Commission Regulation (EC) No 707/2008 of 24 July 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 952/2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 as regards the management of the Community market in sugar and the quota system

of 24 July 2008

amending Regulation (EC) No 952/2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 as regards the management of the Community market in sugar and the quota system

Preamble

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 of 20 February 2006 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector ¹ , and in particular Article 40 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) ² , in particular Article 50(1), in conjunction with Article 4 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) It may occur that white sugar produced by a given undertaking during a given marketing year is further processed into white sugar with specific requirements. Pursuant to Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 952/2006 ³ , sugar production is expressed in the total quantity of white sugar produced by a given undertaking in a marketing year. In order to avoid double counting, it is necessary to exclude from that production white sugar resulting from further processing of white sugar.

(2) Article 3(3) of Regulation (EC) No 952/2006 provides for two methods to determine the sugar content of syrups depending on their status of intermediate or non-intermediate syrups. Considering that one of the methods is obsolete, it is appropriate to simplify by referring only to the other method based on the extractable sugar content. However in the specific case of syrups from invert sugar, it is necessary to refer to the High Performance Liquid Chromatography method which is the only one possible from a technical point of view. Finally, to reflect technical progress, it is appropriate to mention only the refractrometric method to determine the dry matter content. The modifications should apply from 1 October 2008 in order to ensure that legitimate expectations of sugar producers are respected.

(3) Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 952/2006 defines the production of undertakings for the purposes of the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector, in the particular case where one undertaking outsources production to another. That outsourced production is deemed to be the production of the principal under certain conditions, including the case where the total sugar production of the processor and the principal is more than the sum of their quotas. That condition was adapted in the light of the preventive withdrawal decided for the marketing year 2006/2007 so that it concerns the sum of the preventive withdrawal thresholds of the processor and the principal instead of the sum of the quotas. Commission Regulation (EC) No 290/2007 of 16 March 2007 establishing, for the 2007/2008 marketing year, the percentage provided for in Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 ⁴ introduced a preventive withdrawal threshold for the marketing year 2007/2008. Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2007 ⁵ , which has amended Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, includes a provision for the Commission to decide each year on a possible preventive withdrawal threshold. It is therefore necessary to modify the condition for the outsourcing set out in Article 6(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 952/2006 so that it concerns the sum of the preventive withdrawal thresholds of the processor and the principal instead of the sum of quotas.

(4) It is necessary to provide for mutual assistance between Member States to ensure effective controls.

(5) Preferential sugar imports from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries as well as from least developed countries into the Community will gradually increase as from 1 October 2009. It is expected that, by 2012, those imports will account for more than 25 % of Community’s sugar consumption. The price information system should therefore include prices and quantities of imported raw and white sugar from those countries, currently available in the database of the Statistical Office of the European Communities

(6) The transmission of sugar prices for the price recording system takes place within a transitional system with quarterly transmissions from approved operators to the Commission. A final and computerised system of transmission has been elaborated. This system will enable a monthly transfer of prices from approved operators to the Member State followed by a transfer of the national price averages from Member States to the Commission. Provisions for the final system should replace the provisions for the transitional system.

(7) As from 1 October 2008, Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 will replace Regulation (EC) No 318/2006. Rather than transferring Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 concerning the purchase terms for beet to the Single CMO Regulation, Article 50 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that the Commission lays down those rules in implementing rules. The rules currently contained in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 should therefore be added to Regulation (EC) No 952/2006.

(8) The Community stock at the end of each marketing year is important for the assessment of the sugar market situation in view of possible market management decisions, notably the withdrawal. In certain factories, the processing of sugar for the new marketing year starts in the summer and the new production increases the monthly end-stocks of sugar manufacturers. In order to know the accurate Community stock at the end of the marketing year, it is necessary that approved sugar manufacturers and Member States communicate for the months of July, August and September the part of their end-stocks which results from the production of the following marketing year.

(9) Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 provides that an aid for the private storage of white sugar may be granted to sugar manufacturers who are allocated a quota, on the basis of the market price trend reflected by the recorded market prices. In order to implement the aid scheme quickly and when required, detailed rules for the application of the private storage scheme in the marketing year 2007/2008 should be added to Regulation (EC) No 952/2006.

(10) The aid for the private storage of white sugar should be determined by a tendering procedure in order to make the most efficient possible use of the resources available and to increase transparency and competition among manufacturers.

