No L 340/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 12. 86 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1986 on the system of ceilings on the price of diesel fuel for ﬁshermen introduced by the French Government (Only the French text is authentic) (86/592/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular the first subpara- graph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3796/81 of 29 December 1981 on the common organization of the market in fishery products (*), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Article 28 thereof, After giving interested parties notice, pursuant to the provisions of the first subparagraph of Article 93 (2) of the EEC Treaty, to submit their comments (‘) and having regard to the comments submitted, Whereas : I Background and description of the aid - In April 1982, the staff of the Commission of the Euro- pean Communities learnt through the press that the French Government had announced the entry into force of the system for the indexing of the price of diesel fuel for fishermen. At the request of the Commission dated 28 June 1982, repeated on 11 August and 2 December 1982, the French () OJ No L 379, 31. 12. 1981, p. 1. () OJ No C 227, 7. 9. 1985, p. 3 authorities confirmed the existence of such a scheme by letters of 22 July and 14 December 1982. Considering that reply to be inadequate, on 8 February 1983 the Commission decided to examine the matter with regard to Article 169 of the EEC Treaty on the basis of a failure to comply with Article § of the Treaty. Under that procedure, by letter of 6 May 1983 the French authorities provided more detailed information on the scheme for adjusting fuel prices for fishermen. It involves a mechanism set up in close conjunction with the petroleum distributing companies and is intended to bring about a gradual adjustment of the price of diesel fuel in the fisheries sector in order to avoid the social and economic repercussions of a sudden sharp rise. It thus comes into play when a significant difference is recorded between the increase in the market price for diesel oil and the variation in the general consumer-price index drawn up monthly by the Institut National de la Statlstxque et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE). The latter is used to fix a ‘ceiling’ price for fishermen. If its is exceeded on the diesel oil market, the distributors receive from the State the difference between the price paid by the fishermen and the market price in order to offset their losses. If the price of diesel fuel for fishermen subsequently reaches the market price, and the change in the latter is less than the increase in the cost of living index, the mechanism is suspended. After appearing for the first time in March 1982, the scheme for adjusting fuel prices for fishermen was suspended in 1983. In early 1985, the Commission staff learnt, once more through the press, that it had been reinstated under the same conditions.