Commission Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007 (repealed)Dangos y teitl llawn

CHAPTER III Crisis prevention and management measures

Section 1 General provisions

Article 74 Selection of crisis prevention and management measures

Member States may provide that one or more of the measures listed in Article 9(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall not apply in their territory.

Article 75 Loans to finance crisis prevention and management measures

Loans taken out to finance crisis prevention and management measures pursuant to the third subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 whose repayment period exceeds the length of the operational programme may be carried over to a subsequent operational programme on duly justified economic grounds.

Section 2 Market withdrawals

Article 76 Definition

This Section lays down rules concerning market withdrawals as referred to in Article 9(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007. For the purposes of this Chapter, ‘products withdrawn from the market’, ‘withdrawn products’ and ‘products not put up for sale’ mean products which are so withdrawn from the market.

Article 77 Marketing standards

1. Where a marketing standard as referred to in paragraphs 2 and 7 of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 exists for a given product, such product withdrawn from the market shall comply with those standards, except for the provisions on the presentation and marking of products. Products may be withdrawn in bulk, all sizes together, provided that the minimum requirements for class II, in particular as regards quality and size, are complied with.

However, miniature produce as defined in the relevant standards shall comply with the applicable marketing standards, including the provisions on the presentation and marking of products.

2. If no such marketing standards exist for a given product, the minimum requirements laid down in Annex IX shall be met by products withdrawn from the market. The Member States may lay down additional rules supplementing those minimum requirements.

Article 78 Three-year average for market withdrawals for free distribution

The limit of 5 % of the volume of marketed production referred to in Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall be calculated on the basis of an arithmetic mean of the overall volumes of products for which the producer organisation is recognised and are marketed through the producer organisation during the three previous years.

For recently recognised producer organisations, the data for marketing years prior to recognition shall be:

(a)

where the organisation was a producer group, the equivalent data for that producer group, where applicable; or

(b)

the volume applicable to the application for recognition.

Article 79 Prior notification of withdrawal operations

1. Producer organisations and associations of producer organisations shall notify in advance the competent national authorities, by written telecommunication or electronic message, of each withdrawal operation they intend to undertake. Such notification shall specify, in particular, the list of products taken into intervention and their principal characteristics according to the relevant marketing standards, the estimated quantity of each product concerned, their intended destination and the place where the withdrawn products may be inspected as provided for in Article 110. Notifications shall include a certificate attesting that the withdrawn products conform to the applicable marketing standards or minimum requirements referred to in Article 77.

2. Member States shall lay down detailed rules for producer organisations as regards notifications provided for in paragraph 1, in particular as regards time limits.

3. Within the time limits referred to in paragraph 2, the Member States shall:

(a) either carry out the check referred to in Article 110(1), following which, if no irregularities are detected, it shall authorise the withdrawal operation as noted in the check; or;

(b) in the cases referred to in Article 110(3), not carry out the check referred to in Article 110(1), in which case it shall inform the producer organisation of this by a written telecommunication or an electronic message and authorise the withdrawal operation as notified.

Article 80 Support

1. The support, comprising both the Community contribution and the producer organisation contribution, for market withdrawals shall be no more than the amounts set out in Annex X for the products referred to in that Annex. For other products, Member States shall set maximum amounts of support.

2. Market withdrawals shall not exceed 5 % as a proportion of the volume of the marketed production of any given product in any given producer organisation.

The volume of marketed production shall be calculated as average of the volume of marketed production in the previous three years. If this information is not available, the volume of marketed production for which the producer organisation was recognised shall be used.

The percentages referred to in the first subparagraph shall be annual averages over a three year period, with a 3 % annual margin of error.

Article 81 Destinations for withdrawn products

1. Member States shall lay down the permissible destinations for products subjected to market withdrawals. They shall adopt provisions to ensure that no negative impact on the environment nor any negative phytosanitary consequences result from the withdrawal or its destination. Costs incurred by the producer organisations due to compliance with these provisions shall be eligible as part of the support for market withdrawals under the operational programme.

