# COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1252/2004

of 7 July 2004

opening the buying-in of butter in certain Member States

## Preamble

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in milk and milk products [^1] ,

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2771/1999 of 16 December 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 as regards intervention on the market in butter and cream [^2] , and in particular Article 2(1) thereof,

Whereas:

**(1)** Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2771/1999 lays down that buying-in is to be opened at 90 % of the intervention price or suspended by the Commission in a Member State, as appropriate, once it is observed that, for two weeks in succession, the market price in that Member State is below or equal to or above 92 % of the intervention price.

**(2)** On the basis of the market prices communicated by the new Member States from 1 May 2004 onwards, the Commission has observed that the prices in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been below 92 % of the intervention price for two consecutive weeks. Intervention buying-in should therefore be opened in these Member States,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

## **Article 1**

Buying-in of butter as provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 is hereby opened in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

## **Article 2**

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the *Official Journal of the European Union* .

## Final provisions

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 7 July 2004. *For the Commission* Franz FISCHLER *Member of the Commission*

[^1] [OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 48](http://publications.europa.eu/resource/oj/JOL_1999_160_R_TOC) . Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 186/2004 ( [OJ L 29, 3.2.2004, p. 6](http://publications.europa.eu/resource/oj/JOL_2004_029_R_TOC) ).

[^2] [OJ L 333, 24.12.1999, p. 11](http://publications.europa.eu/resource/oj/JOL_1999_333_R_TOC) . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 810/2004 ( [OJ L 149, 30.4.2004, p. 138](http://publications.europa.eu/resource/oj/JOL_2004_149_R_TOC) ).

[^1]: . Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 186/2004 ().
[^2]: . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 810/2004 ().