Commission Regulation (EC) No 1943/2003 of 3 November 2003 laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards aid to producer groups granted preliminary recognition

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1943/2003
of 3 November 2003
laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards aid to producer groups granted preliminary recognition
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 last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 47/2003(2), and in particular Article 48 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) In the view of experience gained during the last years, it is necessary to amend Commission Regulation (EC) No 20/98 of 7 January 1998 laying down rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards aid to producer organisations granted preliminary recognition(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 983/2000(4). In the interests of clarity and rationality, that Regulation should be replaced by a new Regulation.
(2) Regulation (EC) No 20/98 should consequently be repealed.
(3) Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 states that new producer groups may be allowed a transitional period of no more than five years in which to meet the conditions for recognition laid down in Article 11 of that Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1432/2003(5) establishes the conditions for granting preliminary recognition to producer groups.
(4) In order to encourage the formation of producer groups, Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 also states that Member States may grant two sorts of aid to producer groups granted preliminary recognition in the five years following such preliminary recognition, one to cover the costs of their formation and administrative operation and one to cover part of the investments required to attain recognition and set out in their recognition plans.
(5) To facilitate the correct application of the system of aid to cover the costs of formation and administrative operation, that aid should be granted at a flat rate. That flat-rate aid should be subject to a ceiling in order to comply with budgetary constraints. Moreover, to take account of the differing financial needs of producer groups of different sizes, that ceiling should be adjusted in line with the marketable production of the producer groups.
(6) In order to guarantee equal treatment between the producer organisations referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 and the producer groups referred to in Article 14 of the same regulation, the aid referred to in Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in processed fruit and vegetables(6), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 453/2002(7), and in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 of 28 October 1996 introducing a Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus fruits(8), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2699/2000(9), should be added to the appropriate value of marketed production, as provided for in Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1433/2003 of 11 August 2003 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational funds, operational programmes and financial assistance(10).
(7) Natural disasters can cause a steep fall in marketed production in a given year. In such cases, in order to avoid such drastic reductions in the Community aid to producer groups 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. That limit should be determined by reference to the yield and the average prices obtained by the producer groups granted preliminary recognition or by their members in the three years preceding the year of the disaster, and should be fixed to take account of normal production fluctuations due to weather conditions.
(8) In order to ensure that the aid provided for in this Regulation is applied properly, the Member State in question should check that the grant of the aid is duly justified, account being taken of any previous grants of aid for the launching of producer groups and of any movements of producers between producer groups and/or organisations. The Member States should also ensure that duplicate Community or national financing is not granted for measures qualifying for Community financing in accordance with this Regulation.
(9) In the event of mergers, the possibility should be given for the aid to be granted to the producer groups resulting from the merger, in order to take into account the financial needs of the new producers groups and to ensure the correct application of the aid scheme.
(10) The aid provided for in this Regulation should be discontinued once the producer group is recognised by the Member State. However, to take account of the multiannual financing of investments, those qualifying for investment aid pursuant to this Regulation can be carried over to operational programmes as referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
(11) Article 14(7) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 provides a special scheme for Portugal. Provisions should be laid down to ensure compliance with that special scheme. The provisions fixing the value of the marketed production in case of natural disasters should also apply to Portugal.
(12) Strict control procedures should be laid down, together with deterrent sanctions in the event of infringement, given the high degree of responsibility and initiative conferred on the producer groups. In the interest of simplification and rationality, these sanctions should be applied as provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1433/2003.
(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,