The Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Producer Organisations and Wine) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Amendment of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 U.K.

5.—(1) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors and supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to penalties to be applied in those sectors M1 is amended as follows.

(2) In Article 2 M2 —

(a) omit points (d) and (e);

F1 (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) In Article 3—

(a) omit the first and second sentences;

(b) in the third sentence—

(i) for “Member States may adopt” substitute “ Nothing in this Regulation prevents the Secretary of State from adopting ”;

(ii) for “organisations and on” substitute “ organisations, including rules concerning ”.

(4) In Article 4(1) and (2), for “Member States” substitute “ The Secretary of State ”.

(5) In Article 5—

(a) in the first paragraph, for the words from “Member States” to the end substitute “ producer organisations must have at least five producer members, all of whom are separate legal entities. ”;

(b) omit the second paragraph.

(6) In Article 6—

(a) in paragraph 2, for the second sentence substitute—

“Subject to paragraph 3, resignation from membership will take effect:

(a) if notice of resignation is received by the producer organisation on or before 30 September of a given calendar year (or such earlier date as may be set in the producer organisation's membership agreement in accordance with paragraph 3), on 1 January of the following year;

(b) if notice of resignation is received by the producer organisation after 30 September of a given calendar year (or such earlier date as may be set in the producer organisation's membership agreement in accordance with paragraph 3), on 1 January of the year after the following year.”;

(b) after paragraph 2, insert—

“3.   The membership agreement of a producer organisation may require notice of resignation to be given before 30 September (but no earlier than 30 June) of the year before that in which resignation is intended to take effect.”.

(7) In Article 7—

(a) for “Member States” substitute “ The Secretary of State ”;

(b) in point (e), for “national” substitute “ applicable ”.

(8) For Article 9, substitute—

“Article 9 U.K. Minimum value of marketed production

For the purposes of Article 154(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, the minimum value of marketed production is:

(a) [euro]250,000 for producer organisations recognised for mushrooms or nuts;

(b) [euro]1 million for producer organisations recognised in respect of any other product or group of products.”.

(9) In Article 12—

(a) in paragraph 1, in the words before point (a), for “Member State” substitute “ Secretary of State ”;

(b) in paragraph 2—

(i) for “Member States may set” substitute “ nothing in this Regulation prevents the Secretary of State from setting ”;

(ii) for “Member States may increase” substitute “ Nothing in this Regulation prevents the Secretary of State from increasing ”.

(10) In Article 13(1), for “a Member State” substitute “ the Secretary of State ”.

(11) For Article 14, substitute—

“Article 14 U.K. Ex-transnational producer organisations

1.   An ex-transnational producer organisation retains recognition as a producer organisation pursuant to Article 152 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provided that it fulfils the criteria and requirements for recognition set out in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2017/892.

2.   Any person that:

(a) immediately before IP completion day, was a member of a transnational producer organisation which is an ex-transnational producer organisation; and

(b) is not a producer within the meaning of Article 2(a),

is a non-producer member of the ex-transnational producer organisation within the meaning of Article 16, whether or not such person was a producer member of such organisation before IP completion day.”.

(12) In Article 15(1), for “Member State” substitute “ Secretary of State ”.

(13) In Article 16—

(a) in paragraph 1—

(i) for “Member States may determine the conditions under which any” substitute “ Any ”;

(ii) after “producer organisation” insert “ if and for so long as there is no conflict of interest between that person and the producer organisation ”;

(b) omit paragraph 2;

(c) in paragraph 3—

(i) in point (b), for “by the Union” substitute “ from public funds M3 ”;

(ii) for the second subparagraph substitute—

“Restrictions on the right of a natural or legal person to vote on decisions relating to operational funds are set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation.”;

(d) after paragraph 3 insert—

“4.   By way of derogation from paragraph 3(b), an existing non-UK member of an ex-transnational producer organisation may continue to benefit directly from measures financed from public funds, where:

(a) those measures are contained in an operational programme that was implemented by that organisation before IP completion day; and

(b) that member was entitled to benefit from those measures immediately before IP completion day.”.

(14) In Article 17—

(a) in paragraph 1—

(i) omit “national”;

(ii) for “Member State” substitute “ Secretary of State ”;

(b) for paragraph 2 substitute—

“2.   The maximum percentage of voting rights and shares or capital which any natural or legal person may hold in any producer organisation that does not fall within paragraph 1 is set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation.”;

(c) in paragraph 3, for “Member States' authorities” substitute “ The Secretary of State ”;

(d) omit paragraph 4.

