No L 246/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 27.9.77 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 2103/77 of 23 September 1977 laying down detailed rules for the buying in by intervention agencies of sugar manufactured from beet and cane harvested in the Community THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/74 of 19 December 1974 on the common organi- zation of the market in sugar (}), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1110/77(2), and in particular Articles 9 (6), 11 (3) and 34 thereof, Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 447/68 of 9 April 1968 laying down general rules for intervention buying of sugar(’), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1359/77 (%), apart from provisions of a general character, provides fnter alia that an interven- tion agency may make the acceptance of an offer for intervention conditional on the conclusion of a storage contract between itself and the seller and that it may authorize that agency to buy in sugar offered by an approved specialized sugar trader; whereas detailed rules of application in this field were laid down by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1280/71 of 18 June 1971 laying down detailed rules of applica- tion for the buying in of sugar by intervention agen- cies (®), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1763/76 (¢) ; whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1280/71 has been amended on several occasions; whereas further amendments are now necessary, having regard in particular to the serious difficulties encountered as regards the discharging capacity made available to intervention agencies in certain Member States; whereas, in the interests of clarity, the detailed rules for intervention buying should therefore be brought together in a new Regulation ; Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 447/68 lays down inter alia that, for an offer to be valid, the sugar must be stored in an approved warehouse when the offer is made and that provision may be made for the inter- vention agency to buy in sugar offered by a special- ized trader approved by the Member State on whose territory he is established ; (1) OJ No L 359, 31. 12. 1974, p. 1. () OJ No L 134, 28. 5. 1977, p. 1. () OJ No L 91, 12. 4. 1968, p. 5. () OJ No L 156, 25. 6. 1977, p. 7. () OJ No L 133, 19. 6. 1971, p. 34. (¥ OJ No L 197, 23. 7. 1976, p. 32. Whereas this possibility, which was converted into an obligation by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1281/71 of 18 June 1971 on.the buying in by inter- vention agencies of sugar offered by specialized sugar traders (7), should be included in this Regulation ; Whereas, as regards the conditions for granting and withdrawing approval of warehouses, account should be taken of the need for the sugar to be kept in good condition and to be easily accessible for removal, of the geographical location, and of the discharging, and where appropriate bagging, capacity guaranteed by the applicant for the removal of the sugar offered by him ;" Whereas the extension of the intervention system to specialized sugar traders requires, as regards the granting and withdrawal of approval, the laying down of objective criteria for the assessment of that activity, in particular as regards a significant participation in the sugar trade; whereas Member States should be allowed to impose further conditions if necessary and to withdraw approval if the further conditions are not satisfied ; whereas it is desirable that provision be made for any measure to renew or withdraw approval to be notified to the Commission ; Whereas sugar of a nature such that it will be difficult to dispose of later and is likely to deteriorate in storage should not be accepted for intervention ; Whereas, to facilitate the administration of the inter- vention arrangements, sugar should be offered in lots, and a lot, in particular its quantity, should be defined ; Whereas the intervention agency must have all the facts needed to determine whether the offer fulfils the necessary conditions ; whereas, to that end, the offeror must furnish it with all the necessary information; Whereas the intervention agency is entitled to make acceptance of the offer conditional upon the conclu- sion of a storage contract with .the seller, should it consider this necessary; whereas, for the sake of () OJ No L 133, 19. 6. 1971, p. 42.