Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21 June 1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre- accession period

• Coming into Force: 29 June 1999,01 January 2000
• End of Effective Date: 31 December 2006
• Celex Number: 31999R1268
• ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1999/1268/oj
• Published date: 26 June 1999
• Date: 21 June 1999
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 161, 26 June 1999

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Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21 June 1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre- accession period

Official Journal L 161 , 26/06/1999 P. 0087 - 0093

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1268/1999

of 21 June 1999

on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 308 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(4),

(1) Whereas the conclusions of the European Council of 12 and 13 December 1997 provide for an enhanced pre-accession strategy for the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe and a specific pre-accession strategy for Cyprus;

(2) Whereas the conclusions of the European Council provide that the aid provided for in this Regulation be granted for the time being to the 10 applicant countries of central and eastern Europe;

(3) Whereas the Community has decided to provide special assistance in the form of pre-accession aid for the countries applying for accession in order to carry out action to support the current economic and social reform process in those countries and to prepare and facilitate the integration of their economies into the Community economy;

(4) Whereas assistance from the Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period together with assistance from the Community under Council Regulation 1267/1999 of 21 June 1999 establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession(5) should be coordinated within the framework of Council Regulation 1266/1999 of 21 June 1999 on coordinating aid to the applicant countries in the framework of the pre-accession strategy and amending Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89(6) and be subject to the conditional provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 622/98 of 16 March 1998 on assistance to the applicant countries in the framework of the pre-accession strategy, and in particular on the establishment of Accession Partnerships(7);

(5) Whereas paragraph 17 of the conclusions of the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December 1997 provides that financial support to the countries involved in the enlargement process will be based, in the allocation of aid, on the principle of equal treatment, independently of the time of accession, with particular attention being paid to countries with the greatest need;

(6) Whereas the Community pre-accession aid has to be decided in particular to resolve priority problems in adapting the economies of the applicant countries in a sustainable manner and facilitating the implementation by them of the acquis communautaire, focusing in particular on the common agricultural policy (CAP);

(7) Whereas pre-accession aid for agriculture should follow the priorities of the reformed CAP; whereas such aid should be applied to priority areas to be defined for each country, such as the improvement of structures for processing agricultural and fishery products, distribution, quality control of food as well as veterinary and plant-health controls and the setting-up of producer groups; whereas it should also be possible to finance integrated rural development projects to support local initiatives and agri-environmental measures, to improve the efficiency of farms, to adapt infrastructure as well as measures which will accelerate structural reconversion;

(8) Whereas, in the agricultural sector, the Community support will be implemented in the form of multiannual programmes established in accordance with the guidelines and the principles of the operational programmes applied in the framework of structural policy in order to facilitate in the applicant countries the implementation of the principles and procedures in force;

(9) Whereas, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds(8), assistance can only be granted for any measure from one Community financial instrument within a given period, subject in the case of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to its own rules on the provision of assistance;

(10) Whereas Community funds should not replace funding available in each applicant country and whereas Community assistance constitutes a financial contribution to the completion of projects;

(11) Whereas pre-accession aid in the agricultural sector has to be granted in the form of a financial contribution and subject to the specific financial rules established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy(9);

(12) Whereas the allocation to applicant countries of resources fixed by the budget authority in the preamble of this instrument should take full account of national prosperity on the basis of gross domestic product, of the agricultural workforce, of utilised agricultural area and, if necessary, of specific territorial...