During the periods referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003, any holder of a homogeneous batch of not less than 80 tonnes of common wheat, barley, maize or sorghum or 10 tonnes of durum wheat, harvested within the Community, shall be entitled to offer the batch to the intervention agency.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 824/2000 of 19 April 2000 establishing procedures for the taking-over of cereals by intervention agencies and laying down methods of analysis for determining the quality of cereals
Commission Regulation (EC) No 824/2000 of 19 April 2000 establishing procedures for the taking-over of cereals by intervention agencies and laying down methods of analysis for determining the quality of cereals
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in cereals(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1253/1999(2), and in particular Article 5 thereof,
Whereas:
The intervention price for common wheat, durum wheat, barley, rye, maize and sorghum is fixed for qualities corresponding as far as possible to the average quality of the cereals harvested in the Community.
Intervention prices are increased or reduced to reflect price differences observed on the market for different qualities.
Cereals of inadequate quality for use or storage should not be accepted for intervention.
In order to simplify the management of intervention operations and, in particular, to permit the establishment of homogeneous lots for each type of cereal offered to intervention, a minimum quantity, below which the intervention agency is not obliged to accept the offer, should be fixed. However, it may be necessary to provide for a greater minimum tonnage in certain Member States, so that intervention agencies may take account of pre-existing conditions and practices of the wholesale trade in those countries.
The conditions under which cereals are offered to and taken over by the intervention agencies must be as uniform as possible throughout the Community in order to avoid any discrimination between producers.
Methods of determining the quality of common wheat, durum wheat, rye, barley, maize and sorghum must be defined.
In addition to requiring an annual stock statement pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2148/96 of 8 November 1996 laying down rules for evaluating and monitoring public intervention stocks of agricultural products(3), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 808/1999(4), the Member States must check the state of preservation of the intervention stocks held.
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 689/92 of 19 March 1992 fixing the procedure and conditions for the taking-over of cereals by intervention agencies(5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1664/1999(6) and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1908/84 of 4 July 1984 fixing the standard methods for determining the quality of cereals(7), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2507/87(8), have been frequently amended. For reasons of clarity they should be replaced.
The Management Committee for Cereals has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
However, the intervention agencies may fix a greater minimum tonnage.
Article 2
1.
In order to be accepted for intervention, the cereals must be sound, fair and of marketable quality.
2.
The cereals shall be considered sound, fair and of marketable quality if they are of the typical colour of the cereal in question, are free from abnormal smell and live pests (including mites) at every stage of their development, if they meet the minimum quality requirements set out in Annex I hereto, and if their levels of contaminants, including radioactivity, do not exceed the maximum levels permitted under Community regulations. The maximum contaminant level which must not be exceeded shall be as follows:
-
for common wheat and durum wheat, those permitted under Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93(9), including the requirements regarding the Fusarium-toxin level for common wheat and durum wheat laid down in points 2.4 to 2.7 of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 466/2001(10).
-
for barley, maize and sorghum, those set by Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(11).
Member States shall check levels of contaminants, including radioactivity, on the basis of a risk analysis, taking account in particular of the information supplied by the applicant and the commitments of the latter regarding compliance with the standards set, especially in the light of the results of the analyses. If necessary, the rate and scope of the controls shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003, particularly where the market situation may be seriously disrupted by contaminants.
In addition, in cases where analyses indicate that the Zeleny index of a batch of common wheat is between 22 and 30, for this wheat to be deemed sound, fair and of marketable quality within the meaning of paragraph 1, the dough obtained from it must be judged to be non-sticky and machinable.
3.
For the purposes of this Regulation, matter other than basic cereals of unimpaired quality shall be as defined in Annex II.
Grains of basic cereals and other cereals which are damaged, affected by ergot or decayed shall be classified as ‘miscellaneous impurities’ even if they have defects which belong to other categories.
Article 3
To determine the quality of cereals offered for intervention under Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92, the following methods shall be used:
-
the standard method for determining matter other than basic cereals of unimpaired quality shall be that set out in Annex III;
-
the standard method for determining moisture content shall be that set out in Annex IV. However, Member States may also use other methods based on the principle set out in Annex IV, method ISO 712:1998 or a method based on infra-red technology. In case of dispute, only the results of using the method set out in Annex IV shall be accepted;
-
the standard method for determining the tannin content of sorghum shall be method ISO 9648:1988;
-
the standard method for determining the non-stickiness and machinability of the dough obtained from common wheat shall be that set out in Annex V;
-
the standard method for determining the protein content of ground common wheat shall be that recognised by the International Association for Cereal Chemistry (ICC), the standards of which are laid down under heading No 105/2: ‘method for the determination of the protein content of cereals and cereal products’
However, Member States may use any other method. In such a case, they must furnish the Commission with evidence of recognition by the ICC that the method in question gives equivalent results;
-
the method for determining the Zeleny index of ground common wheat shall comply with ISO 5529:1992;
-
the method for determining the Hagberg falling number (amylase activity test) shall comply with ISO 3093:2004;
-
the standard method for determining the rate of loss of vitreous aspect of durum wheat shall be that set out in Annex VI;
-
the standard method for determining the specific weight shall comply with ISO 7971/2:1995 and, in the case of maize, with the traditional methods applied;
-
the sampling methods and reference analysis methods for determining mycotoxin rates shall be those mentioned in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 466/2001.