(11) The mandatory storage period is limited to 31 October 2008. Therefore tenders should not be lodged after 31 July 2008 to avoid an aid for a storage period shorter than three months which is considered insufficient to have an effect on the market prices.

(12) A tendering procedure should be provided when average Community prices for white sugar are below the reference price and are likely to remain at that level. It is appropriate to determine a threshold for market price below which a private storage aid is considered to become necessary. The threshold for the average Community price should be set at 85 % of the reference price.

(13) The restructuring process of the sugar industry in the Community has created regional differentiation with surplus regions (either due to local production or to imports) and deficit regions. The surplus regions are expected to be subject to downward pressure on prices at producers’ level due to the excess of the local supply over the local demand. By contrast, the deficit regions are expected to enjoy firmer prices at producers’ level due to the scarcity of the local supply compared to local demand. The average Community price will not fully reflect the price drop in certain Member States. It is therefore necessary to provide for an opening of the tendering procedure limited to the Member States where the national average prices fall below 80 % of the reference price.

(14) It is necessary to specify the requirements for the white sugar eligible to private storage aid.

(15) Tenders should contain all the information necessary to assess them, and communications between Member States and the Commission should be provided for.

(16) On the basis of the tenders received, a maximum aid may be fixed. However situations may arise in which none of the tenders received may be accepted.

(17) The information needed to establish the contract of storage should be specified as well as the starting and ending dates of the contractual storage period and the contracting obligations of the sugar manufacturer.

(18) A security should ensure that the quantities offered and possibly accepted are stored pursuant to the conditions set out in the present Regulation. Therefore, provisions should be adopted for the release and the forfeiting of the security lodged in accordance with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 of 22 July 1985 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of securities for agricultural products ⁶ .

(19) In the light of the evolution of the market situation for the ongoing marketing year and of the forecasts for the following marketing year, the Commission may give the possibility to the contracting parties to dispose of the sugar under contracts before the end of the contractual storage period.

(20) In order to ensure that the scheme is properly administered, it is necessary to indicate the conditions in which an advance payment may be granted, the adjustment of the aid in cases where the contractual quantity is not entirely respected, the checks of compliance with entitlement to the aid, the possible sanctions and the information to be notified to the Commission by the Member States.

(21) The allocation of the maximum quantity of 600 000 tonnes for intervention buying fixed in Article 18(2) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 should be adapted for the marketing year 2007/2008 to take into account changes in quotas per Member State as well as the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

(22) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for sugar and the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 952/2006 is amended as follows:

1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 1 This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, as regards in particular the determination of production, approval of manufacturers and refiners, the price and quota system, the conditions for buying sugar into intervention and selling sugar from intervention and the private storage for the marketing year 2007/2008.’;

4. in Article 10, the following paragraph is added: ‘6. The Member States shall assist one another to ensure effective controls, and to ensure the check on the authenticity of documents submitted and/or the accuracy of the data exchanged.’;

5. after Article 14, the following Article 14a is inserted: ‘Article 14a Additional information In addition to the prices collected at Community level in accordance with Article 14 of this Regulation, the Commission shall also inform the Management Committee for Sugar of prices and quantities for raw and white sugar imported from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries under the arrangements for products originating in certain states which are part of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States provided for in agreements establishing, or leading to the establishment of, Economic Partnership Agreements and from least developed countries as listed in Column D of Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005 based on customs declarations and data available in the database of the Statistical Office of the European Communities. OJ L 348, 31.12.2007, p. 1 ." OJ L 169, 30.6.2005, p. 1 .’;"

6. after Article 15, the following Article 15a is inserted: ‘Article 15a Final provisions for the transmission of price data Each undertaking subject to the obligation set out in Article 13 shall communicate before the 15th of each month the data established in accordance with Article 13(1) to the Member State which granted the approval. The first communication to the Member State shall be transmitted before 15 August 2008 and shall concern the data established in May and June 2008. Each Member State shall communicate to the Commission before the end of each month the averages of prices collected at national level, as well as the total corresponding quantities and the standard deviations. The averages and standard deviations shall be weighted by the quantities communicated by undertakings under the previous paragraph. The reception, processing and storage of the data by the Member States and the Commission shall be carried out in such a way as to guarantee the appropriate confidentiality of data. Upon simple request to the Member State, the Commission may have access to individual data sent by approved operators in accordance with Article 13(1). Other operators in the sugar sector, in particular buyers, may communicate to the Commission the average price for sugar established in accordance with Article 13. Operators shall give their name, business name and address.’;

7. after Article 16, the following Article 16a is inserted: ‘Article 16a Purchase terms for beet Agreements within the trade and delivery contracts referred to in Article 50(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 shall conform to purchase terms laid down in Annex II of this Regulation.’;

11. The Annex becomes Annex I and is replaced by the text in Annex I to this Regulation.

12. The text in Annex II to this Regulation is added as Annex II.

Article 2

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

Points 2(b) to (d) and points 7 and 12 of Article 1 shall apply as from 1 October 2008.

