No L 76/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 3. 97 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 489/97 of 17 March 1997 laying down detailed rules for the application of the specific measures adopted in respect of fresh fruit and vegetables, plants and flowers for the benefit of the French overseas departments (FOD) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 of 16 December 1991 introducing specific measures in respect of certain agricultural products for the benefit of the French overseas departments ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2598/95 (3, and in particular Articles 13 (4) and 16 thereof, Whereas Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 introduces aid for the supply of the regional market of the French overseas departments (hereinafter referred to as ‘FOD’) with fruits, vegetables, flowers and live plants, and for the production of green vanilla and essential geranium and vetiver oils; whereas detailed rules for the application of this Article should be adopted; Whereas, pursuant to the provisions of the above- mentioned Article 13, the amount of the aid for the supply of the regional market of the FOD is fixed on a flat-rate basis for each of the product categories to be determined, based on the average value of the products so covered, within the limits of annual quantities established for each product category; whereas the list of products eligible for aid should be established as a function of the supply needs of the regional market, and the categories should be determined on the basis of the average value of the products covered, so as to fix a maximum quantity for the FOD as a whole, providing for the apportionment of quantities by the national authorities to ensure the best match between available resources and regional needs; whereas this requirement justifies the supply of products in a FOD other than the one where the product was harvested; Whereas special arrangements should be adopted for monitoring compliance with the quantities fixed and the conditions for granting aid; whereas, to this end, it would appear that satisfactory management of the supply ar- rangements can be ensured by a procedure for approving, as parties to supply contracts, operators in the distribution sector, enterprises in the catering sector or mass caterers who agree to comply with certain rules; () OJ No L 356, 24. 12. 1991, p. 1. () O] No L 267, 9. 11. 1995, p. S. Whereas for aid for the production of green vanilla of ECU 6,04 per kilogram on the one hand, and for aid for the production of essential geranium and vetiver oils of ECU 44,68 per kilogram on the other, satisfactory appli- cation of these measures in the framework of existing marketing structures can be ensured by procedures for approving, in the first case, processors preparing dried vanilla or vanilla extracts and, in the second, local collec- tion and marketing bodies which undertake in particular to transfer to the producers the full amount of aid and to allow any checks or inspections required; whereas the quantities fixed in the abovementioned Article 13 (2) and (3) are upper limits which, according to the latest es- timates notified by the French authorities, will not be reached in the medium term; whereas for the sake of good management, in view of the needs of the very remote regions concerned, it seems advisable to use the resources thereby made available for the purposes of the abovementioned supply arrangements in the regional markets; Whereas, in order to simplify the legislation, the body of this Regulation should include the provisions adopted for implementing the marketing aid scheme, based on the conclusion of annual contracts, introduced by Article 15 of Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91; whereas this means incorporating the provisions of Title III of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 667/92 (%), as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1363/95 (%), into this Regulation, and repealing that Regulation; Whereas such a measure makes it necessary to define the notion of annual contracts and to specify the base for the calculation of the amount of aid, which is set by the aforementioned Article 15 at 10 % of the value of the production marketed, free at destination, or at 13 % in the conditions specified in paragraph 4 of that Article; whereas provision should be made for a mechanism to apportion quantities eligible for aid where the limits laid down in that Article are exceeded; Whereas general provisions applicable to these measures as a whole, especially those concerning control and notifi- cation, should be set out in a final chapter; () OJ No L 71, 18. 3. 1992, p. 13. () O] No L 132, 16. 6. 1995, p. 8.