[F11. 20 days after it has received a copy of the invitation to the consultation referred to in Article 2(3) at the latest, the Member State shall inform the parties involved in the restructuring plan of its decision on:]
(a)the percentage of the restructuring aid to be distributed to the growers of beet, cane and chicory and to machinery contractors, the objective criteria for the distribution of that part of the aid between the two groups and within each group, as determined after consultation of the interested parties, and the period referred to in Article 3(6) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006;
(b)the period, expiring on 30 September 2010 at the latest, for dismantling production facilities and for complying with the social and environmental commitments referred to in Articles 3(3)(c) and 3(4)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006;
(c)if appropriate, the national specific requirements for the social and environmental commitments, in the restructuring plan, which go beyond the statutory minimum requirements imposed by Community law, as referred to in Articles 3(3)(c) and 3(4)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
[F2By way of derogation from point (b) of the first subparagraph, upon a motivated request of the undertaking concerned, the Member States can grant an extension of the deadline fixed in that point until 31 March 2012 at the latest. In such case, the undertaking shall submit an amended restructuring plan according to Article 11.]
2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the Member State shall, in the case where Article 2(6) applies, inform the parties of its decision no later than 15 July 2006.
[F3By way of derogation from paragraph 1, if the competent authority has received no eligible application from an undertaking by the deadline set out in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, but has received eligible growers’ applications, the Member State shall inform the parties of its decision for each undertaking concerned no later than 15 February 2008 . In this case, the Member States shall fix the marketing year 2007/2008 as the period referred to in Article 3(6) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.]
3.Machinery contractors shall be compensated for the loss incurred following the loss of value of their specialised machinery, which can not be used for other purposes.
Textual Amendments
F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1264/2007 of 26 October 2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 968/2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 establishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the Community.
F2 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 672/2011 of 13 July 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 968/2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 establishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the Community.
1.Each application for restructuring aid shall cover one product and one marketing year.
2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where a quota to be renounced has been partly fulfilled by a production carried forward or withdrawn from the previous marketing year, the undertaking may renounce the full quota for the factory or factories concerned, under full or partial dismantling, in the following two steps:
(a)as from the first marketing year concerned by the application, the part of the quota for which there is no production shall be renounced with a request for the amount of restructuring aid for full or partial dismantling applicable to that marketing year;
(b)the remaining part of the quota concerned shall be subject to the temporary restructuring amount provided for in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 and shall be renounced as from the next marketing year with a request for the amount of restructuring aid for full or partial dismantling applicable to that marketing year.
In the case of application of this paragraph, the undertaking may submit one single application for the two marketing years concerned.
3.The application for restructuring aid shall specify the amount of allocated quota to be renounced for each of the factories of the undertaking concerned and shall be consistent with the relevant collective agreements, including agreements concluded by the social partners at sector or company level related to the restructuring of the sugar industry.
[F34. The social plan referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 4a(4) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 shall be submitted by 31 January 2008 at the latest. The social plan shall set-out the impact of the quota reduction triggered by the growers’ applications on the workforce and actions and measures foreseen in favour of the workforce, as well as the costs involved.]
Textual Amendments
1. Each grower’s application shall contain at least the following elements:
(a) name and address of the applicant;
(b) name and address of the undertaking concerned by the application;
(c) the amount of white sugar and/or beet/cane tonnage and/or hectares for which the grower has rights for delivery to the undertaking referred to in point (b) for the 2007/2008 marketing year for the production of quota sugar;
(d) the amount of delivery rights to be ceased;
(e) where applicable, a document proving the existence of the delivery rights for the 2007/2008 marketing year referred to in point (c);
(f) a statement of the grower that he/she is aware of the conditions pertaining to the aid scheme;
(g) a statement of the grower that he/she has not transferred his/her delivery rights referred to in point (d) to any third parties;
(h) the signature of the applicant.
2. Each grower’s application for restructuring aid shall only cover one product (beet/cane) and one undertaking. In the case where a grower has delivery rights for more than one product and/or with more than one undertaking, he/she may submit one application per product and/or undertaking.
3. Once submitted, a grower’s application may not be withdrawn, subject to Article 10(5).]
Textual Amendments
1.The granting of restructuring aid within the financial limits referred to in Article 10(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 shall be based on the chronological order of lodging of the complete applications for restructuring aid, based on dates and hours at local time as stated by acknowledgments of receipt from the Member State concerned in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article.
2.An application for restructuring aid shall be deemed to be complete after the reception by the competent authority of the Member State concerned of all the elements referred to in Article 4(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
3.The competent authority of the Member State shall send to the undertaking concerned an acknowledgment of receipt indicating the date and hour of the lodging of a complete application for restructuring aid, within five working days after the date on which the application is deemed to be complete.