Final provisions

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 24 July 2008. For the Commission Mariann FISCHER BOEL Member of the Commission

¹ OJ L 58, 28.2.2006, p. 1 . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1260/2007, ( OJ L 283, 27.10.2007, p. 1 ).

² OJ L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1 . Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 510/2008, ( OJ L 149, 7.6.2008, p. 61 ).

³ OJ L 178, 1.7.2006, p. 39 . Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 551/2007, ( OJ L 131, 23.5.2007, p. 7 ).

⁴ OJ L 78, 17.3.2007, p. 20 . Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1263/2007 ( OJ L 283, 27.10.2007, p. 15 ).

⁵ OJ L 283, 27.10.2007, p. 1 .

⁶ OJ L 205, 3.8.1985, p. 5 . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1913/2006 ( OJ L 365, 21.12.2006, p. 52 ).

‘ANNEX I Quantities by Member State referred to in Article 23(3) for the marketing year 2007/08 (tonnes) Member State Quantities Belgium 31 615 Bulgaria 170 Czech Republic 13 346 Denmark 16 213 Germany 130 985 Greece 5 687 Spain 31 790 France (metropolitan) 130 447 France (overseas departments) 17 208 Italy 27 012 Lithuania 4 013 Hungary 10 699 Netherlands 33 376 Austria 14 541 Poland 63 513 Portugal (mainland) 537 Portugal (Azores) 357 Romania 3 912 Slovakia 5 278 Finland 3 225 Sweden 12 306 United Kingdom 43 769 ’

