Commission Regulation (EC) No 1034/2003 of 17 June 2003 on periodical sales by tender of beef held by certain intervention agencies

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1034/2003
of 17 June 2003
on periodical sales by tender of beef held by certain intervention agencies
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal(1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 806/2003(2), and in particular Article 28(2) and 38(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The application of certain exceptional intervention measures in respect of beef has resulted in a build-up of stocks in several Member States. In order to prevent storage being prolonged excessively, stocks originating from these measures should be put up for sale by periodical tender.
(2) The sale should be conducted in accordance with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2173/79 of 4 October 1979 on detailed rules of application for the disposal of beef bought in by intervention agencies and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 216/69(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2417/95(4), and in particular Titles II and III thereof.
(3) In the light of the frequency and nature of tenders under this Regulation it is necessary to derogate from Article 6 and 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 2173/79 with regard to the information and deadlines to be provided by the notice of invitation to tender.
(4) In order to ensure that the sales by tender are conducted properly and uniformly, measures in addition to those provided for in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2173/79 should be adopted.
(5) Provisions should be made for derogations from Article 8(2)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2173/79 in view of the administrative difficulties which the application of that point is creating in the Member States concerned.
(6) In order to ensure a proper functioning of the tender arrangements it is necessary to provide for a higher amount of security than the one fixed in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2173/79.
(7) On the basis of experience gained with regard to the disposal of bone-in intervention beef, it is necessary to reinforce the quality controls of the products before their delivery to the purchasers, in particular to ensure that the products comply with the provisions in Annex III of Commission Regulation (EC) No 562/2000 of 15 March 2000 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 as regards the buying-in of beef(5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1564/2001(6).
(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Beef and Veal,