(1)

Article 2(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 fixes the intervention price for white sugar for non-deficit areas at EUR 631,9/tonne for the 2001/2002 to 2005/2006 marketing years.

(2)

Article 2(1)(b) of that Regulation provides that derived intervention prices for white sugar are to be fixed for each deficit area each year. When those prices are fixed, account is to be taken of the regional variations in the price of sugar, which, given a normal harvest and free movement of sugar, may be expected to occur under natural conditions of price formation on the market and in view of experience gained and the costs of transporting sugar from surplus areas to deficit areas.

(3)

To establish whether an area is a deficit area, projections should be made on the basis of the data returned by the Member States relating both to the current marketing year as regards consumption trends, and to the prospects for the coming marketing year as regards developments in available production. As a result, areas should be recognised as deficit areas only where the projections clearly indicate that a deficit is likely to occur.

(4)

On this basis, the areas of production in Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Portugal and Finland are likely to be deficit areas.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Sugar,

(a)

EUR 648,80/tonne for all areas in Spain;

(b)

EUR 646,50/tonne for all areas in Ireland and the United Kingdom;

(c)

EUR 646,50/tonne for all areas in Portugal;

(d)

EUR 646,50/tonne for all areas in Finland.