‘ANNEX II Purchase terms for beets, referred to in Article 16a POINT I For the purposes of this Annex “Contracting Parties” means: (a) sugar undertakings (hereinafter referred to as manufacturers), and (b) beet sellers (hereinafter referred to as sellers). POINT II 1. Delivery contracts shall be made in writing for a specified quantity of quota beet. 2. Delivery contracts shall specify whether an additional quantity of beet may be supplied, and under what terms. POINT III 1. Delivery contracts shall indicate the purchase prices for the quantities of beet referred to in point (a) and, if appropriate, point (b), of Article 50(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. In the case of the quantities referred to in the point a) of Article 50(3), those prices may not be lower than the minimum price for quota beet referred to in Article 49(1). 2. Delivery contracts shall lay down a fixed sugar content for beet. They shall include a conversion scale showing the different sugar contents and factors for converting the quantities of beet supplied into quantities corresponding to the sugar content shown in the delivery contract. The scale shall be based on the yields corresponding to the different sugar contents. 3. Where a seller has signed a delivery contract with a manufacturer for the delivery of beet as referred to in point (a) of Article 50(3), all deliveries by that seller, converted in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Point, shall be considered to be deliveries within the meaning of point (a) of Article 50(3), up to the quantity of beet specified in the delivery contract. 4. Manufacturers producing a quantity of sugar lower than their quota beet for which they have signed pre-sowing delivery contracts under point (a) of Article 50(3), shall distribute the quantity of beet corresponding to any additional production up to the amount of their quota among the sellers with whom they have signed pre-sowing delivery contracts within the meaning of point (a) of Article 50(3). Agreements within the trade may derogate from this provision. POINT IV 1. Delivery contracts shall contain provisions concerning the staggering and normal duration of beet deliveries. 2. Provisions referred to in paragraph 1 shall be those applicable during the previous marketing year, taking account of the level of actual production; agreements within the trade may derogate therefrom. POINT V 1. Delivery contracts shall provide for beet collection places. 2. Where sellers and manufacturers have already signed a delivery contract for the previous marketing year, the collection places agreed upon by them for deliveries during that marketing year shall remain in operation. Agreements within the trade may derogate from this provision. 3. Delivery contracts shall provide that loading and transport costs from the collection places are to be borne by the manufacturer subject to special agreements based on local rules or usages in operation before the previous marketing year. 4. However, in Denmark, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Finland and the United Kingdom, where beet is delivered free-at-factory, delivery contracts shall require manufacturers to contribute to loading and transport costs and shall stipulate the percentage or amounts. POINT VI 1. Delivery contracts shall provide for reception points for beet. 2. Where sellers and manufacturers have already signed a delivery contract for the previous marketing year, the reception points agreed upon by them for deliveries during that marketing year shall remain in operation. Agreements within the trade may derogate from this provision. POINT VII 1. Delivery contracts shall provide for the sugar content to be determined using the polarimetric method. A sample of the beet shall be drawn at the time of reception. 2. Agreements within the trade may provide for samples to be drawn at another stage. In such cases, the delivery contract shall provide for a correction to compensate for any drop in the sugar content between the reception and the drawing of the sample. POINT VIII Delivery contracts shall provide for gross weight, tare and sugar content to be determined using one of the following procedures: (a) jointly, by the manufacturer and the beet growers' trade organisation, if an agreement within the trade so provides; (b) by the manufacturer, under the supervision of the beet growers' trade organisation; (c) by the manufacturer, under the supervision of an expert recognised by the Member State concerned, provided the seller defrays the costs thereof. POINT IX 1. Delivery contracts shall require manufacturers to do one or more of the following for the whole quantity of beet delivered: (a) to return the fresh pulp from the tonnage of beet delivered free of charge to the seller, ex-factory; (b) to return part of that pulp, pressed, dried or dried and molassed, free of charge to the seller, ex-factory; (c) to return the pulp, pressed or dried, to the seller, ex-factory; in this case, the manufacturer may require the seller to pay the pressing or drying costs; (d) to pay the seller compensation which takes account of the possibilities of selling the pulp concerned. When parts of the whole quantity of beet delivered are subject to different treatment, the delivery contract shall impose more than one of the obligations provided for in the first subparagraph. 2. Agreements within the trade may provide for pulp to be delivered at a stage other than that referred to in paragraph 1(a), (b) and (c). POINT X 1. Delivery contracts shall fix the time limits for any advance payments and for payment of the purchase price for beet. 2. The time limits referred to in paragraph 1 shall be those valid during the previous marketing year. Agreements within the trade may derogate from this provision. POINT XI Where delivery contracts lay down rules covering matters which are dealt with in this Annex, or where they contain provisions governing other matters, their provisions and effects shall not conflict with this Annex. POINT XII 1. Agreements within the trade as described in Annex III, Part II, point 11 to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 shall contain arbitration clauses. 2. Where agreements within the trade at Community, regional or local level lay down rules covering matters which are dealt with in this Regulation, or where they contain provisions governing other matters, their provisions and effects shall not conflict with this Annex. 3. Agreements referred to in paragraph 2 lay down, in particular: (a) rules on the distribution to sellers of quantities of beet which the manufacturer decides to buy prior to sowing, for the manufacture of sugar within the limits of the quota; (b) rules on distribution as referred to in Point III(4); (c) the conversion scale referred to in Point III(2); (d) rules on the choice and supply of seeds of the varieties of beet to be produced; (e) the minimum sugar content of beet to be delivered; (f) a requirement for consultation between the manufacturer and the sellers' representatives before the starting date of beet deliveries is fixed; (g) the payment of premiums to sellers for early or late deliveries; (h) details of: (i) the part of the pulp referred to in Point IX(1)(b), (ii) the costs referred to in Point IX(1)(c), (iii) the compensation referred to in Point IX(1)(d); (i) the removal of pulp by the seller; (j) without prejudice to Article 49(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, rules on how any difference between the reference price and the actual selling price of the sugar is to be allocated between the manufacturer and sellers. POINT XIII Where there is no set agreement within the trade as to how the quantities of beet intended for the manufacture of sugar within the quota limits which the manufacturer offers to buy before sowing should be allocated among the sellers, the Member State concerned may itself lay down rules for such allocation. Those rules may also grant to traditional sellers of beet to cooperatives delivery rights other than those which they would enjoy if they belonged to such cooperatives.’

Footnotes

1. . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1260/2007, (). ↩ ↩²

2. . Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 510/2008, (). ↩ ↩²

3. . Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 551/2007, (). ↩ ↩²

4. . Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1263/2007 (). ↩ ↩²

5. . ↩ ↩²

6. . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1913/2006 (). ↩ ↩²