Commission Regulation (EC) No 609/2001 of 28 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational programmes, operational funds and Community financial assistance, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 411/97
| Published date | 30 March 2001 |
| Subject Matter | Fruit and vegetables |
| Official Gazette Publication | Official Journal of the European Communities, L 90, 30 March 2001 |
Commission Regulation (EC) No 609/2001 of 28 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational programmes, operational funds and Community financial assistance, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 411/97
Official Journal L 090 , 30/03/2001 P. 0004 - 0016
Commission Regulation (EC) No 609/2001
of 28 March 2001
laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards operational programmes, operational funds and Community financial assistance, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 411/97
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000(2), and in particular Article 48 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 provides for financial assistance to be granted to producer organisations setting up an operational fund in accordance with certain rules and within certain limits. Article 13 grants financial assistance to existing producer organisations needing a transitional period in order to qualify for recognition. Article 16 lays down certain rules for the implementation of operational programmes, and action plans in the case of producer organisations recognised under Article 13. Detailed rules should be laid down for the application of those provisions.
(2) So as to promote regrouping of supply and facilitate the implementation of certain measures within operational programmes, producer organisations should be able to confer the partial or total implementation of actions in their operational programme to a recognised association of producer organisations. However, specific provisions are necessary in order to avoid abuses or double financing.
(3) To facilitate the use of the scheme, the marketed production of producer organisations should be clearly defined, including the specification of the eligibility of product and the marketing stage at which the value of production is to be calculated. To guarantee equal treatment for all products intended for processing eligible for an aid system under Council Regulations (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in processed fruit and vegetables(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2699/2000(4), and (EC) No 2202/96 of 28 October 1996 introducing a Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus fruits(5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2699/2000, the aid referred to in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 and Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 should be added to the appropriate value of marketed production. For consistency, the ceilings on Community financial assistance should be calculated on the basis of the value of production marketed during a 12-month period. To ensure flexibility of this system for operators, Member States may define limited options for calculating this 12-month period; additional methods of calculation of marketable production should also be made possible in case of yearly fluctuations or insufficient data. To prevent misuse of the scheme, producer organisations should not be permitted to change reference periods within the duration of a programme.
(4) To ensure correct use of Community funds, rules must be laid down for the management of operational funds and members' financial contributions towards these funds. In particular it should be specified that the financial contributions of members of the producer organisation are based on the marketed production used to calculate the Community financial assistance. Different levels of contributions may be set to take into account different levels of participation in an operational programme by different groups of members, on condition that the collective nature of the operational programme is not weakened.
(5) In the interests of sound management, procedures for the presentation and approval of operational programmes, including deadlines, should be laid down so as to enable the adequate evaluation of the information by the competent authorities, and measures and activities to be included in or excluded from the programmes. Since the programmes are managed on an annual basis, it should be stipulated that programmes not approved before a given date should be postponed for one year.
(6) There should be an annual procedure for amending operational programmes for the following year, so that they can be adjusted to take account of any new conditions which could not have been foreseen when they were initially presented. In addition, it must be possible for measures to be changed within the year of execution of a programme. All such changes should be subject to certain limits and conditions, to be defined by Member States and including obligatory notification of changes to the competent authorities, to ensure the approved programmes maintain their overall objectives.
(7) For reasons of financial and legal security, lists of operations and expenditure which may or may not be covered by operational programmes should be drawn up; these lists should be non-exhaustive. For transparency and ease of application of Community rules, eligibility criteria of certain measures should, where appropriate, follow guidelines set in Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the structural funds(6). Certain operations and expenditure should be permitted temporarily or within certain limits.
(8) In the interests of sound management of Community finances, a written undertaking should be made by the producer organisation, on behalf of itself and its members, not to receive duplicate financing of Community or national funding of in respect of measures qualifying for Community financing under this Regulation.
(9) To ensure the effective implementation of operational programmes, producer organisations shall receive notification of the decisions of the competent authorities on operational programmes and the approved amount of financial assistance on or before 15 December of the year preceding implementation of the programme.
(10) To prevent cash-flow difficulties, a system of advance payments accompanied by appropriate securities should be available to producer organisations. It should be stipulated that, in order to prevent the systematic recovery of advances, such payments should not exceed the minimum level of financial assistance. It should be possible for furnished securities to be progressively released as implementation of the operational programme proceeds, to the extent of up to 80 % of the advances paid, the remaining amount being retained until the balance of the assistance has been paid. An alternative system should be available for the reimbursement, at periods throughout the year, of expenditure already incurred.
(11) To ensure correct application of the scheme, the information to be included in applications for assistance should be specified. To provide against unforeseen circumstances in the implementation of operational programmes, applications for advances or payment may be carried over to the following year for operations which for reasons beyond the control of the producer organisation could not be implemented within the time limits laid down. All applications should be subject to administrative checks for verification. In the interests of sound financial management, penalties should be determined for late submission of applications for financial assistance.
(12) The ceiling on Community financial assistance applies to all applications at the level fixed by Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
(13) The activities of producer organisations and their effectiveness should be monitored. This can be achieved by means of periodical reports and an assessment.
(14) Strict control procedures should be laid down, together with deterrent penalties in the event of infringement, given the high degree of responsibility and initiative conferred on the producer organisations. These penalties should be weighted according to the severity of the infringement. To ensure fair treatment, conditions should be laid down to cover ineligible actions included in error by the producer organisation in an operational programme and approved by the Member State, whereby Member States should not be obliged to withhold aid payments or recover sums paid, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice.
(15) The competent authorities responsible for verifying the eligibility of the proposed measures in operational programmes and their execution must be provided with the possibility of introducing complementary national legislative measures to ensure the correct application of this scheme.
(16) This Regulation must apply to all operational programmes to be implemented from 2001. Programmes already approved whose application continues into 2001 must be amended unless their advanced state of implementation makes this inappropriate.
(17) To ensure correct application of this scheme, Member States should forward all details of complementary and additional measures taken in the framework of this Regulation. An adequate record of the activities of producer organisations and use of the operational funds should be made available to the Commission for statistical, budget and control purposes.
(18) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE
Article 1
1. The rules laid down herein shall apply to Community financial assistance, operational funds and operational programmes as referred to in Article 15(1) and...
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