L 205/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 31.7.2001 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1554/2001 of 30 July 2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 as regards marketing sugar produced in the French overseas departments and equalising the price conditions with preferential raw sugar THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector ('), and in particular Article 7(5) thereof, Whereas: 1) () ) 0] 0] Atrticle 7(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 provides for flat-rate Community aid for sugar produced in the French overseas departments to be marketed in the European regions of the Community. The aid is for raw sugar produced in the French overseas departments to be refined in a refinery situated in the European regions of the Community and to be transported to the Euro- pean regions of the Community or, where necessary, to be stored in those departments. The aid for refining in Community refineries is intended to provide those refineries with sugar produced in the French overseas departments at the same price as prefer- ential sugar. The sea transport costs depend principally on the size of the vessels, which in turn is determined by the depth of water in the ports of loading in the French overseas departments. Experience has shown that precisely on account of the specific features of ports, sugar is frequently transported from some of these departments to the Community in vessels with a net registered tonnage of less than 20 000 tonnes, whereas the Carib- bean-United Kingdom freight element is established on the basis of vessels with a net registered tonnage of between 25 000 tonnes and 30 000 tonnes. The freight costs borne by operators may therefore be dispropor- tionate to the freight element established on a flat-rate basis. The detailed rules for applying the flat rate amount should therefore provide for the possibility of adjusting the Caribbean-United Kingdom freight element when the size of the vessels used so warrants. Article 5(4) of Protocol 3 on ACP sugar appearing in the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement (3 stipulates that the guaranteed price refers to unpacked sugar, cif European ports of the Community, fixed for standard quality sugar. When the yield of preferential sugar differs from L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. the yield of standard quality, the scale of increases applied is that practised in international trade, which differs from the scale provided for the same purpose under Community rules for raw sugar produced in the Community. To equalise the price conditions between the two types of raw sugar, the difference resulting from applying one or other of the two scales should be offset by a specific transaction in favour of refiners of raw sugar produced in the French overseas departments. Aid for refining is warranted only for such quantities of raw sugar originating in the French overseas depart- ments as can be refined into white sugar in the Euro- pean regions of the Community, taking account of avail- able supplies of such sugar as regularly established in a Community supply balance for raw sugar. Since the producers of this sugar do not have large storage facilities in their factories, all the sugar intended for disposal to refineries in the Communities is sent directly after production for storage in port silos. These producers must therefore advance the cost of trans- porting the sugar from the factory to the port of loading. In recent years, the irregularity of consignments has increased the duration of this advance as the sugar has spent longer in storage in port silos, thereby increasing the burden on the producers concerned. It is therefore justifiable to grant an advance on the final payment of the aid equal to the amount of the fob component of the aid. In order to receive the advance applicants should be required to lodge a security, and the other conditions to be fulfilled in order for the advance to be paid, in particular the quantities of sugar concerned, should be laid down. Detailed rules for determining weights and sugar yields should be laid down, particularly where products of this kind are transported in bulk in the same vessel but on behalf of several producers. In general, a considerable period elapses between the date on which the sugar concerned is loaded and that on which the arrival formalities are completed enabling the competent agency to pay the aid. Provision should therefore be made for advance payments. Adequate measures should be laid down for checks on refined sugar, and refining should be defined for that purpose.