribute to stabilise prices, the temporary exceptional support measures provided for in this Regulation should apply as of the date of the announcement of those measures by the Commission on 11 August 2014,