Article 3a
1.
Without prejudice to Article 4 of this Regulation, the quantities of maize eligible for intervention in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003, shall be awarded, for the 2007/08 and 2008/09 marketing years, in two periods, ‘period 1’ and ‘period 2’, in accordance with the terms and procedures laid down in paragraphs 2 to 5 of this Article.
Period 1 shall start on 1 August in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, 1 December in Sweden and 1 November in the other Member States and shall run until 31 December, the final day for the submission of offers for all Member States for this period.
Period 2 shall start on the day following the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of the quantity which remains available for intervention in that period, as referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2. That day shall be the first day for the submission of offers in all the Member States and that period shall end not later than 30 April in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, 30 June in Sweden and 31 May in the other Member States.
2.
At the end of period 1, the Commission shall enter in the accounts the admissible offers for maize submitted by operators to the intervention agencies of the Member States by 12.00 (Brussels time) on 31 December, on the basis of the notifications made each week by the Member States in accordance with Article 11a(1)(a)(i).
If the total quantity offered exceeds the maximum quantities laid down in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003, the Commission shall fix and publish, not later than 25 January, an award coefficient to six decimal places to be applied to the quantities. If there is no overrun, this award coefficient shall be 1 and the Commission shall publish the quantity which remains available for intervention in period 2.
Not later than 31 January, the intervention agency of the Member State shall notify the offerer that the offer has been accepted for a quantity equal to the quantity offered multiplied by the award coefficient.
3.
From the first Wednesday in February, the Commission shall enter in the accounts each week the admissible offers for maize submitted by operators to the intervention agencies of the Member States by the Friday of the previous week at 12.00 (Brussels time), on the basis of the notifications made by the Member States in accordance with Article 11a(1)(a)(i).
Where there is an overrun of the quantity which remains available for intervention, the Commission shall fix and publish not later than the fourth working day following the deadline for the submission of offers, an award coefficient to six decimal places to be applied to the quantities. If there is no overrun, this award coefficient shall be 1, the quantities offered shall be deemed to have been accepted and each week, by Wednesday at the latest, the Commission shall post on its Internet site http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets/crops/index_fr.htm information for operators as to the remaining quantity available for intervention in the week in question.
Not later than the ninth working day following the deadline for the submission of offers, the intervention agency of the Member State shall notify the offerer that the offer has been accepted for a quantity equal to the quantity offered multiplied by the award coefficient.
4.
The offers referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be entered in the accounts by the competent intervention agency on the date of their receipt.
Once submitted, offers may not be altered or withdrawn.
5.
To be admissible, the offers shall be accompanied by proof that the offerer has lodged a security of EUR 15 per tonne. This security shall be lodged on submission of the offer, but may be payable, if lodged during period 1 in the form of a bank guarantee, only from the day following the deadline for the submission of offers referred to in paragraph 2.
6.
The security shall cover the quantities offered by the offerer in accordance with paragraphs 2 or 3.
Except in cases of force majeure or in exceptional circumstances, the security shall be fully forfeit to the Community budget where:
-
the quantities present in the place of storage, between the submission of the offer and the take-over of the maize, are below the quantities declared by the offerer in accordance with Article 4(1), without prejudice to a 5 % margin of tolerance;
-
the quantities awarded are not in fact supplied by the offerer for take-over by the intervention agency in accordance with Articles 2 and 5.
For the purposes of applying point (a) of the second subparagraph of this paragraph, the intervention agencies shall carry out checks on the quantities present in the places of storage by applying mutatis mutandis the rules and conditions laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 884/2006(12), as regards checks on the physical presence of products stored under public storage operations, and more specifically those provided for under point B.III of Annex I to that Regulation. These controls shall be carried out on at least 5 % of the offers and 5 % of the quantities offered, on the basis of a risk analysis. These minimal control rates shall apply only during period 1.
The security shall be released in its entirety:
-
for quantities offered but not awarded; and
-
for quantities offered and awarded, from the moment that 95 % of the quantity awarded has actually been taken over by the intervention agency.