Commission Regulation (EC) No 534/1999 of 11 March 1999 fixing the ceilings on financing for measures to improve the quality of olive-oil production in the 1999/2000 production cycle

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 534/1999 of 11 March 1999 fixing the ceilings on financing for measures to improve the quality of olive-oil production in the 1999/2000 production cycle
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC of 22 September 1966 on the establishment of a common organisation of the market in oils and fats (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1638/98 (2),
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 528/1999 of 10 March 1999 laying down measures to improve the quality of olive-oil production (3), and in particular Article 3(2) thereof,
Whereas Article 3(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 528/1999 provides that ceilings be fixed, for each 12-month production cycle, on financing for measures to improve the quality of olive-oil production and its environmental impact in each producer Member State;
Whereas, for the first year of application of Regulation (EC) No 528/1999 and in view of the date of its entry into force, a later deadline for drawing up the action programme for the 1999/2000 production cycle should be provided for;
Whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 2095/98 of 30 September 1998 fixing the estimated production of olive oil and the amount of the unit production aid that may be paid in advance for the 1997/98 marketing year (4) estimates production at 2 290 600 tonnes; whereas this corresponds to 1 157 000 tonnes for Spain, 422 000 tonnes for Greece, 670 000 tonnes for Italy, 39 000 tonnes for Portugal and 2 600 tonnes for France; whereas the amount withheld from production aid for this olive-oil marketing year serves as a basis for financing measures to improve the quality of the oil during the production cycle commencing on 1 May 1999;
Whereas the measures have relatively fixed minimum costs; whereas the ceilings on total financing for some Member States may therefore prove to be too low; whereas, as a result, appropriate limits should be established for these cases;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Oils and Fats,