The grant of private storage aid, as provided for in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001, shall be subject to the conditions set out in this Regulation.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 6/2008 of 4 January 2008 laying down detailed rules for granting private storage aid for sheepmeat and goatmeat (Codified version)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 6/2008 of 4 January 2008 laying down detailed rules for granting private storage aid for sheepmeat and goatmeat (Codified version)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001 of 19 December 2001 on the common organisation of the market in sheepmeat and goatmeat(1), and in particular Articles 12(2) and 24 thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 of 15 December 1998 establishing agrimonetary arrangements for the euro(2), and in particular Articles 3(2) and 9 thereof,
Whereas:
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3446/90 of 27 November 1990 on laying down detailed rules for granting private storage aid for sheepmeat and goatmeat(3) has been substantially amended several times(4). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Regulation should be codified.
Detailed rules for granting private storage aid for sheepmeat and goatmeat must be adopted in addition to the general rules laid down in Article 12(1) by Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001.
If it is to achieve its purpose, such aid should be granted only to natural or legal persons established in the Community whose activities and experience in the sector offer sufficient certainty that storage will be effected in a satisfactory manner and who have adequate cold storage capacity within the Community.
For the same reason, aid should be granted only for the storage of products in frozen condition, of sound and fair merchantable quality and of Community origin as defined by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code(5), with a level of radioactivity not exceeding the maximum levels permitted under Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of 22 March 1990 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station(6).
Provision should be made to ensure that the animals involved are slaughtered exclusively in slaughterhouses which are approved and supervised.
To make the scheme more effective, contracts must relate to a certain minimum quantity, differentiated by product as appropriate, and the obligations to be fulfilled by the contracting party, in particular those enabling the intervention agency to make an effective inspection of storage conditions, must be specified.
The amount of the security designed to ensure compliance with the contractual obligations should be fixed at a percentage of the amount of the aid.
Pursuant to 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(7), the primary requirements to be met for the release of the security should be defined. Storing the contracted quantity for the agreed period constitutes one of the primary requirements for the granting of private storage aid for sheepmeat and goatmeat. To take account of commercial practice and for practical reasons, a certain tolerance in respect of the said quantity should be permitted.
A measure of proportionality should apply in the release of the security and the granting of aid where certain requirements relating to the quantities to be stored are not met.
In order to improve the efficiency of the scheme, the contracting party should be permitted to receive an advance payment of aid subject to a security and rules should be laid down regarding the submission of applications for aid, the supporting documents to be produced and the time limit for payment.
Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1913/2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of the agrimonetary system for the euro in agriculture and amending certain regulations(8), the operative events to determine the exchange rate applicable to the grant of aid and amount of security in the case of private storage aid should be specified.
Previous experience with other schemes for private storage of agricultural products has shown the need to specify to what extent Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits(9) applies to the determination of periods, dates and time limits referred to under such schemes and to define precisely the dates when contractual storage begins and ends.
In particular, Article 3(4) of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 specifies that where the last day of a period is a public holiday, Sunday or Saturday, the period should end on the expiry of the last hour of the following working day. The application of this provision to storage contracts may not be in the interest of storers and may even result in inequality of treatment. Therefore, a derogation should be made with regard to the determination of the last day of storage under contract.
Provision should be made for a measure of proportionality in the granting of aid where the storage period is not fully observed.
In accordance with Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001 the tendering procedure is applicable. when there is a particularly difficult situation of market in one or more zones of quotation. Invitations to submit tenders should result from Commission Decisions taken in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2) of that same Regulation.
The purpose of the tendering procedure is to determine the amount of the aid. In the selection of successful tenderers, preference should be given to the tenders most advantageous for the Community. Therefore, a maximum amount of aid may be set for which tenders would be accepted. If no tender is acceptable, none need be accepted.
Provision should be made for a system of checks to ensure that aid is not granted unduly. For this purpose the Member States should make checks appropriate to the various stages of storage.
Steps should be taken to prevent and to penalise irregularities and fraud. For this purpose, it is appropriate to exclude, in the case of false declaration, the contracting party from the granting of aids for private storage for six months following the detection of a false declaration.
To give the Commission an overall view of the effect of the private storage scheme, the Member States should supply it with the necessary information.
The measures laid down in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Sheep and Goats,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Article 2
1.
Contracts for the private storage of sheepmeat and goatmeat shall be concluded between the intervention agencies of the Member States and natural or legal persons, hereinafter referred to as the ‘contracting party’:
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which have been carrying on business in the meat and livestock sectors for at least 12 months and are officially registered in a Member State; and
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which have suitable storage facilities at their disposal with the Community.
2.
Private storage aid may be granted only for carcasses of lambs less than 12 months old and cuts thereof, of sound and fair merchantable quality coming from animals raised in the Community for at least the previous two months and slaughtered not more than 10 days before the date on which the products are placed in storage as referred to in Article 4(2).
3.
No meat with a radioactive content exceeding the maximum levels permitted under Community regulations may be the subject of a storage contract. The levels applicable to products of Community origin shall be as fixed in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 737/90. The level of radioactive contamination of the product shall be checked only if the situation so requires and for the necessary period. Where necessary, the duration and scope of the checks shall be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001.
4.
Contracts may not relate to less than a minimum quantity to be determined for each product.
5.
The meat must be placed in storage in a fresh state and stored in a frozen state.
Article 3
1.
Contract applications or tenders and contracts shall relate to only one of the products for which aid may be granted.
2.
Contract applications or tenders shall not be acceptable unless they include the particulars referred to in paragraph 3(a), (b), (d) and (e), and proof has been furnished that a security has been provided.
3.
Contracts shall include the following particulars:
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a declaration by which the contracting party undertakes to only place in storage and to only store products which fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 2(2) and (3);
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the description and the quantity of the product to be stored;
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the time limit for placing in storage, referred to in Article 4(3), of the total quantity referred to under (b) of this paragraph;
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the duration of storage;
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the amount of the aid per unit of weight;
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the amount of the security;
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a provision enabling the storage period to be shortened or extended under the conditions laid down in Community regulations.
4.
Contracts shall impose at least the following obligations on the contracting party:
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to place the agreed quantity of product in storage within the time limits laid down in Article 4 and to store it at his own risk and expense in conditions ensuring the maintenance of the characteristics of the products referred to in Article 2(2) for the contractual period, without altering, substituting or transferring to another warehouse the stored products; however, in exceptional cases and on duly motivated request, the intervention agency may authorise a relocation of the stored products;
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to advise the intervention agency with which he has concluded the contract, in due time before the entry into storage of each individual lot, within the meaning of the second subparagraph of Article 4(1), of the date and place of storage as well as the nature and quantity of the product to be stored; the intervention agency may require that this information is given at least two working days before the placing in storage of each individual lot;
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to send to the intervention agency the documents relating to the operations for placing in storage not later than one month after the date referred to in Article 4(4);
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to store the products in accordance with the requirements for identification referred to in Article 13(4);
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to permit the agency to check at any time that all the obligations laid down in the contract are being observed.