4.In the case of an incomplete application, the competent authority of the Member State shall, within five working days upon reception, return the application to the applicant and specify the conditions that are not complied with.
5.An application which is not deemed to be complete by the deadline laid down in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 shall not be taken into account for the marketing year concerned.
6.[F1Within two working days after issuing an acknowledgment of receipt, the competent authority of the Member State shall inform the Commission thereof, using the model table set out in Annex I. If applicable, a separate table shall be used for each product and each marketing year concerned.]
Textual Amendments
1. The grower’s application shall be submitted to the competent authority of the Member State where the undertaking concerned is located either under the address listed for that Member State in Annex II or, where applicable, under any other address or by way of any other means of transmission communicated by the competent authority of the Member State concerned for this purpose. Each grower’s application shall be sent to only one address and shall contain the elements mentioned in Article 7a(1).
In the case where a grower submits more than one application in respect of the same product and the same undertaking, or the same application under more than one address, his application or applications shall be ineligible.
2. Growers’ applications must be received at the competent authority between 0.00 hours on 30 October 2007 and 24.00 hours on 30 November 2007 . The relevant time shall be local time at the place of destination. Applications received before 30 October 2007 or after 30 November 2007 shall be disregarded.
3. For the purpose of the application of Article 4a(3) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, the Member States shall establish a provisional calculation of the amount of quota affected by growers’ applications. The details of the growers’ applications, especially the identity of the applicants, shall not be divulged to any third party.
The communications provided for in Article 4a(3) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 shall contain all amounts of delivery rights to be ceased for which applications have been submitted.]
Textual Amendments
1.Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 10, the competent authority of the Member State shall decide on the eligibility of an application for restructuring aid and shall inform the applicant of its decision within 30 working days upon reception of the complete application, but at least 10 working days before the deadline provided for in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
2.For the application to be considered eligible, the restructuring plan shall:
(a)include a summary of the main objectives, the measures and actions as well as the estimated costs of these measures and actions, the financial plan and the time schedules;
(b)specify for each factory concerned the amount of quota to be renounced, which shall be lower than or equal to the production capacity to be fully or partially dismantled;
(c)include an attestation that the production facilities will be fully or partially dismantled and removed from the production site;
(d)take into account the losses or costs involved, between the aid referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, the closure and dismantling of the facilities referred to in point (c) of that paragraph, the investments referred to in point (e) of that paragraph, the social plan referred to in point (f) of that paragraph and the environmental plan referred to in point (g) of that paragraph;
(e)clearly determine all the actions and costs financed by the restructuring fund and, if appropriate, the other related elements intended to be financed by other Community funds.
3.If the conditions set out in paragraph 2 are not satisfied, the Member State shall inform the applicant of the reasons for this and fix a deadline within the time-limit referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, by which the restructuring plan may be adjusted accordingly.
The Member State shall decide on the eligibility of the adjusted application within 15 working days after the deadline referred to in the first subparagraph, but at least 10 working days before the deadline provided for in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
If the adjusted application is not presented in due time or is considered ineligible, the application for restructuring aid shall be rejected and the Member State shall inform the applicant and the Commission thereof within five working days. The lodging of a new application from the same applicant shall be subject to the chronological order referred to in Article 8.
[F14. Where an application is considered eligible, the Member State shall notify the Commission within two working days after its decision, using the model table set out in Annex I.]
5.By way of derogation from paragraphs 1, 3 and 4, for the 2006/2007 marketing year, the Member State shall decide on the eligibility of an application or an adjusted application at least eight working days before the deadline provided for in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 and notify its decision to the Commission on the same day.
[F36. If the competent authority has received no eligible application from an undertaking by the deadline set out in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, it shall verify the growers’ applications concerning this undertaking in view of:
(a) existence of delivery rights in respect of the undertaking concerned in 2007/2008;
(b) tonnage in white sugar equivalent requested, on the basis of the delivery rights or, if reference is made to beet tonnage or hectares, by using the conversion coefficient applicable according to the agreement within the trade or, in absence of such coefficient, a coefficient fixed by the competent authority of the Member State after consulting representatives of the undertaking and the growers concerned.
The competent authority of the Member State shall inform the Commission at least 10 working days before the deadline provided for in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 about the total amount of quota to be reduced as a consequence of eligible growers’ applications for each of the undertakings concerned, using the table set out in Annex I to this Regulation.
7. The competent authority of the Member State shall decide on the eligibility of the social plan to be submitted by an undertaking, and inform the undertaking and the Commission of its decision at least 10 working days before the deadline provided for in 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.]
Textual Amendments
1.The Commission shall establish a list of the complete applications for restructuring aid in the chronological order of their lodging as stated by acknowledgments of receipt from the Member State concerned.
[F3However, in the case where growers’ applications have been submitted concerning an undertaking which has not, itself, submitted an eligible application before the deadline laid down in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, the moment of the lodging referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be the moment of the last grower’s application concerning the quota of that undertaking.]
[F12. By the deadline provided for in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, the Commission shall determine the estimated availability of the financial resources in the restructuring fund:
(a) for all the applications concerning the following marketing year received by the deadline set out in Article 4(1) of that Regulation and found eligible by the competent authority of the Member State, as well as all the aids related to them;
(b) for all the applications by growers, concerning undertakings not having submitted an eligible application for the 2008/2009 marketing year, received by the deadline set out in Article 4a(2) of that Regulation, as well as the aids related to them, up to the limit of 10 % laid down in Article 4a(4) of that Regulation.]
3.The Commission shall inform the Committee on the Agricultural Funds referred to in Article 41(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005(1) on the decisions taken in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article. For the 2006/2007 marketing year, the Commission shall inform the Funds Committee referred to in Article 13(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999(2).
4.The Member States shall notify to the applicants the grant of the restructuring aid for their respective eligible restructuring plan by the deadline provided for in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006. A full copy of the approved restructuring plan shall be sent by the competent authority of the Member State to the Commission.
[F35. In the case where several eligible growers’ applications are submitted simultaneously, and where the amounts of deliveries to be ceased under these applications exceed any of the 10 % limits referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4a(4) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, the Member State shall inform the applicants concerned that a proportionate reduction coefficient will be applied to their respective applications. By way of derogation from Article 7a(3), applicants may, in this case, withdraw their applications in writing within 5 working days. The coefficient to be applied to the remaining applications shall in this case be rectified accordingly.
6. By the deadline provided for in Article 4a(4) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, the competent authority of the Member State shall:
(a) notify the growers of the granting of the restructuring aid;
(b) provide the undertakings concerned with a list of the growers concerned including the respective amount of delivery rights ceased by each of these growers;
(c) notify the undertaking concerned of the amount of quota thus being reduced.
7. The total amount of quota being reduced for each undertaking in accordance with Article 4a(4) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 shall be communicated to the Commission.]
Textual Amendments
1.As soon as the restructuring aid is granted, the beneficiary shall carry out all measures detailed in the approved restructuring plan and respect the commitments included in its application for restructuring aid.
2.Any amendment to an approved restructuring plan shall be agreed by the Member State on the basis of a request from the undertaking concerned:
(a)explaining the reasons and implementing problems encountered;
(b)presenting the adjustments or new measures proposed and the expected effects;
(c)detailing the financial and the timing implications.
The amendments may not modify the total amount of the restructuring aid to be granted or the temporary restructuring amounts to be paid in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
The Member State shall notify the amended restructuring plan to the Commission.
1. If, in respect of a factory, for which restructuring aid under Article 3(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 has been granted following an application under Article 4(1) of that Regulation, an additional application for restructuring aid is submitted in accordance with Article 4(1a) of that Regulation for the renunciation of an additional quota, the restructuring plan to be included in that application shall be based on the total quota to be renounced and replace the restructuring plan submitted in the context of the first application and accepted under Article 5 of that Regulation.
The same shall apply in the case where the first and the additional application are submitted in view of the granting of restructuring aid under Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
2. If in respect of a factory, for which restructuring aid under Article 3(1)(b) has been granted following an application under Article 4(1) of that Regulation, an additional application for restructuring aid is submitted in accordance with Article 4(1a) of that Regulation for the renunciation of an additional quota in view of the granting of restructuring aid under Article 3(1)(a) of that Regulation, the previous application may be reconsidered for the granting of aid under Article 3(1)(a) of that Regulation provided that the restructuring plan to be included in the additional application is based on the total quota to be renounced and that that restructuring plan replaces the restructuring plan submitted in the context of the first application and accepted under Article 5 of that Regulation.
The same shall apply in respect of first applications which were submitted in view of the granting of restructuring aid under Article 3(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006, if the additional application is submitted in view of the granting of restructuring aid under Article 3(1)(a) or (b) of that Regulation respectively.]
Textual Amendments
1.Eligible applications for which the restructuring aid cannot be granted for the marketing year for which the renunciation of quota has been requested may be withdrawn by the applicant within two months after the deadline provided for in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
2.If the undertaking concerned does not withdraw its application in accordance with paragraph 1, it shall, within the period referred to in that paragraph, adjust the restructuring plan concerned to take into account the amount of the restructuring aid for the following marketing year as laid down in Article 3(5) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.
For the purposes of Article 8(1), the date of lodging of the initial application shall be taken into account.
In the case referred to in the first subparagraph, the applicant shall postpone the renunciation of his quota for one marketing year and shall remain subject to the payment of the temporary restructuring amount provided for in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006.