THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Articles 171 and 358 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3117/85 of 4 November 1985 laying down general rules for the granting of compensatory allowances for sardines, and in particular Article 4 thereof,

Whereas Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 3117/85 sets out the conditions for the granting of compensatory allowances, as regards eligible products and forms of processing, the limit of 43 000 tonnes and the beneficiaries of the scheme, and fixes the method of calculating the said allowance;

Whereas this scheme must be applied to those categories of sardines which are likely to be marketed most easily after processing;

Whereas the health and technical provisions laid down by the national authorities ensure that the products in question have been subjected fully and definitively to one of the processes referred to in Article 3 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3117/85; whereas compliance of the processed products in question with the said provisions should be subject to verification;

Whereas the responsibility for deciding the quantities in respect of which each producer established on its territory is eligible for the allowance should be left to the Member States;

Whereas, in order to comply with the Community quantitative limit of 43 000 tonnes provided for this scheme, each Member State should inform the Commission at the beginning of the marketing year of overall quantities granted; whereas, where appropriate, it is necessary to provide for methods of reducing the overall quantities if the maximum quantitative limit is exceeded;

Whereas to ensure that payment of the said allowance for those quantities in respect of which entitlement is established takes place within a reasonable period, the maximum period for processing and the lodging by the processor of the application for payment of the allowance should be fixed at six months after the delivery date;

Whereas, to speed up payment of the allowance, provision should be made for the producer or producers' organization to issue a written attestation certifying that each quantity sold forms part of the quantity eligible for the allowance as determined for the producer or producers' organization concerned; whereas, moreover, for the purposes of checks on attestations issued, provision should made for Member States to exchange the necessary information relating to such attestations;

Whereas, in order to ensure constant control, those qualifying for the allowance must keep the inspection authority informed of their processing activities at all times;

Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 (3) of the Treaty of Accession, the institutions of the Community may adopt before accession the measures referred to in Articles 171 and 358 of the Act;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fishery Products,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: