Council Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 (repealed)Show full title

Article 3 Requirements

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, a producer organisation shall be any legal entity or clearly defined part of a legal entity which complies with the following requirements:

(a) it is formed on the initiative of farmers within the meaning of Article 2(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, who are growers of one or more products listed in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 and/or of such products intended solely for processing;

(b) it has the objective of the use of environmentally sound cultivation practices, production techniques and waste management practices, in particular to protect the quality of water, soil and landscape, and preserve or encourage biodiversity;

(c) it has one or more of the following objectives:

(i)

ensuring that production is planned and adjusted to demand, particularly in terms of quality and quantity;

(ii)

concentration of supply and the placing on the market of the products produced by its members;

(iii)

optimising production costs and stabilising producer prices;

(d) its articles of association provide for the specific requirements as laid down in paragraph 2; and

(e) it has been recognised by the Member State concerned pursuant to Article 4.

2. The articles of association of a producer organisation shall require its producer members, in particular, to:

(a) apply the rules adopted by the producer organisation relating to production reporting, production, marketing and protection of the environment;

(b) belong to only one producer organisation in respect of a given holding’s production of any given product referred to in paragraph 1(a);

(c) market their entire production concerned through the producer organisation;

(d) provide the information requested by the producer organisation for statistical purposes, in particular on growing areas, quantities cropped, yields and direct sales;

(e) pay the financial contributions provided for in its articles of association for the establishment and replenishment of the operational fund provided for in Article 8.

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2(c), where the producer organisation so authorises and where this is in compliance with the terms and conditions laid down by the producer organisation, the producer members may:

(a) sell no more than a fixed percentage of their production and/or products directly on their holdings and/or outside their holdings to consumers for their personal needs, such percentages being fixed by Member States at not less than 10 %;

(b) market themselves or through another producer organisation designated by their own organisation, quantities of products which are marginal in relation to the volume of marketable production of their organisation;

(c) market themselves or through another producer organisation designated by their own organisation products which, because of their characteristics, are not normally covered by the commercial activities of the producer organisation concerned.

4. The articles of association of a producer organisation shall also provide for:

(a) procedures for determining, adopting and amending the rules referred to in paragraph 2;

(b) the imposition on members of financial contributions needed to finance the producer organisation;

(c) rules enabling the producer members to scrutinise democratically their organisation and its decisions;

(d) penalties for infringement of obligations under the articles of association, particularly non-payment of financial contributions, or of the rules laid down by the producer organisation;

(e) rules on the admission of new members, particularly a minimum membership period;

(f) the accounting and budgetary rules necessary for the operation of the organisation.

5. Producer organisations shall be deemed to be acting in the name and on behalf of their members in economic matters.