(15) In Article 18—

(a) after “17” insert “ (save as provided otherwise in this Article and Annex VIII) ”;

(b) at the end, insert “ Restrictions on voting rights in associations of producer organisations are set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation. ”.

(16) In Article 19—

(a) in paragraph 1, for “Member States” substitute “ The Secretary of State ”;

(b) in paragraph 4, for “Member States may adopt” substitute “ Nothing in this Regulation prevents the Secretary of State from adopting ”.

(17) In Article 20—

(a) in paragraph 1—

(i) for “Member States may determine the conditions under which natural” substitute “ Natural ”;

(ii) after “producer organisations” insert “ if and for so long as there is no conflict of interest between those persons and the association of producer organisations ”;

(b) in paragraph 2—

(i) in point (b), for “by the Union” substitute “ from public funds ”;

(ii) for the second subparagraph substitute—

“Restrictions on those members' right to vote on decisions relating to operational programmes are set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation.”.

(18) Omit Article 21.

(19) In Article 22—

(a) in paragraph 1—

(i) in the first subparagraph, for “The”, in the first place it occurs, substitute “ Except to the extent that this Article and Article 23 provide otherwise, the ”;

(ii) in the second subparagraph, for “The” substitute “ Except to the extent that this Article and Article 23 provide otherwise, the ”;

(b) in paragraph 3, for “Member States” substitute “ The Secretary of State ”;

(c) omit paragraph 4;

(d) in paragraph 5, for “Only” substitute “ Except to the extent that this Article and Article 23 provide otherwise, only ”;

(e) in paragraph 8(b), for “Member State approval” substitute “ approval by the Secretary of State ”.

(20) In Article 23 M4 —

(a) in paragraph 2, for “The” substitute “ Except where paragraph 2A applies, the ”;

(b) after paragraph 2, insert—

“2A.   For ex-transnational producer organisations, the ceiling on financial assistance referred to in Article 34(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 is to be calculated, and compliance with Article 154(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 is to be assessed, on the basis of the value of the marketed production during the reference period of producers who are producer members of the organisation on 1 January of the year for which aid is requested, calculated in accordance with Article 22.”;

F2 (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(21) In Article 31 M5 —

(a) in paragraph 6, after the fourth subparagraph, insert—

“The obligations to recover any aid paid from public funds under the fourth subparagraph do not apply to investments that are financed under an operational programme that was being implemented immediately before IP completion day by an ex-transnational producer organisation.”;

(b) in paragraph 7, in the second subparagraph, omit “producer” in the first place it occurs.

(22) After Article 36(5), insert—

“6.   The obligations to recover any aid paid from public funds under the sentence at the end of paragraph 2(b) and paragraph 3 do not apply to investments that are financed under an operational programme that was being implemented immediately before IP completion day by an ex-transnational producer organisation.”.

(23) In Article 56(2), for “, associations of producer organisations, transnational associations of producer organisations and producer groups” substitute “ and associations of producer organisations ”.

(24) In Article 59—

(a) in paragraph 1 M6 —

(i) in the first sentence—

(aa) for “a Member State” substitute “ the Secretary of State ”;

(bb) for “it” substitute “ the Secretary of State ”;

(ii) in the second sentence, for “their” substitute “the Secretary of State's”;

(b) in paragraph 2, in the first subparagraph—

(i) in the first and second sentences, for “Member State” substitute “ Secretary of State ”;

(ii) in the third sentence, omit “horizontal national”;

(c) in paragraph 3—

(i) in the first sentence—

(aa) for “competent authority of the Member State” substitute “ Secretary of State ”;

(bb) for “Member State”, in the second place it occurs, substitute “ Secretary of State ”;

(ii) in the second sentence, omit “horizontal national”;

(d) in paragraph 4—

(i) for “a Member State” substitute “ the Secretary of State ”;

(ii) for “it” substitute “ the Secretary of State ”;

(e) in paragraph 5—

(i) in the first sentence, for “Member State” substitute “ Secretary of State ”;

(ii) in the second sentence, omit “horizontal national”;

(f) in paragraph 6—

(i) in the first subparagraph, for “Member States” substitute “ The Secretary of State ”;

(ii) in the second subparagraph—

(aa) for “Member State”, in both places it occurs, substitute “ Secretary of State ”;

(bb) for “Member States” substitute “ the Secretary of State ”.

(25) In Article 60—

(a) in paragraph 1 M7 , after “payments to and” insert “ the Secretary of State shall suspend ”;

F3 (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(26) Omit Articles 68 to 71.

(27) Omit Article 72(2).

