Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) establishing a special framework of assistance for traditional ACP suppliers of bananas (98/C 108/16) COM(98) 5 final - 98/0014 (SYN)

(submitted by the Commission on 17 February 1998)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130w thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty,

Whereas the fourth ACP-EEC Convention provides that, in respect of its banana exports to the Community markets, no ACP State shall be placed, as regards access to its traditional markets and its advantages on those markets, in a less favourable situation than in the past or at present;

Whereas the common organisation of the market in bananas established by Regulation (EEC) No 404/93, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3290/94, set the framework for continuing, on the Community market, the advantages enjoyed in the past by traditional ACP suppliers;

Whereas, in particular, the trade regime with third countries established by Title IV of that Regulation was designed to allow bananas produced by the ACP States which are traditional suppliers to the Community to be disposed of on the Community market providing an adequate income for the producers, in accordance with the Community's commitment set out above;

Whereas this trade regime has been amended by Regulation (EC) No . . ./98;

Whereas these modifications have substantially altered the market conditions for traditional ACP suppliers;

Whereas particular efforts will thus be needed by traditional ACP suppliers to adapt to these new market conditions in order to maintain a presence on the Community market and to allow for the continuing viability of traditional ACP supplies;

Whereas technical and financial assistance, additional to that provided for in the fourth ACP-EC Convention, should therefore be granted to traditional ACP suppliers to enable them to adapt to new market conditions and in particular to improve competitiveness; whereas at the same time environment-friendly production and marketing methods should be encouraged;

Whereas, as this assistance should relate to the special efforts required as a consequence of the new market conditions, objective criteria should be fixed to determine the extent of such assistance;

Whereas, in order to ensure the appropriateness of such assistance with regard to the objectives pursued, this assistance should be temporary and gradually and smoothly phased out;

Whereas, to facilitate implementation of these provisions, a procedure involving close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission should be established,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. A special framework for technical and financial assistance is hereby established to assist traditional ACP suppliers of bananas to adapt to the new market conditions following the amendments introduced to the common organisation of the market in bananas by Regulation (EC) No . . ./98.

2. This special framework shall be implemented for a period not exceeding ten years starting on 1 January 1999.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation:

- 'traditional ACP suppliers` means the ACP States listed in the Annex

- 'bananas` means fresh or dried bananas covered by CN code 0803 00 19.

Article 3

1. Traditional ACP suppliers shall be eligible for technical and financial assistance.

2. Technical and financial assistance shall be granted to contribute to the implementation of programmes in the banana sector aiming at improving competitiveness, in particular through:

- increasing productivity, without causing damage to the environment,

- improving quality,

- adapting production, distribution or marketing methods to meet the quality standards provided for in Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93,

- establishing producers' organizations which have as their objective the improvement of the marketing and competitiveness of their products and the development of systems for certifying environment-friendly production methods,

- developing a production and/or marketing strategy to meet the requirements of the market in the Community in the light of the common organisation of the market in bananas,

- assisting with training, market intelligence, the development of environment-friendly production methods, improving the distribution infrastructure and improving commercial and financial services to banana producers.

Article 4

The Commission shall decide on the eligibility of the programmes referred to in Article 3 after consultation with the traditional ACP suppliers concerned. It shall also take into account the consistency of the envisaged programme with the general development objectives of the ACP State concerned and its impact on regional cooperation with other banana producers, in particular the Community producers.

Article 5

1. Within the global amount available for a given year, the Commission shall fix the maximum amount available to each traditional ACP supplier for the financing of the programmes referred to in Article 3(2), taking into account the level of competitiveness and the importance of banana production for the economy of the country concerned.

2. In order to ensure the appropriateness of the technical and financial assistance with regard to the objectives pursued, a reduction coefficient of up to 15 % shall be applied, where appropriate, from the year 2004, to the level of assistance made available to an individual ACP traditional supplier in the previous year, where no sufficient increase in competitiveness can be observed.

Article 6

The financial support provided under this Regulation shall be in addition to any funds available for traditional ACP suppliers pursuant to the provisions of the fourth ACP-EC Convention.

Article 7

1. Detailed rules for the application of this Regulation shall be laid down by the Commission.

2. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.

3. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

4. The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the committee.

5. If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.

6. If, on the expiry of a period of three months from the date of the proposal, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.

Article 8

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

It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX

List provided for in Article 2(1)

Traditional ACP suppliers of bananas

Belize

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Côte d'Ivoire

Dominica

Grenada

Jamaica

Madagascar

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Somalia

Suriname