Commission Regulation (EC) No 2080/2005 of 19 December 2005 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 865/2004 as regards operators’ organisations in the olive sector, their work programmes and the financing thereof

• Coming into Force: 27 December 2005
• End of Effective Date: 31 March 2009
• Celex Number: 32005R2080
• ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2005/2080/oj
• Published date: 20 December 2005
• Date: 19 December 2005
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 333, 20 December 2005

20.12.2005 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 333/8

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2080/2005

of 19 December 2005

laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 865/2004 as regards operators’ organisations in the olive sector, their work programmes and the financing thereof

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 865/2004 of 29 April 2004 on the common organisation of the market in olive oil and table olives and amending Regulation (EEC) No 827/68 (1), and in particular Article 9 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) To ensure that approved operators’ organisations are effective, approval must relate to the various categories of operators having a major impact in the olive oil or table olives sectors, while ensuring that those organisations can guarantee compliance with certain minimum conditions that are sufficient to obtain economically significant results.

(2) To allow producer Member States to implement administrative management of the system of approved operators’ organisations in the olive sector, the procedures and time-limits for the approval of such organisations, the criteria for selecting their work programmes, the arrangements for paying Community financing and the allocation thereof should be laid down.

(3) Under Article 110i(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (2), which establishes common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and certain support schemes for farmers, Member States may withhold up to 10 % of the olive oil component in the national ceiling referred to in Article 41 thereof to provide Community financing for the work programmes drawn up by approved operators’ organisations in one or more of the areas referred to in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 865/2004.

(4) In accordance with the common rules on financing direct support schemes, and to allow the use of the amounts available by Member State, the annual expenditure intended for the implementation of the work programmes should not exceed the annual amounts withheld by the Member States in accordance with Article 110i(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.

(5) To ensure overall consistency between the activities of approved operators’ organisations, the types of measures that are eligible for Community financing and those that are ineligible should be laid down. The arrangements for the submission of the programmes and the selection criteria for those programmes should also be laid down. The Member States concerned should, however, be allowed to lay down additional eligibility conditions so as to gear measures more closely to the national situation in the olive sector.

(6) In the light of experience, the Community financing thresholds should be fixed at the very least for the areas of improving the environmental impacts of olive cultivation and traceability, certification and protection, under the authority of the national administrations, of the quality of olive oil and table olives by means of quality control on the olive oils sold to the final consumer so as to ensure implementation of at least a certain number of measures in sensitive priority areas.

(7) To ensure that the work programmes are implemented within the given time periods and in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 865/2004, and to ensure efficient administrative management of the system of approved operators’ organisations in the olive sector, the procedures should be laid down for applications for approval, and the selection and approval of work programmes.

(8) To allow correct use of the financing available by Member State, provision should be made for an annual amendment of the work programmes approved for the following year, to take into account any duly justified changes over the initial conditions. Member States should also be able to lay down the conditions required to amend the work programmes and redistribute the amounts allocated without exceeding the annual amounts withheld by the producer Member States pursuant to Article 110i(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.

(9) To allow work to commence in good time, operators’ organisations should be able to receive a maximum advance of 90 % of the eligible annual expenditure for the approved work programme, subject to the lodging of a security under the terms laid down by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 of 22 July 1985 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of securities for agricultural products (3).

(10) For the purposes of proper management of the rules on operators’ organisations in the olive sector, the Member States concerned should draw up a control plan and specify a system of penalties for any irregularities committed. Provision should also be made for operators’ organisations to notify the results of their work to the national authorities in the Member States concerned and to transmit those results to the Commission.

(11) In the interests of clarity and transparency, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1334/2002 of 23 July 2002 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1638/98 as regards the work programmes of operators organisations in the olive sector for the marketing years 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2004/05 (4) should be repealed and replaced by a new Regulation.

(12) The Management Committee for Olive Oil and Table Olives has not delivered an opinion within the time-limit set by its chairman,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Scope

This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the application of Articles 7 and 8 of Regulation (EC) No 865/2004 as regards the approval of operators’ organisations, the measures that are eligible for Community financing, the approval of work programmes, and the implementation of approved work programmes.

Article 2

Conditions for approving operators’ organisations in the olive sector

1. Member States shall approve operators’ organisations eligible for Community financing of work programmes as referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 865/2004.

2. Member States shall draw up the conditions for approval, which shall include at least the following:

(a) producer organisations shall be composed exclusively of olive producers who are not members of any other approved producer organisation;

(b) associations of producer organisations shall be composed exclusively of approved producer organisations which are not part of another approved association of producer organisations;

(c) other operators’ organisations shall be composed exclusively of operators in the olive sector who are not part of another approved operators’ organisation;

(d) interbranch organisations shall provide a broad and balanced representation of all economic activities linked to the production and processing of, and trade in, olive oil and/or table olives;

(e) the operators’ organisation shall be in a position to submit a work programme for at least one of the areas of measures referred to in points (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of the first subparagraph of Article 5(1);

(f) the operators’ organisation shall undertake to submit to the checks provided for in Article 14 of this Regulation.

3. In evaluating the applications for approval submitted by operators’ organisations, Member States shall consider in particular the following aspects:

(a) the specific features of the olive sector in each regional area defined by the Member States (hereinafter regional area);

(b) consumer interests and market balance;

(c) improving the production quality of olive oil and table olives;

(d) an assessment of the effectiveness of the work programmes submitted.

Article 3

Procedure for approving operators’ organisations in the olive sector

1. For the purposes of approval, operators’ organisations in the olive sector must lodge, by a date to be determined by the Member State but no later than 15 February each year, an application demonstrating that they meet the conditions laid down in Article 2(2).

The application for approval shall be drawn up in accordance with a model provided by the competent authority in the Member State in order to be able to monitor compliance with the conditions provided for in Article 2(2). It shall include elements allowing the identification of each member of the operators’ organisation.

2. No later than 1 April of each year of implementation of the approved work programme, the operators’ organisation shall be approved by the Member State and shall receive an approval number.

3. Approval shall be rejected, suspended or withdrawn immediately if the operators’ organisation does not meet the conditions referred to in Article 2(2).

4. Nevertheless, the operators’ organisation shall retain the rights which devolve from its approval until the moment that its approval is withdrawn, provided that it acted in good faith as regards conformity with the conditions referred to in Article 2(2).

Where approval is withdrawn because the operators’ organisation has failed deliberately or as a result of serious negligence to comply with the conditions for approval referred to in Article 2(2), the decision to withdraw approval shall take effect from the date from which the conditions for approval are no longer being fulfilled.

5. Approval shall be rejected, suspended or withdrawn immediately if the operators’ organisation:

(a) has been penalised for infringing the production aid scheme provided for in Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC (5) in the 2002/03 or 2003/04

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