3. 8. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 208/3 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2261/84 of 17 July 1984 laying down general rules on the granting of aid for the production of olive oil and of aid to olive oil producer organizations THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC of 22 September 1966 on the establishment of a common organization of the market in oils and fats (), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2260/84 (3, and in particular Article 5 (4) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas Article 5 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC introduced a system of production aid for olive oil; whereas this aid in respect of areas under olives at a certain date is granted to growers who are members of the producer organizations specified in Article 20c (1) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC and whose average production is at least 100 kilograms of oil per market- ing year and to other growers on the basis of the number and production potential of olive trees and of the yields of such trees, as determined according to a standard method, and provided that the olives produced have actually been harvested ; Whereas, pending the establishing of a register of olive cultivation, aid for the growers concerned should be calculated on the basis of the average yields of olive trees ; Whereas, in order to ensure the proper operation of the system of aid, it is necessary to determine the types of olive oil in respect of which aid is granted ; Whereas, in order to ensure the proper operation of the system aid, the rights and obligations of all those concerned, namely growers producer organizations and associations of producer organizations and also the Member States concerned should be laid down; Whereas the basis should be a system of crop declara- tions made by growers; Whereas the olive oil producer organizations referred to in Article 20c (1) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC must have a minimum number of members or repre- sent a minimum percentage of growers or of oil production ; whereas these minimum numbers or percentages must be fixed at levels compatible,.on the () OJ No 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66. (>) See page 1 of this Official Journal. one hand, with the need for efficiency of the organiza- tions and, on the other hand, with facilities for verifi- cation available in the producer Member States; whereas to ensure the efficient management of the organizations, certain additional conditions to be fulfilled by member growers should be laid down ; Whereas the associations of olive oil producer organi- zations referred to in Article 20c (2) of the said Regula- tion must be composed of a minimum number of groups or represent a minimum percentage of national production ; whereas these minimum numbers or percentages should be set at levels which enable the special coordination and checking work incumbent on such associations to be carried out in an effective manner ; ‘ Whereas Article 20c of the said Regulation specifies that producer organizations and associations of producer organizations should carry out certain verifi- cation and coordination tasks; whereas the precise nature of these tasks should therefore be defined ; Whereas, in the interests of proper administration, producer organizations and associations thereof must apply to the competent national authorities for recog- nition in good time before the beginning of the marketing year ; whereas the Member State concerned should decide on their application within a reasonable time ; Whereas, in accordance with Article 20d (1) of the said Regulation, a percentage of the aid may be retained to contribute towards the expenditure incurred by producer organizations and associations thereof on making checks; whereas steps should be taken to ensure that the sums retained are used only for the financing of the tasks provided for in Article 20c (1) and (2) of the said Regulation; Whereas Article 20d (2) of the said Regulation provides that only associations are to qualify for an advance on the amount of the aid ; whereas for reasons of sound management this advance should not exceed a certain percentage of the amount of the aid; Whereas, in order to ensure the proper operation of the system of production aid for growers who belong to producer organizations, provision should be made for paying aid only in respect of the quantities obtained in approved mills ; whereas, for the purposes of approval, the mills concerned should fulfil a number of conditions ;