Council Regulation (EC) No 1323/96 of 26 June 1996 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1784/77 concerning the certification of hops

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1323/96 of 26 June 1996 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1784/77 concerning the certification of hops
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 of 26 July 1971 on the common organization of the market in hops (1), and in particular Article 2 (4) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1784/77 (2) specifies the stage at which certification must be carried out and lays down the conditions under which hop products may undergo further processing;
Whereas, in the former German Democratic Republic, the treatment of hops after harvest is traditionally different from that in other parts of the Community in the sense that, on numerous farms producing hops, cleaning and initial drying of cones is carried out at the same time as milling and pressing into granules, existing equipment not permitting separation of the two stages; whereas this procedure does not, however, conform to Community legislation, which lays down that certification must take place before any processing; whereas, to enable producers to spread their new investment over a suitable period, Regulation (EEC) No 1784/77 laid down a transitional period longer than that provided for by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2239/91 of 26 July 1991 on transitional measures applicable in the hop sector after the unification of Germany (3), which expired on 31 December 1992; whereas, by 31 December 1995, the situation had not been regularized on certain farms; whereas therefore the said derogation should be extended by one year and the list of farms concerned should be amended accordingly,