Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (repealed)Show full title

Section I Aid for processing

Subsection I Dried fodder

Article 86 Eligible undertakings

1. Aid for processing in respect of the products of the dried fodder sector shall be granted to undertakings processing products of that sector falling into at least one of the following categories:

(a) processors who have concluded contracts with producers of fodder for drying. Where a contract is a special-order contract for processing of fodder delivered by a producer, it shall include a clause containing an obligation for the processing undertakings to pay the producer the aid received for the quantity processed under the contract;

(b) undertakings which have processed their own crop or, in the case of a group, that of its members;

(c) undertakings which have obtained their supplies from natural or legal persons having concluded contracts with producers of fodder for drying.

2. The aid provided for in paragraph 1 shall be paid in respect of dried fodder that has left the processing plant and meets the following requirements:

(a) its maximum moisture content is from 11 % to 14 % which may vary depending on the presentation of the product;

(b) its minimum total crude protein content in the dry matter is not less than:

(i)

15 % for the products referred to in point (a) and the second indent of point (b) of Part IV of Annex I;

(ii)

45 % for the products referred to in the first indent of point (b) of Part IV of Annex I;

(c) it is of sound and fair merchantable quality.

Article 87 Advance payment

1. Processing undertakings shall be entitled to an advance payment of EUR 19,8 per tonne, or EUR 26,4 per tonne if they have lodged a security of EUR 6,6 per tonne.

Member States shall make the necessary checks to verify entitlement to the aid. Once entitlement has been established the advance shall be paid.

However, the advance may be paid before entitlement has been established provided the processor lodges a security equal to the amount of the advance plus 10 %. This security shall also serve as security for the purposes of the first subparagraph. It shall be reduced to the level specified in the first subparagraph as soon as entitlement to aid has been established and shall be released in full when the balance of the aid is paid.

2. Before an advance can be paid the dried fodder must have left the processing undertaking.

3. Where an advance has been paid, the balance amounting to the difference between the amount of the advance and the total aid due to the processing undertaking shall be paid subject to application of Article 88(2).

4. Where the advance exceeds the total to which the processing undertaking is entitled following the application of Article 88(2), the processor shall reimburse the excess to the competent authority of the Member State on request.

Article 88 Aid rate

1. The aid provided for in Article 86 shall be set at EUR 33/tonne.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where during a marketing year the volume of dried fodder for which aid is claimed exceeds the guaranteed maximum quantity set out in Article 89, the aid shall be reduced in each Member State in which production exceeds the guaranteed national quantity by reducing expenditure as a function of the percentage of the sum of the overruns represented by the overrun of that Member State.

The reduction shall be set by the Commission at a level ensuring that budget expenditure does not exceed that which would have been attained had the maximum guaranteed quantity not been exceeded.

Article 89 Guaranteed quantity

A maximum guaranteed quantity per marketing year of 4 960 723 tonnes of dehydrated and/or sun-dried fodder for which the aid provided for in Article 86 may be granted is hereby established. That quantity shall be apportioned among the Member States concerned as national guaranteed quantities in accordance with point B of Annex XI.

Article 90 Implementing rules

The Commission shall adopt the detailed rules for the implementation of this Subsection which may, in particular, include rules concerning:

(a)

declarations to be submitted by undertakings when applying for aid;

(b)

conditions to be complied with for the determination of the eligibility for the aid, in particular as regards the keeping of stock records and other supporting documents;

(c)

the granting of the aid provided for in this Subsection and the advance, as well as the release of the securities, provided for in Article 87(1);

(d)

the conditions and criteria to be fulfilled by the undertakings referred to in Article 86 and, in the case where undertakings obtain their supplies from natural or legal persons, rules concerning the guarantees to be provided by those persons;

(e)

the terms of approvals of buyers of fodder for drying, to be applied by the Member States;

(f)

the criteria for determining the requirements laid down in Article 86(2);

(g)

the criteria to be fulfilled for the conclusion of contracts and information which they shall contain;

(h)

the application of the maximum guaranteed quantity laid down in Article 89;

(i)

further requirements to those laid down in Article 86, in particular as regards carotene and fibre content.

Subsection II Flax grown for fibre

Article 91 Eligibility

1. Aid for processing the straw of flax grown for fibre shall be granted to authorised primary processors on the basis of the quantity of fibre actually obtained from straw for which a contract of sale has been concluded with a farmer.

However, in cases where farmers retain ownership of the straw which they are having processed under contract by an authorised primary processor and prove that they have placed the fibres obtained on the market, the aid shall be granted to the farmers.

In cases where the authorised primary processor and the farmer are one and the same person, the contract of sale shall be replaced by a commitment by the party concerned to carry out the processing itself.

2. For the purposes of this Subsection, ‘authorised primary processor’ shall mean a natural or legal person or a group of natural or legal persons, irrespective of its legal status under national law, or that of its members, that has been authorised by the competent authority of the Member State in the territory of which its facilities for producing flax fibre are located.

Article 92 Aid rate

1. The amount of processing aid provided for in Article 91 shall be fixed at EUR 200 per tonne of long flax fibre.

2. The quantities of fibre eligible for aid shall be limited on the basis of the areas which were the subject of one of the contracts or commitments referred to in Article 91.

The limits referred to in the first subparagraph shall be fixed by the Member States so as to comply with the national guaranteed quantities referred to in Article 94.

Article 93 Advance payment

At the request of authorised primary processors, an advance shall be paid on the aid referred to in Article 91 on the basis of the quantity of fibre obtained.

Article 94 Guaranteed quantity

1. A maximum guaranteed quantity of 80 878 tonnes per marketing year shall be established for long flax fibre in respect of which aid may be granted. That quantity shall be apportioned among certain Member States as national guaranteed quantities in accordance with point A of Annex XI.

2. In cases where the fibre obtained in one Member State originates from straw produced in another Member State, the quantities of fibre concerned shall be offset against the national guaranteed quantity of the Member State in which the straw was harvested. The aid shall be paid by the Member State against whose national guaranteed quantity such an offset is made.

Article 95 Implementing rules

The Commission shall adopt the detailed rules for the implementation of this Subsection which may, in particular, include rules concerning:

(a)

the conditions for authorisation of primary processors referred to in Article 91;

(b)

the conditions to be met by approved primary processors as regards the contracts of sale and commitments referred to in Article 91(1);

(c)

the requirements to be complied with by farmers in the case referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 91(1);

(d)

the criteria to be met by long flax fibre;

(e)

the conditions for the grant of aid and the advance payment, and in particular proof of the processing of straw;

(f)

the conditions to be met for fixing the limits referred to in Article 92(2).