Commission Regulation (EC) No 2808/98 of 22 December 1998 laying down detailed rules for the application of the agrimonetary system for the euro in agriculture

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 of 15 December 1998 establishing the agrimonetary arrangements for the euro⁽¹⁾, and in particular Article 9 thereof,

1. Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 establishes new agrimonetary arrangements following the introduction of the euro; whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1068/93 of 30 April 1993 on detailed rules for determining and applying the agricultural conversion rates⁽²⁾, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 961/98⁽³⁾, and Commission Regulation (EC) No 805/97 of 2 May 1997 laying down detailed rules for compensation relating to appreciable revaluations⁽⁴⁾, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1425/98⁽⁵⁾, must be radically amended to bring them into line with Regulation (EC) No 2799/98; whereas, in order to facilitate implementation of the new agrimonetary arrangements, the Regulations in question should be repealed and the relevant provisions should be included in a new Regulation;

2. Whereas it is necessary to establish the operative events for the exchange rates applicable, without prejudice to any specific definitions or exemptions provided for in the rules for the sectors concerned on the basis of the criteria mentioned in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98;

3. Whereas for all the prices or amounts involved in trading transactions the acceptance of the customs declaration represents a suitable operative event; whereas in the case of prices and amounts linked to those prices the commercial objective of buying or selling operations is attained when the product is paid for or taken over and, in the case of withdrawal operations by producer groups, on the first day of the month concerned; whereas, in the case of aid paid for a given quantity of product and in particular where the aid is granted subject to a specific use of that product such as its processing, preservation, packaging or consumption, the commercial objective is attained when the product is taken over by the relevant operator and, where applicable, when the particular use of that product is guaranteed; whereas, in the case of private storage aid, products are no longer available on the market from the first day for which the aid is granted;

4. Whereas, in the case of aid granted per hectare, the commercial objective is attained when the product is harvested, usually at the beginning of the marketing year; whereas the operative event for structural aid should be established at 1 January;

5. Whereas, for amounts not linked to the market prices of agricultural products, the operative event can be established as a date to be determined on the basis of the period during which the operation occurs; whereas it should be stated that the operative event applicable for the recording of prices or offers on the market is to occur on the day on which the prices or offers themselves are applicable; whereas, in the case of advances and securities, the exchange rate must approximate to that applicable to the prices or amounts in question where this is known at the time the advances or securities are paid;

6. Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 allows Member States to grant compensation to farmers who have suffered the effects of an appreciable revaluation or an actual reduction in direct aid; whereas that Regulation lays down certain conditions for granting compensation and its phasing over time, and indicates the method for determining the maximum amount that may be allocated by a Member State; whereas the compensation concerned is partly financed by the Community budget;

7. Whereas it is necessary to define the operative event that determines the exchange rate used to convert amounts expressed in euros into the national currencies of the Member States; whereas, to facilitate financial management, the payment of more than one annual instalment of compensation in the same budget year should be avoided; whereas, to take account of the European Community's international commitments, and in the interests of administrative transparency, the procedures to be followed by Member States wishing to grant compensation should be laid down;

8. Whereas, in order to fulfil its purpose, the compensation must be granted directly to the beneficiaries, in principle farmers, within a fixed period and for amounts not exceeding the income losses concerned; whereas, however, to avoid administrative complications arising from the grant of small amounts to beneficiaries, simplified procedures may be used in certain cases;

9. Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the relevant management committees,

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