COMMISSION DECISION of 2 March 1994 approving the additional varietal conversion programme for hops submitted by the Kingdom of Belgium under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2997/87 (Only the French and Dutch texts are authentic) (94/144/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2997/87 of 22 September 1987 laying down, in respect of hops, the amount of aid to producers for the 1986 harvest and providing for special measures for certain regions of production (1), as last amended by  Regulation (EEC) No 3338/92 (2), and in particular Article 2 (5) thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 3889/87 of 22 December 1987 laying down detailed rules for the application of the special measures for certain regions of hops production (3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 718/93 (4), and in particular
Article 3
thereof,
Whereas the Kingdom of Belgium transmitted to the Commission on 10 March 1988 a varietal conversion programme for the hops sector in accordance with Article 2 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 2997/87; whereas this programme, as amended on 26 July 1988, was  approved in Commission Decision 88/606/EEC (5); whereas this programme after being amended three times by Decisions 89/480/EEC (6), 91/94/EEC (7) and 92/149/EEC (8) respectively, was closed on 31 December 1992;
Whereas on 29 December 1992 the Kingdom of Belgium transmitted to the Commission an additional varietal conversion programme which differs from the previous programme in that it includes a new, recently recognized, producer group, the inclusion of new  areas and a more market orientation towards super-alpha varieties which are better suited to market requirements, pursuant to Article 1 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 3889/87; whereas that additional programme was approved by Commission Decision 93/251/EEC  (9)
Whereas the Kingdom of Belgium forwarded to the Commission on 21 December 1993 further amendments to that programme;
Whereas the proposed amendments relate principally to the even more marked increase in Super-alpha varieties in the range of varieties covered by the conversion operation and to the increase in the areas involved in that operation;
Whereas this additional programme, as amended, is in line with the objectives pursued by that Regulation and contains the information required under Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 3889/87;
Whereas the special aid for varietal conversion may also be granted for areas under other varieties where these are present on land essentially given over to bitter varieties under a conversion plan;
Whereas the financial contribution charged to the national budget complies with the ceiling specified in Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2997/87; whereas the actual costs referred to in Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2997/87 may include  factors for assessing the net loss of income resulting from the implementation of the conversion plan; whereas, however, only factors relating to the net loss of income suffered from the date of adoption of Regulation (EEC) No 2997/87 may be introduced  into the calculation of the actual costs; whereas, as a result, the financial contribution by the Member State to the varietal conversion programme will have to be adjusted;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Hops,
The varietal conversion programme for the hop sector submitted under Regulation (EEC) No 2997/87 by the Kingdom of Belgium on 21 December 1993 is hereby approved. The main features of that programme are set out in the Annex.
The Kingdom of Belgium shall inform the Commission of the progress of the programme every six months.
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium.