Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER II Special intervention measures

Section I Exceptional market support measures

Article 44 Animal diseases

1. The Commission may adopt exceptional support measures for the affected market in order to take account of restrictions on intra-Community and third-country trade which may result from the application of measures for combating the spread of diseases in animals.

The measures provided for in the first subparagraph shall apply to the following sectors:

(a) beef and veal;

(b) milk and milk products;

(c) pigmeat;

(d) sheepmeat and goatmeat;

(e) eggs;

(f) poultrymeat.

2. The measures provided for in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be taken at the request of the Member State(s) concerned.

They may be taken only if the Member State(s) concerned has (have) taken health and veterinary measures quickly to stamp out the disease, and only to the extent and for the duration strictly necessary to support the market concerned.

Article 45 Loss in consumer confidence

With regard to the poultrymeat and eggs sectors, the Commission may adopt exceptional market support measures in order to take account of serious market disturbances directly attributed to a loss in consumer confidence due to public health, or animal health risks.

Those measures shall be taken at the request of the Member State(s) concerned.

Article 46 Financing

1. For exceptional measures referred to in Articles 44 and 45, the Community shall provide part-financing equivalent to 50 % of the expenditure borne by Member States.

However, with regard to the beef and veal, milk and milk products, pigmeat and sheepmeat and goatmeat sectors, the Community shall provide part-financing equivalent to 60 % of such expenditure when combating foot-and-mouth disease.

2. Member States shall ensure that, where producers contribute to the expenditure borne by Member States, this does not result in distortion of competition between producers in different Member States.

3. Articles 87, 88 and 89 of the Treaty shall not apply to Member States' financial contributions towards the exceptional measures referred to in Articles 44 and 45.

Section II Measures in the cereals and rice sectors

Article 47 Special market measures in the cereals sector

1. Where the market situation so dictates, the Commission may take special intervention measures in respect of the cereals sector. Such intervention measures may in particular be taken if, in one or more regions of the Community, market prices fall, or threaten to fall, in relation to the intervention price.

2. The nature and application of the special intervention measures and the conditions and procedures for the sale or for any other means of disposal of the products subject to those measures shall be adopted by the Commission.

Article 48 Special market measures in the rice sector

1. The Commission may take special measures to:

(a) prevent large-scale application of public intervention, as provided for in Section II of Chapter I of this Part, in the rice sector in certain regions of the Community;

(b) make up for paddy rice shortages following natural disasters.

2. The Commission shall adopt the detailed rules for the implementation of this Article.

Section III Measures in the sugar sector

Article 49 Minimum beet price

1. The minimum price for quota beet shall be:

(a) EUR 27,83 per tonne for the marketing year 2008/2009;

(b) EUR 26,29 per tonne as from the marketing year 2009/2010.

2. The minimum price referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply to sugar beet of the standard quality defined in Part B of Annex IV.

3. Sugar undertakings buying quota beet suitable for processing into sugar and intended for processing into quota sugar shall be required to pay at least the minimum price, adjusted by price increases or reductions to allow for deviations from the standard quality.

Increases and reductions referred to in the first subparagraph shall be applied in accordance with implementing rules to be laid down by the Commission.

4. For the quantities of sugar beet corresponding to the quantities of industrial sugar or surplus sugar that are subject to the surplus levy provided for in Article 64, the sugar undertaking concerned shall adjust the purchase price so that it is at least equal to the minimum price for quota beet.

Article 50 Interprofessional agreements

1. Agreements within the trade and delivery contracts shall conform to paragraph 3 and to purchase terms to be determined by the Commission, in particular as regards the conditions governing the purchase, delivery, taking over and payment of beet.

2. The terms for buying sugar beet and sugar cane shall be governed by agreements within the trade concluded between Community growers of these raw materials and Community sugar undertakings.

3. In delivery contracts, a distinction shall be made according to whether the quantities of sugar to be manufactured from sugar beet will be:

(a) quota sugar;

(b) out-of-quota sugar.

4. Each sugar undertaking shall provide the Member State in which it produces sugar with the following information:

(a) the quantities of beet referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3, for which they have concluded pre-sowing delivery contracts and the sugar content on which those contracts are based;

(b) the corresponding estimated yield.

Member States may require additional information.

5. Sugar undertakings which have not signed pre-sowing delivery contracts at the minimum price for quota beet for a quantity of beet equivalent to their quota sugar shall be required to pay at least the minimum price for quota beet for all the sugar beet they process into sugar.

6. Subject to the approval of the Member State concerned, agreements within the trade may derogate from paragraphs 3 and 4.

7. If no agreements within the trade exist, the Member State concerned shall take the necessary steps compatible with this Regulation to protect the interests of the parties concerned.

Article 51 Production charge

1. A production charge shall be levied on the sugar quota, the isoglucose quota and the inulin syrup quota held by undertakings producing sugar, isoglucose or inulin syrup as referred to in Article 56(2).

2. The production charge shall be set at EUR 12,0 per tonne of the quota sugar and quota inulin syrup. For isoglucose, the production charge shall be set at 50 % of the charge applicable to sugar.

3. The totality of the production charge paid in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be charged by the Member State to the undertakings on its territory according to the quota held during the marketing year concerned.

Payments shall be made by the undertakings by the end of February of the relevant marketing year at the latest.

4. Community sugar and inulin syrup undertakings may require sugar-beet or sugar-cane growers or chicory suppliers to bear up to 50 % of the production charge concerned.

Article 52 Withdrawal of sugar

1. In order to preserve the structural balance of the market at a price level which is close to the reference price, taking into account the commitments of the Community resulting from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 300 of the Treaty, a percentage, common to all Member States, of quota sugar, quota isoglucose and quota inulin syrup may be withdrawn from the market until the beginning of the following marketing year.

In that case, the traditional supply need for refining imported raw sugar provided for in Article 153 shall be reduced by the same percentage for the marketing year concerned.

2. The withdrawal percentage referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined by 31 October of the marketing year concerned at the latest on the basis of expected market trends during that marketing year.

3. Each undertaking provided with a quota shall store at its own expense during the period of withdrawal the quantities of sugar corresponding to the application of the percentage referred to in paragraph 1 to its production under quota for the marketing year concerned.

The sugar quantities withdrawn during a marketing year shall be treated as the first quantities produced under quota for the following marketing year. However, taking into account the expected sugar market trends, the Commission may decide to consider, for the current and/or the following marketing year, all or part of the withdrawn sugar, isoglucose or inulin syrup as:

(a) surplus sugar, surplus isoglucose or surplus inulin syrup available to become industrial sugar, industrial isoglucose or industrial inulin syrup, or

(b) temporary quota production of which a part may be reserved for export respecting commitments of the Community resulting from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 300 of the Treaty.

4. If sugar supply in the Community is inadequate, the Commission may decide that a certain quantity of withdrawn sugar, isoglucose and inulin syrup may be sold on the Community market before the end of the period of withdrawal.

5. Sugar stored in accordance with this Article during a marketing year may not be subject to any other storage measures provided for in Articles 13, 32 or 63.

Article 53 Implementing rules

The Commission may adopt the detailed rules for the implementation of this Section and, in particular:

(a)

the criteria to be applied by the sugar undertakings when allocating among beet sellers the quantities of beet to be covered by pre-sowing delivery contracts as referred to in Article 50(4);

(b)

the percentage of withdrawn quota sugar referred to in Article 52(1);

(c)

the conditions for the payment of the minimum price where the withdrawn sugar is being sold on the Community market under Article 52(4).

Section IV Adjustment of supply

Article 54 Measures to facilitate the adjustment of supply to market requirements

In order to encourage action by trade organisations and joint trade organisations to facilitate the adjustment of supply to market requirements, with the exception of action relating to withdrawal from the market, the Commission may take the following measures in respect of the live plants, beef and veal, pigmeat, sheepmeat and goatmeat, eggs and poultrymeat sectors:

(a)

measures to improve quality;

(b)

measures to promote better organisation of production, processing and marketing;

(c)

measures to facilitate the recording of market price trends;

(d)

measures to permit the establishment of short and long-term forecasts on the basis of the means of production used.