11. 12. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 333/5 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 3472/85 of 10 December 1985 on the buying-in and storage of olive oil by intervention agencies THE COMMISSION 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 231/85(3), and in particular Article 12 (4) thereof, Whereas the purpose of the intervention price is to guarantee olive oil producers a price which is as close as possible to the market target price ; whereas this objective can be achieved by providing for an intervention system for those olive oils which constitute the greater part of their production and which can be stored ; whereas those oils for which marketing is difficult should be excluded from this guarantee; Whereas, when the minimum quantity which the inter- vention agency will accept is being fixed, account must be taken, firstly, of the proportions of the various qualities represented in total virgin olive oil production and of the production structure and, secondly, of trade practices at the wholesale stage, where the intervention price is fixed ; Whereas measures should be laid down enabling the origin of the product offered for intervention to be ascer- © . tained ; Whereas, since intervention is confined to the olive oils specified in points 1 and 4 of the Annex to Regulation 136/66/EEC, in order to ensure that the intervention system operates correctly, the method of analysis to be used to guarantee that products offered for intervention correspond to the definitions of the abovementioned oils should be specified ; - Whereas, in view of the normal practice in the trade, it is appropriate to fix the maximum water and impurities content and the threshold levels for applying weight deductions ; Whereas the price increases and reductions used to adjust the buying-in price must be fixed according to the value of the various qualities of oils which may be offered for intervention, taking account of the relative values on the Community market; whereas, to ensure that these differentiated increases and reductions are correctly () OJ No 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66. () OJ No L 26, 31. 1. 1985, p. 12. applied, it is necessary to ascertain that these oils do actu- ally possess the requisite characteristics, in particular by means of a system of approved specialized institutions and laboratories ; Whereas Article 12 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC provides that intervention agencies must take into account any changes in costs to the seller resulting from the delivery of the oil to a place other than that indicated by him ; whereas the conditions under which these provi- sions apply must be laid down; Whereas olive oil can deteriorate while in storage; whereas it is necessary to keep such deterioration to a minimum ; whereas certain minimum standards for the storage of oils bought in should therefore be laid down ; Whereas, for the purposes of good management of inter- vention stocks and for control purposes, each warehouse where olive oil is stored should be obliged to keep daily stock records ; whereas, to the same end, it is necessary to specify certain checks and stasks to be performed by the Member States ; ‘ . Whereas, in the interests of clarity Commission Regula- tion (EEC) No 2942/80(°) should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation ; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Oils and Fats, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 Intervention under Article 12 (1) of Regulation No 136/ 66/EEC shall be confined to the olive oils specified in points 1 and 4 of the Annex to that Regulation, excluding oils with a water and impurities content of more than : — 1% for virgin oil, " — 2% for residue oil. In the case of lampante virgin oil and residue oil, such intervention shall be confined to oils with a free acid content expressed as oleic acid not exceeding 12 % for lampante virgin oil and 15 % for olive residue oil, respec- . tively. ¢) OJ No L 305, 14. 11. 1980, p. 23.