2. The destinations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall include free distribution which shall mean those referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 and any other equivalent destinations approved by Member States.

Member States shall take all the necessary steps to facilitate contacts and co-operation between producer organisations and the recipients they have approved, on request, for free distribution.

3. Disposal of products to the processing industry shall be possible only on condition that there is no resulting distortion of competition for the industries concerned within the Community or for imported products.

Article 82 Transport costs

1. The transport costs for the free distribution of all products withdrawn from the market shall be eligible under the operational programme on the basis of the flat-rate amounts set according to the distance between the point of withdrawal and the place of delivery set out in Annex XI.

In the case of sea transport, the Commission shall determine the transport costs which may be met on the basis of the real transport costs and the distance. The compensation thus determined may not exceed the cost of land transport over the shortest route between the place of loading and the theoretical point of exit. A correcting coefficient of 0,6 shall be applied to the amounts as set out in Annex XI.

2. The transport costs shall be paid to the party which actually bears the financial cost of the transport operation in question.

Payment shall be subject to the presentation of supporting documents certifying in particular:

(a) the names of the beneficiary organisations;

(b) the quantity of the products concerned;

(c) acceptance by the beneficiary organisations and the means of transport used; and

(d) the transport costs actually incurred.

Article 83 Sorting and packing costs

1. The costs of sorting and packaging fresh fruit and vegetables withdrawn from the market for free distribution shall be eligible under operational programmes at the flat-rate amount of EUR 132 per tonne net weight, in the case of products put up in packages of less than 25 kilograms net weight.

2. Packages of products for free distribution shall display the European emblem, together with one or more of the references set out in Annex XII.

3. The costs of sorting and packaging shall be paid to the producer organisations which have performed those operations.

Payment shall be subject to the presentation of supporting documents certifying in particular:

(a) the names of the beneficiary organisations;

(b) the quantity of the products concerned; and

(c) acceptance by the beneficiary organisations, specifying the presentation.

Article 84 Conditions for the recipients of withdrawn products

1. The recipients of withdrawn products referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall undertake to:

(a) comply with this Regulation;

(b) keep separate stock records and financial accounts for the operations in question;

(c) accept the checks provided for by the Community rules; and

(d) provide the supporting documents on the final destination of each of the products concerned, in the form of a take-over certificate (or equivalent document) attesting that the withdrawn products have been taken over by a third party with a view to their free distribution.

Member States may decide that recipients do not have to keep records or accounts referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph, if they receive only small quantities and where they consider that the risk is low. That decision and its justification shall be recorded.

2. The recipients of withdrawn products for other destinations shall undertake to:

(a) comply with this Regulation;

(b) keep separate stock records and financial accounts for the operations in question if the Member States considers it as appropriate despite the fact that the product has been denatured before delivery;

(c) accept the checks provided for by the Community rules; and

(d) not request additional aid for the alcohol produced from the products concerned in the case of withdrawn products intended for distillation.

Section 3 Green harvesting and non-harvesting

Article 85 Definitions of green harvesting and non-harvesting

1. Green harvesting shall mean the total harvesting of non-marketable products on a given area carried out before the beginning of the normal harvest. The products concerned shall not have been already damaged prior to the green harvesting, whether due to climatic reasons or disease or otherwise.

2. Non-harvesting shall be where no commercial production is taken from the area concerned during the normal production cycle. However destruction of products due to climatic event or disease shall not be considered as non-harvesting.

3. Green harvesting and non-harvesting shall be additional to and different from normal cultivation practices.

Article 86 Conditions for the application of green harvesting and non-harvesting

1. In relation to green harvesting and non-harvesting measures, Member States shall:

(a) adopt detailed provisions on the implementation of the measures, including on prior notifications of non-harvesting and green harvesting, their content and deadlines, on the amount of compensation to be paid and on the application of the measures, as well as the list of products eligible under the measures;

(b) adopt provisions to ensure that no negative impact on the environment nor any negative phytosanitary consequences result from their application;

(c) ensure that it is possible to check that the measures are carried out correctly, and not approve the application of the measures where this is not the case;

(d) apply such checks to ensure that the measures are carried out correctly, including in relation to the provisions mentioned in points (a) and (b).

