No L 323/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 13. 12. 96 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2368/96 of 12 December 1996 derogating from and amending Regulation (EEC) No 2456/93 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 as regards the general and special intervention measures for beef THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2222/96 (3, and in particular Articles 6 (7) and 22a (3) thereof, Whereas, because of the current reduced consumption of beef and veal in the Community, prices continue to be low; whereas the situation calls for support measures; Whereas, to that end, certain derogations should be made from Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2456/93 of 1 September 1993 (°), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2015/96 (), in respect of invitations to tender opened in January, February and March 1997, Whereas, in order for intervention to provide a full response to the serious situation on the market, the list of eligible qualities laid down for the United Kingdom should be extended; whereas the abovementioned Regu- lation should also be supplemented, on an exceptional and temporary basis and for the sake of fairness, to allow the buying-in of carcases of young bovine animals in con- formation classes S and E in Member States where production of those classes predominates and the market prices are regularly recorded; Whereas, by way of an exception, the maximum weight provided for in Article 4 (2) (h) of Regulation (EEC) No 2456/93 did not apply for April to December; whereas there should be a gradual return to the weight limit ori- ginally laid down; Whereas the closing dates for the submission of tenders is the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month; whereas, in view of the public holidays in March 1997, the closing dates for March and April 1997 should be changed for practical reasons; Whereas, in view of the difficult situation currently facing the beef industry, the increase to be applied to the average market price in order to calculate the maximum buying-in price should be temporarily adjusted to take o L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24. o L 296, 21. 11. 1996, p. S0. o L 225, 4. 9. 1993, p. 4. o L 269, 22. 10. 1996, p. 16. account, in particular, of increased costs and reduced income in the sector; Whereas the rules on the lodging of securities in the form of cash deposits should be made clearer so as to permit intervention agencies to accept bank cheques; Whereas, in the light of experience, intervention agencies should be authorized to reduce, where necessary, the de- livery period for products in order to prevent deliveries relating to two consecutive tenders from overlapping; Whereas the Management Committee for Beef and Veal has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 1.  Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of Article 4 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2456/93: (a) The additional products not included in Annex III to that Regulation which may be bought into interven- tion shall be as follows: UNITED KINGDOM Great Britain — category A, class U2 and class U3, — category A, class R2 and class R3, — category A, class O2 and class O3, — category C, class U3 and class U4, — category C, class O3 and class O4. Northern Ireland — category A, class U2 and class U3, — category A, class R2 and class R3, — category A, class O2 and class O3, — category C, class O3 and class O4. The difference between the intervention price for quality R3 and that for quality O4 shall be ECU 30 per 100 kilograms. The coefficient to be used for converting tenders submitted for quality R3 into tenders for quality O4 shall be 0,914 (middle class).