Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1670/2006 lays down that the quantities of cereals eligible for the refund are to be the quantities placed under control and distilled, weighted by a coefficient to be fixed annually for each Member State concerned. The coefficient is to express the average ratio between the total quantities exported and the total quantities marketed of the spirit drink concerned, on the basis of the trend noted in those quantities during the number of years corresponding to the average ageing period of the spirit drink in question.

According to the information provided by Ireland in respect of the period 1 January to 31 December 2010, the average ageing period for Irish whiskey in 2010 was 5 years.

The coefficients for the period 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012 should therefore be fixed accordingly.

Article 10 of Protocol 3 to the Agreement on the European Economic Area excludes the grant of refunds in respect of exports to Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway. Moreover, the Union has concluded agreements abolishing export refunds with certain third countries. Under the terms of Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1670/2006, that should be taken into account in calculating the coefficients for 2011/12.