2. Producer organisations and associations of producer organisations shall notify in advance the competent national authorities, by written telecommunication or electronic message, of each green harvesting or non-harvesting operation they intend to undertake.

They shall include in the first notification of any given year and for a given product, an analysis based on the expected market situation which justifies green harvesting as a crisis prevention measure.

3. Green harvesting and non-harvesting shall not both be applied for the same product and the same given area in any given year, or in any two consecutive years.

4. Compensation amounts, comprising both the Community contribution and the producer organisation contribution, for green harvesting and non-harvesting shall be per hectare payments set by the Member State under paragraph 1(a):

(a) at the level to cover only additional costs generated by the application of the measure, taking into account the environmental and phytosanitary management needed to comply with the provisions adopted pursuant to paragraph 1(b); or

(b) at a level to cover not more than 90 % of the maximum support level for market withdrawals as referred to in Article 80.

Section 4 Promotion and communication

Article 87 Implementation of promotion and communication measures

1. Member States shall adopt detailed provisions on the implementation of promotion and communication measures. These provisions shall allow for the rapid application of the measures when required.

2. Actions under promotion and communication measures shall be additional to any on-going promotion and communication actions being applied by the producer organisation concerned.

Section 5 Training

Article 88 Implementation of training measures

In relation to training measures, Member States shall adopt detailed provisions on the implementation of those measures.

Section 6 Harvest insurance

Article 89 Objective of harvest insurance measures

Harvest insurance actions shall be managed by a producer organisation which shall contribute to safeguarding producers’ incomes and to covering market losses incurred by the producer organisation and/or its members where these are affected by natural disasters, climatic events and, where appropriate, diseases or pest infestations.

Article 90 Implementation of harvest insurance measures

1. In relation to harvest insurance measures, Member States shall adopt detailed provisions on the implementation of those measures, including those necessary to ensure that harvest insurance measures do not distort competition in the insurance market.

2. Member States may contribute additional national financing to support for harvest insurance measures which are benefiting from the operational fund. However, total public support for harvest insurance may not exceed:

(a) 80 % of the cost of the insurance premiums paid for by producers for insurance against losses as a result of adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to natural disasters;

(b) 50 % of the cost of the insurance premiums paid for by producers for insurance against:

(i)

losses referred to in point (a) and against other losses caused by adverse climatic events; and

(ii)

losses caused by animal or plant diseases or pest infestations.

The limit set out in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall apply even in cases where the operational fund is otherwise eligible for 60 % Community financial assistance pursuant to Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007.

3. Harvest insurance measures shall not cover insurance payments which compensate producers for more than 100 % of the income loss suffered, taking into account any compensation the producers obtain from other support schemes related to the insured risk.

4. For the purposes of this Article, an ‘adverse climatic event which can be assimilated to a natural disaster’ shall have the same meaning as in Article 2(8) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006(1).

Section 7 Support for the administrative cost of setting up mutual funds

Article 91 Conditions for support for the administrative cost of setting up mutual funds

1. In relation to support for the administrative cost of setting up mutual funds, Member States shall adopt detailed provisions for the implementation of that measure.

2. Support for the administrative cost of setting up mutual funds shall be, in the first, second and third year of operation of the mutual fund respectively, the following proportion of the contribution of the producer organisation to the mutual fund in the first, second and third year of its operation:

(a) 10 %, 8 % and 4 % in the Member States which acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004 or thereafter;

(b) 5 %, 4 % and 2 % in other Member States.

3. Member States may fix ceilings for the amounts that may be received by a producer organisation as support for the administrative cost of setting up mutual funds.

Section 8 State aids for crisis prevention and management measures

Article 92 Detailed provisions in national strategies

Member States paying State aid in accordance with point (c) of the second subparagraph of Article 43 of Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 shall set out detailed provisions for the implementation of that provision in their national strategies.

(1)

OJ L 358, 16.12.2006, p. 3.