Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (repealed)Show full title

PART IV COMPETITION RULES

CHAPTER I Rules applying to undertakings

Article 175 Application of Articles 81 to 86 of the Treaty

Save as otherwise provided for in this Regulation, Articles 81 to 86 of the Treaty and the implementation provisions thereof shall, subject to Article 176 of this Regulation, apply to all agreements, decisions and practices referred to in Articles 81(1) and 82 of the Treaty which relate to the production of or trade in the products referred to in points (a) to (h), point (k) and points (m) to (u) of Article 1(1) and in Article 1(3) of this Regulation.

Article 176 Exceptions

1. Article 81(1) of the Treaty shall not apply to the agreements, decisions and practices referred to in Article 175 of this Regulation which are an integral part of a national market organisation or are necessary for the attainment of the objectives set out in Article 33 of the Treaty.

In particular, Article 81(1) of the Treaty shall not apply to agreements, decisions and practices of farmers, farmers' associations, or associations of such associations belonging to a single Member State which concern the production or sale of agricultural products or the use of joint facilities for the storage, treatment or processing of agricultural products, and under which there is no obligation to charge identical prices, unless the Commission finds that competition is thereby excluded or that the objectives of Article 33 of the Treaty are jeopardised.

2. After consulting the Member States and hearing the undertakings or associations of undertakings concerned and any other natural or legal person that it considers appropriate, the Commission shall have sole power, subject to review by the Court of Justice, to determine, by a decision which shall be published, which agreements, decisions and practices fulfil the conditions specified in paragraph 1.

The Commission shall undertake such determination either on its own initiative or at the request of a competent authority of a Member State or of an interested undertaking or association of undertakings.

3. The publication of the decision referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall state the names of the parties and the main content of the decision. It shall have regard to the legitimate interest of undertakings in the protection of their business secrets.

Article 177 Agreements and concerted practices in the tobacco sector

1. Article 81(1) of the Treaty shall not apply to the agreements and concerted practices of recognised interbranch organisations in the tobacco sector, intended to implement the aims referred to in Article 123(c) of this Regulation provided that:

(a) the agreements and concerted practices have been notified to the Commission;

(b) the Commission, acting within three months of receipt of all the details required, has not found that those agreements or concerted practices are incompatible with Community competition rules.

The agreements and concerted practices may not be implemented during that three-month period.

2. Agreements and concerted practices shall be declared contrary to Community competition rules in the following cases where:

(a) they may lead to the partitioning of markets in any form within the Community;

(b) they may affect the sound operation of the market organisation;

(c) they may create distortions of competition which are not essential to achieving the objectives of the common agricultural policy pursued by the interbranch organisation measure;

(d) they entail the fixing of prices or quotas, without prejudice to measures taken by interbranch organisations in the application of specific provisions of Community rules;

(e) they may create discrimination or eliminate competition in respect of a substantial proportion of the products in question.

3. If, following expiry of the three-month period referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1, the Commission finds that the conditions for applying this Chapter have not been met, it shall without the assistance of the Committee referred to in Article 195(1), take a decision declaring that Article 81(1) of the Treaty applies to the agreement or concerted practice in question.

That decision shall not apply earlier than the date of notification to the interbranch organisation concerned, unless that interbranch organisation has given incorrect information or misused the exemption provided for in paragraph 1.

Article 178 Binding effect of agreements and concerted practices on non-members in the tobacco sector

1. Interbranch organisations in the tobacco sector may request that certain of their agreements or concerted practices be made binding for a limited period on individuals and groups in the economic sector concerned which are not members of the trade branches which they represent, in the areas in which the branches operate.

In order for their rules to be extended, interbranch organisations shall represent at least two thirds of the production and/or the trade concerned. Where the proposed extension of the rules is of inter-regional scope, the interbranch organisations shall prove they possess a minimum degree of representativeness, in respect of each of the grouped branches, in each region covered.

2. The rules for which an extension of scope is requested shall have been in force for at least one year and shall relate to one of the following objectives:

(a) knowledge of production and the market;

(b) definition of minimum qualities;

(c) use of cultivation methods compatible with the protection of the environment;

(d) definition of minimum standards of packing and presentation;

(e) use of certified seed and monitoring of product quality.

3. Extension of the rules shall be subject to approval by the Commission.

Article 179 Implementing rules in respect of agreements and concerted practices in the tobacco sector

The Commission shall lay down the detailed rules for the application of Articles 177 and 178 including the rules concerning notifications and publication.

CHAPTER II State Aid rules

Article 180 Application of Articles 87, 88 and 89 of the Treaty

Save as otherwise provided for in this Regulation, and in particular with the exception of the State aids referred to in Article 182 of this Regulation, Articles 87, 88 and 89 of the Treaty shall apply to the production of and trade in the products referred to in points (a) to (h), point (k) and points (m) to (u) of Article 1(1) and in Article 1(3) of this Regulation.

Article 181 Specific provisions for the milk and milk products sector

Subject to Article 87(2) of the Treaty, aids the amount of which is fixed on the basis of the price or quantity of products listed in Part XVI of Annex I of this Regulation shall be prohibited.

National measures permitting equalisation between the prices of products listed in Part XVI of Annex I of this Regulation shall also be prohibited.

Article 182 Specific national provisions

1. Subject to Commission authorisation, aids for the production and marketing of reindeer and reindeer products (CN ex 0208 and ex 0210) may be granted by Finland and Sweden insofar as they do not entail any increase in traditional levels of production.

2. Subject to Commission authorisation, Finland may grant aid respectively for certain quantities of seeds and for certain quantities of cereal seed produced solely in Finland, because of its specific climatic conditions.

3. Member States which reduce their sugar quota by more than 50 % of the sugar quota fixed on 20 February 2006 in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 may grant temporary State aid during the period for which the transitional aid for beet growers is being paid in accordance with Chapter 10f of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. The Commission shall, on the basis of an application by any Member State concerned, decide on the total amount of the State aid available for this measure.

For Italy, the temporary aid referred to in the first subparagraph shall not exceed a total of EUR 11 per marketing year per tonne of sugar beet to be granted to sugar beet growers and for the transport of sugar beet.

Finland may grant aid up to EUR 350 per hectare per marketing year to sugar beet growers.

The Member States concerned shall inform the Commission within 30 days of the end of each marketing year of the amount of State aid actually granted in that marketing year.

4. Without prejudice to the application of Article 88(1) and of the first sentence of Article 88(3) of the Treaty, until 31 December 2010, Germany may grant aid in the framework of the German Alcohol Monopoly for products marketed, after further transformation, by the Monopoly, as ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin listed in Annex I to the Treaty. The total amount of this aid shall not exceed EUR 110 million per year.

Germany shall present before 30 June each year, a report to the Commission on the functioning of the system.