(28) In Annex II—

(a) in point 8, for “Union” substitute “ United Kingdom ”;

(b) in point 20, for “Union”, in both places it occurs, substitute “ United Kingdom ”.

(29) In Annex III—

(a) in point 2(c), omit the words from “, as well” to “associations of producer organisations”;

(b) in point 13—

(i) for “territory of the Union” substitute “ United Kingdom ”;

(ii) omit “(a) and”.

(30) In Annex V, in Part A M8 —

(a) for “, associations”, in each place it occurs, substitute “ and associations ”;

(b) in point 2—

(i) omit “, transnational associations of producer organisations”, in each place it occurs;

(ii) omit point (a)(ii);

(iii) in point (b), omit the words from “In addition” to the end;

(c) in points 3 and 4, omit “and transnational associations of producer organisations”, in each place it occurs.

(31) After Annex VII, insert—

“ANNEX VIII U.K. Restrictions on shareholding and voting rights in producer organisations and associations of producer organisations

1.   In this Annex:

(a) ‘voting right’ means a right to vote in relation to a relevant decision;

(b) ‘relevant decision’ means any decision affecting the producer organisation or association of producer organisations (as the case may be) and its members (in their capacity as such), including the election of the producer organisation's or association of producer organisations' (as the case may be) directors or board members.

2.   A producer organisation must provide in its members' agreements and statutes for each producer member to have one voting right.

3.   By way of derogation from point 1, a producer organisation that has more than ten members may, with the agreement of the Secretary of State, provide for individual producer members to exercise up to 10% each of the voting rights. The remaining voting rights (other than voting rights held by non-producer members, insofar as permitted by the Secretary of State and the producer organisation) must be shared between the remaining producer members. A producer organisation that implements this option must adopt measures to prevent abuses of power by its members.

4.   A producer organisation may provide in its members' agreements and statutes for non-producer members to have voting rights, provided that:

(a) a non-producer member must not be permitted to hold more than one voting right;

(b) the total share of the voting rights exercisable by non-producer members must be:

(i) in relation to decisions concerning an operational programme that was being implemented by an ex-transnational producer organisation immediately before IP completion day, less than a majority of the total number of voting rights exercisable in respect of such decisions;

(ii) in relation to any other relevant decisions, no more than 20%.

5.   A natural or legal person must not hold more than:

(a) 20% of the total number of shares or amount of capital in a producer organisation directly; or

(b) 49% of the total number of shares or amount of capital in a producer organisation in total, directly or indirectly.

6.   For the purpose of point 5, a person holds a share or capital “indirectly” if the person has a majority stake in another person and that other person:

(a) holds the share or capital in question; or

(b) is part of a chain of persons:

(i) each of whom (other than the last) has a majority stake in the person immediately below it in the chain; and

(ii) the last of whom holds the share or capital.

7.   An association of producer organisations must provide in its members' agreements and statutes for each member that is a producer organisation to have one voting right.

8.   An association of producer organisations may provide in its members' agreements and statutes for producer members that are not producer organisations to have voting rights, provided that:

(a) such members must not be permitted to hold more than one voting right each;

(b) the total share of the voting rights exercisable by such members must be less than a majority of the total number of voting rights exercisable in respect of each relevant decision.”.

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 5(2)(b) revoked (25.6.2021) by The Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations, Tariff Quotas and Wine) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/756), regs. 1(2), 7(b)

F2 Reg. 5(20)(c) revoked (25.6.2021) by The Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations, Tariff Quotas and Wine) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/756), regs. 1(2), 7(b)

F3 Reg. 5(25)(b) revoked (25.6.2021) by The Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations, Tariff Quotas and Wine) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/756), regs. 1(2), 7(b)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 5 in force at 31.12.2020 on IP completion day, see reg. 1(3)

Marginal Citations

M1 EUR 2017/891.Under Article 138 of the withdrawal agreement (as defined in s39(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1)) and s7A of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16), certain common organisation of the markets and rural development measures committed under the multiannual financial framework 2014-20 and previous financial perspectives continue to be governed by directly applicable EU law.

M2 Article 2 is also amended by S.I. 2020/1445.

M3 S.I. 2020/1445 inserts a definition of “public funds” into Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/891.

M4 Article 23 is also amended by S.I. 2020/1445.

M5 Article 31 is also amended by S.I. 2020/1445.

M6 Article 59(1) is also amended by S.I. 2020/1445.

M7 Article 60(1) is also amended by S.I. 2020/1445.

M8 Part A of Annex 5 is also amended by S.I. 2020/1445.