Council Regulation (EC) No 1357/96 of 8 July 1996 providing for additional payments to be made in 1996 with the premiums referred to in Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal and amending that Regulation

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1357/96 of 8 July 1996 providing for additional payments to be made in 1996 with the premiums referred to in Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal and amending that Regulation
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 (2) provides for the payment of premiums in respect of male bovine animals and of suckler cows, designed to compensate producers for the consequences of a reduction in the intervention price at the time of reform of the sector;
Whereas the market for beef has been seriously disturbed as a result of consumer concerns in relation to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and with a view to ensuring the future of the sector, additional resources should be made available; whereas in order to enable rapid payment and to achieve the described economic effect, such resources should generally be made available in the form of payments in addition to the premiums due in respect of animals eligible in the 1995 calendar year, as the necessary data is already available; whereas, however, producers should only be entitled to such additional payments to the extent that the number of eligible animals for which they are entitled to a premium in respect of the 1996 calendar year is not reduced as compared with the 1995 calendar year;
Whereas overpayments should be set off against a producer's entitlement to premiums in respect of the 1996 calendar year or, where this is not possible, repaid to the competent authority of the Member State concerned; whereas the sum of money represented by such overpayments should be allocated to producers whose entitlement to premiums in respect of the 1996 calendar year is greater than that in respect of the 1995 calendar year, pro rata to their additional entitlement;
Whereas the additional payments to producers who receive a premium may not, depending on the particular structure of a Member State, address fully the problems of certain producers; whereas Member States should be given the possibility to make payments to such producers whether financed by the Community or paid as a national aid; whereas the amount of money financed by the Community and made available to a Member State for this purpose should reflect the size of its bovine herd most affected by the current crisis, taking into account the payments made under this Regulation; whereas a Member State should only be entitled to pay national aid where this does not lead to the estimated income loss being exceeded;
Whereas Member States, in which the structure of production makes a system of payment other than by means of the said increase in premiums more appropriate and/or where the need to complete all payments by 15 October makes this necessary, should be authorized, in derogation from the above, to distribute the total of the aid which would otherwise have been payable by way of increases in premiums and the amount provided for in the Annex to producers of bovine animals on the basis of objective criteria;
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 provides for a processing premium payable in relation to male calves removed from production before they exceed the age of 10 days; whereas experience has shown that the period between the time when a calf may be moved off a farm and its required removal from production is extremely short; whereas it should therefore be made possible for the Commission to allow an increase in the 10-day age limit in certain circumstances,