Council Regulation (EC) No 320/2006
of 20 February 2006
establishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the Community and amending Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (repealed)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 36 and the third subparagraph of Article 37(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the Opinion from the European Parliament(1),
Having regard to the Opinion from the European Economic and Social Committee(2),
Whereas:
(1) Due to developments within the Community and at international level, the sugar industry in the Community is faced with structural problems which could seriously put at stake the competitiveness and even the viability of the industry as a whole. These problems cannot be addressed effectively by using the market management instruments as provided for in the common market organisation for sugar. To bring the Community system of sugar production and trading in line with international requirements and ensure its competitiveness in the future it is necessary to launch a profound restructuring process leading to a significant reduction of unprofitable production capacity in the Community. To this end, as a precondition for the implementation of a functioning new common market organisation for sugar a separate and autonomous temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the Community should be established. Under this scheme quotas should be reduced in a manner that takes account of the legitimate interests of the sugar industry, sugar beet, cane and chicory growers and consumers in the Community.
(2) A temporary restructuring fund should be set up in order to finance the restructuring measures for the Community sugar industry. For reasons of sound financial management the fund should form part of the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF and thus be governed by the procedures and mechanisms of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy(3) and, as from 1 January 2007, of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund set up by Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 of 21 June 2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy(4).
(3) Owing to the fact that outermost regions are currently the object of development programmes aimed at improving their competitiveness in raw sugar production and also produce raw cane sugar in competition with third countries, which are not subject to the temporary restructuring amount, undertakings in the outermost regions should not fall under the scope of this Regulation.
(4) The restructuring measures provided for by this Regulation should be financed by raising temporary amounts from those sugar, isoglucose and inulin syrup producers which will eventually benefit from the restructuring process. As this amount falls outside the scope of the charges traditionally known in the framework of the common market organisation for sugar, the proceeds resulting from its collection should be considered as ‘assigned revenue’ as provided for by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5).
(5) An important economic incentive for sugar undertakings with the lowest productivity to give up their quota production in the form of an adequate restructuring aid should be introduced. To this effect, a restructuring aid should be set up that creates an incentive to abandon sugar quota production and renounce the quotas concerned, at the same time allowing to take into due account the respect of social and environmental commitments linked to the abandoning of production. The aid should be available during four marketing years with the aim to reduce production to the extent necessary to reach a balanced market situation in the Community.
(6) To support sugar beet, cane and chicory growers that have to give up production due to the closure of factories they had supplied previously, a part of the restructuring aid should be made available to these growers as well as to machinery contractors that have worked for these growers in order to compensate for losses resulting from these closures and in particular the loss of value of investments in specialised machinery.
(7) As payments of the restructuring amount into the temporary restructuring fund are made over a certain period of time, it is necessary that payments of the restructuring aid are spread in time.
(8) The decision as to the granting of the restructuring aid should be taken by the Member State concerned. Undertakings prepared to renounce their quotas should submit an application to this Member State providing the latter with all the relevant information in order to enable it to reach a decision on the aid. Member States should have the possibility to impose certain social and environmental requirements in order to take account of the particularities of the case presented as long as these requirements do not restrict the operation of the restructuring process.
(9) A restructuring plan should form part of the application for restructuring aid. This plan should provide the Member State concerned with all the relevant technical, social, environmental and financial information allowing it to decide on the granting of the restructuring aid. Member States should take the necessary measures in order to exercise the necessary control over the implementation of all of the elements of the restructuring.
(10) In the regions concerned by the restructuring process it might prove to be appropriate to encourage the development of alternatives to sugar beet and cane growing and sugar production. To this effect, Member States should have the possibility to allocate a certain part of the money available from the restructuring fund to diversification measures. These measures, established in the context of a national restructuring plan, may take the form of measures identical to certain measures supported under Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)(6) or to measures that are in conformity with Community law regarding State aid.
(11) In order to speed up the process of restructuring, the aid available for diversification should be increased if the quotas renounced go beyond certain levels.
(12) Full-time refiners should have the possibility to adapt their situation to the restructuring of the sugar industry. The adaptation should be supported by means of an aid from the restructuring fund provided that the Member State approves the business plan providing for the adaptation. Member States concerned should ensure an equitable break down of the aid available among the full-time refiners on their territory.
(13) Some specific situations in certain Member States should be taken care of by means of an aid from the restructuring fund provided that it forms part of the national restructuring programme.
(14) As it is to be funded over a period of three years, the restructuring fund does not dispose from the outset of all the necessary financial means. Rules as to the limitation of the granting of the aid should therefore be established.
(15) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(7).
(16) The Commission should be authorised to adopt necessary measures to solve specific practical problems in the case of emergency.
(17) The restructuring fund will finance measures which, due to the nature of the restructuring mechanism, do not fall under the categories of expenditure referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005. It is therefore necessary to amend that Regulation accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Opinion delivered on 19 January 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
Opinion delivered on 26 October 2005 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103. Regulation as repealed by Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 (OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 1).