Commission Regulation (EC) No 449/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the aid scheme for products processed from fruit and vegetables

• Published date: 04 July 2001
• Subject Matter: Processed fruit and vegetables
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 64, 06 March 2001

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Commission Regulation (EC) No 449/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the aid scheme for products processed from fruit and vegetables

Official Journal L 064 , 06/03/2001 P. 0016 - 0029

Commission Regulation (EC) No 449/2001

of 2 March 2001

laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the aid scheme for products processed from fruit and vegetables

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in processed fruit and vegetable products(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2699/2000(2), and in particular Article 1(3), Article 3(2), Article 6, Article 6b(3), Article 6c(7), Article 25, Article 26 and Article 27(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 introduced, on the one hand, aid to producer organisations delivering tomatoes, peaches and pears for processing into the products listed in Annex I to that Regulation and, on the other hand, aid to processors of prunes and figs. These products must be obtained from fruit and vegetables harvested in the Community.

(2) To ensure that the scheme is applied uniformly, the products listed in Article 6a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 and in Annex I thereto, the marketing years applicable to those products and the delivery periods for the raw materials should be defined.

(3) The new scheme must be able to operate from the outset with a sufficient number of producer organisations and, for the sake of consistency and by analogy with Council Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 of 28 October 1996 introducing a Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus fruits(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2699/2000, the term "producer organisations provisionally authorised" appearing in the first subparagraphs of Article 3(1) and Article 6a(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 must include producer organisations which have been granted preliminary recognition under Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables(4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000(5), as well as the producer organisations referred to in Article 13 of that Regulation.

(4) The production aid scheme is based on contracts between producer organisations recognised or granted preliminary recognition under Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 or individual producers during the 2001/02 marketing year, on the one hand, and processors, on the other hand. Producers and producer organisations may also act as processors in certain circumstances. The types of contracts and the particulars to be included therein should be specified for the purposes of applying the aid scheme.

(5) In order to improve the way the scheme operates, the authorities should know of all producer organisations marketing the production of their members, of members of other producer organisations and of individual producers and wishing to qualify under the scheme. The authorities should also know of the processors signing contracts with such producer organisations; in addition, such processors should send the authorities the information necessary to ensure that the scheme operates correctly. Processors of tomatoes, peaches and pears must be approved before they may conclude contracts.

(6) Contracts must be concluded by a given date in the case of tomatoes, peaches and pears and before the beginning of each marketing year in the case of the other products. To ensure that the scheme is as effective as possible, the parties to such contracts should nevertheless be authorised to increase the quantities originally stipulated therein up to a given limit by means of amendments to the contracts.

(7) The number of aid applications to be submitted by producer organisations and processors must be determined taking account of the processing process. Applications for aid must include all the information needed for checking eligibility. To compensate for the obligations imposed on producer organisations, provision should be made for the aid to be paid in advance, on condition that a security is lodged to ensure reimbursement if the requirements for receiving the advance payment are not complied with.

(8) In order to ensure that the aid scheme is properly applied, producer organisations and processors must forward the necessary information and keep up-to-date suitable documentation and should, in particular, specify the areas under tomatoes, peaches and pears, on the basis of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes(6), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1593/2000(7), and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 of 23 December 1992 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes(8), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2721/2000(9), for the purposes of all inspections and controls deemed necessary.

(9) For the purposes of administering the aid scheme, procedures must be laid down for physical and documentary checks on delivery and processing operations, checks must cover a sufficiently representative number of aid applications and certain penalties must be laid down for producer organisations and processors which breach the regulations, in particular by making false declarations or failing to process products delivered.

(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation are to replace those laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 504/97 of 19 March 1997 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the system of production aid for products processed from fruit and vegetables(10), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1607/1999(11). That Regulation should therefore be repealed.

(11) Regulation (EC) No 2699/2000 abolishes the quota and minimum price arrangements in particular in the case of tomatoes. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1709/84 of 19 June 1984 on minimum prices payable to producers and amounts of production aid for certain processed fruit and vegetables eligible for production aid(12), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1573/1999(13), Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2022/92 of 20 July 1992 on detailed rules of application for the minimum price to be paid to producers for certain tomatoes delivered for processing and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2036/91(14) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 661/97 of 16 April 1997 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the system of quotas for processed tomato products(15), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2807/98(16), should therefore be repealed.

(12) To ensure a smooth switchover from the old to the new scheme, transitional measures should be adopted, in particular in the case of processors signing contracts with individual producers during the 2001/02 marketing year, as well as for the final date for signing contracts for tomatoes and for applying the integrated system for management of areas.

(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Products Processed from Fruit and Vegetables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

TITLE I

Definitions and marketing years

Article 1

1. For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

(a) "producer organisations" means producer organisations as referred to in Articles 11 and 13 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 and producer organisations granted preliminary recognition under Article 14 of that Regulation;

(b) "association of producer organisations" means associations as referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96;

(c) "individual producer" means any natural or legal person not belonging to a producer organisation and growing on their holding raw material intended for processing;

(d) "processor" means a processing enterprise operating, for economic ends and on its own responsibility, one or more plants with facilities for manufacturing one or more of the products listed in paragraph 2(a) to (o) and, where applicable, approved in accordance with Article 3(1);

(e) "quantity" means quantity expressed in net weight unless otherwise indicated.

2. "Products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2201/96" means the following products:

(a) peaches in syrup and/or in natural fruit juice: whole peaches or pieces of peaches, without peel, having undergone a heat treatment, packed in hermetically sealed containers with a covering liquid of sugar syrup or natural fruit juice and covered by CN codes ex20087061, ex 2008 70 69, ex 2008 70 71, ex 2008 70 79, ex 2008 70 92, ex 2008 70 94 and ex 2008 70 99;

(b) pears in syrup and/or in natural fruit juice: pears of the Williams or Rocha varieties, whole or in pieces, without peel, having undergone a heat treatment, packed in hermetically sealed containers with a covering liquid of sugar syrup or natural fruit juice and covered by CN codes ex20084051, ex 2008 40 59, 2008 40 71, ex 2008 40 79, ex 2008 40 91 and ex 2008 40 99;

(c) mixed fruit: mixtures of fruit, whole or in pieces, without peel, having undergone a heat treatment, with a covering liquid of sugar syrup or natural fruit juice, packed in hermetically sealed containers in which the drained net weight of peaches and Williams and Rocha pears accounts for at least 60 % of the total net drained weight, covered by CN codes ex200892 and ex 2008 99, and made directly from fresh peaches and/or Williams and Rocha pears during the periods indicated in Article 2(2)(b) and (c);

(d) prunes: prunes obtained from dried plums of the...