51996PC0606

Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) providing for additional measures for direct support of producer's incomes or for the beef and veal sector (97/C 7/05) COM(96) 606 final - 96/0286(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 26 November 1996)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty of the European Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Whereas, in the light of the continuing serious difficulties in the beef and veal sector resulting from consumer concerns in relation to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and further to those measures which were made to support producers' incomes by Council Regulation (EC) No 1357/96 (1), additional measures for the direct support of producers' incomes or for the beef and veal sector are necessary;

Whereas the amount of aid available to each Member State for direct support of producer incomes or the beef and veal sector shall be distributed according to a key which takes into account, in particular, the size of the beef herd in each Member State; whereas Member States shall distribute the total amount of finance available on the basis of objective criteria, and shall avoid any market distortion;

Whereas, for budgetary reasons, the Community shall finance the expenditure incurred by Member States in relation to the direct support of producer incomes or the beef and veal sector only where such payments are made by a certain deadline,

HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING REGULATION:

Article 1

Member States shall use the amounts set out in Annex I to make additional payments, according to objective criteria, to support producers' incomes or the beef and veal sector in their territory, provided that these payments do not cause distortion of competition.

Article 2

1. The measures introduced by Article 1 of this regulation shall be deemed to be intervention intended to stabilize agricultural markets within the meaning of Article 3 (1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 (2).

2. The Community shall finance the expenditure incurred by Member States in relation to the payments referred to in Article 1 only where such payments are made by them by 15 October 1997 at the latest.

Article 3

The conversion rate to be applied shall be the agricultural rate valid on 1 December 1996.

Article 4

Any detailed rules necessary for the application of this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 27 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 (3).

Article 5

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

It shall not be applicable before the day the general budget of the European Communities for the financial year 1997 has been declared as finally adopted.

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

(1) OJ No L 175, 13. 7. 1996, p. 9.

(2) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.

(3) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24.

ANNEX

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