Regulation 2013/1370 - Measures on fixing certain aids and refunds related to the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 346/12

The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘The CAP towards 2020: Meeting the food, natural resources and territorial challenges of the future’ sets out potential challenges, objectives and orientations for the Common Agricultural Policy (‘the CAP’) after 2013. In the light of the debate on that Communication, the CAP should be reformed with effect from 1 January 2014. That reform should cover all the main instruments of the CAP, including Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (1). In the context of the reformed regulatory framework, measures on fixing prices, levies, aid and quantitative limitations should be taken.

For the sake of clarity and transparency, the provisions on public intervention should be made subject to a common structure, whilst maintaining the policy pursued in each sector. For that purpose, it is appropriate to distinguish between reference thresholds laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) on the one hand and intervention prices on the other hand, and to define the latter. Only intervention prices for public intervention correspond to the applied administered prices referred to in the first sentence of paragraph 8 of Annex 3 to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (i.e. market price support). In this context, it should be understood that market intervention can take the form of public intervention as well as other forms of intervention that do not use ex ante established price indications.

The level of the public intervention price at which buying-in is carried out at a fixed price or under a tendering procedure should be provided for, including the cases for which an adjustment of the public intervention prices may be necessary. Equally, measures on quantitative limitations for carrying out the buying-in at a fixed price need to be taken. In both cases, the prices and quantitative limitation should reflect the practice and experience acquired under previous common market organisations.

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides for the granting of aid for private storage as a market intervention measure. Measures on the fixing of the aid amounts need to be provided for. In view of the practice and experience acquired under previous common market organisations, it is appropriate to provide for the fixing of the aid amounts both in advance and by a tendering procedure, and for certain elements to be taken into account when the aid is fixed in advance.

In order to ensure a sound budgetary management of the school fruit and vegetables scheme, a fixed ceiling of Union aid and maximum co-financing rates should be provided for. In order to allow all Member States to implement a cost-effective school fruit and vegetables scheme, a specified minimum amount of Union aid should be set.

To ensure the proper functioning of the aid for the supply of milk and milk products to children in educational establishments and to ensure flexibility in the administration of such a scheme, a maximum quantity of milk eligible for aid, as well as the amount of Union aid, should be fixed.

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, several measures in the sugar sector will expire...