Olive oil operators shall fall into one of the following categories:

1. (a)

   a producers’ organisation comprising at least 700 olive growers if it acts as an organisation for the production and marketing of olives and olive oil;

2. (b)

   a producer organisation representing at least 25 % of olive growers or of the olive oil production in the region in which it is situated;

3. (c)

   an association of producer organisations from various economic areas and made up of at least 10 producer organisations as referred to in (a) and (b) above or a number of organisations representing at least 5 % of the olive oil production of the Member State concerned;

4. (d)

   a mill whose facilities can extract at least two tonnes of oil in an eight-hour working day and which has produced in the two preceding marketing years at total of at least 500 tonnes of virgin olive oil;

5. (e)

   a packaging firm with a capacity, in the territory of a single Member State, equal at least to six tonnes of oil put up per eight-hour working day, and which has put up over the two preceding marketing years a total of at least 500 tonnes of olive oil.

Should one or more of the organisations producing or marketing olives and olive oil be a member or members of the organisation referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, the olive growers involved in such a grouping shall be individually considered when calculating the minimum number of 700 growers.

Olive oil operators shall not be eligible if they are:

1. (a)

   subject to proceedings by the competent authorities for infringements of Regulations (EC) No 865/2004 and (EC) No 1234/2007;

2. (b)

   has been penalised for infringing the production aid scheme provided for in Regulation No 136/66/EEC of the Council26 in the 2002/2003, 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 marketing years;

3. (c)

   has been penalised for infringing the scheme to fund the activities of oil operators’ organisations provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1638/9827 in the 2002/2003, 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 marketing years.