Council Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER I Requirements and recognition

Article 20 Requirements

For the purposes of this Regulation, an ‘interbranch organisation’ shall be any legal entity which:

(a)

is made up of representatives of economic activities linked to the production of and/or trade in and/or processing of the products listed in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96;

(b)

is established at the initiative of all or some of the organisations or associations which constitute it;

(c)

carries out two or more of the following activities in one or more regions of the Community, taking into account the interests of consumers:

(i)

improving knowledge and the transparency of production and the market;

(ii)

helping to coordinate better the way fruit and vegetables are placed on the market, in particular by means of research and market studies;

(iii)

drawing up standard forms of contract compatible with Community rules;

(iv)

exploiting to a fuller extent the potential of the fruit and vegetables produced;

(v)

providing the information and carrying out the research necessary to adjust production towards products more suited to market requirements and consumer tastes and expectations, in particular with regard to product quality and protection of the environment;

(vi)

seeking ways of restricting the use of plant-health products and other inputs and ensuring product quality and soil and water conservation;

(vii)

developing methods and instruments for improving product quality;

(viii)

exploiting the potential of and protecting organic farming as well as designations of origin, quality labels and geographical indications;

(ix)

promoting integrated production or other environmentally sound production methods;

(x)

laying down rules, as regards the production and marketing rules referred to in points 2 and 3 of Annex I, which are stricter than Community or national rules;

(d)

has been recognised by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 21.

Article 21 Recognition

1. If warranted by the Member State’s structures, Member States may recognise as interbranch organisations all organisations established on their territory which make an appropriate application, on condition that:

(a) they carry out their activity in one or more regions in the Member State concerned;

(b) they represent a significant share of the production of and/or trade in and/or processing of fruit and vegetables and products processed from fruit and vegetables in the region or regions in question and, where more than one region is involved, they can demonstrate a minimum level of representativeness in each region for each of the branches that they group;

(c) they carry out two or more of the activities referred to in Article 20(c);

(d) they are not themselves engaged in the production or processing or marketing of fruit and vegetables or products processed from fruit and vegetables;

(e) they do not engage in any of the agreements, decisions and concerted practices referred to in Article 22(4).

2. Before granting recognition Member States shall notify the Commission of the interbranch organisations which have applied for recognition, providing all relevant information about their representativeness and their various activities, together with all other information needed for an assessment.

The Commission may object to recognition within a time limit of two months after notification.

3. Member States shall:

(a) decide whether to grant recognition within three months of the lodging of an application with all relevant supporting documents;

(b) carry out checks at regular intervals to ascertain that interbranch organisations comply with the terms and conditions for recognition, impose penalties on such organisations in the event of non-compliance or irregularities concerning the provisions of this Regulation and decide, where necessary, to withdraw recognition;

(c) withdraw recognition if:

(i)

the requirements and conditions for recognition laid down in this Chapter are no longer met;

(ii)

the interbranch organisation engages in any of the agreements, decisions and concerted practices referred to in Article 22(3), without prejudice to any other penalties to be imposed pursuant to national law;

(iii)

the interbranch organisation fails to comply with the notification obligation referred to in Article 22(2);

(d) notify the Commission, within two months, of any decision to grant, refuse or withdraw recognition.

4. The terms and conditions on which and the frequency with which Member States are to report to the Commission on the activities of interbranch organisations shall be drawn up in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 46(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.

The Commission may, as a result of checks, request a Member State to withdraw recognition.

5. Recognition shall constitute an authorisation to carry out the activities listed in Article 20(c), subject to the other provisions of this Regulation.

6. The Commission shall make publicly available a list of recognised interbranch organisations, using the methods it considers appropriate, indicating the economic sphere or the area of their activities and the activities carried out within the meaning of Article 23. Withdrawals of recognition shall also be made publicly available.