30. 1. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 27/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 154/97 of 20 January 1997 amending Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 laying down general rules for granting aid for flax and hemp THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1308/70 of 29 June 1970 on the common organization of the market in flax and hemp (!), and in particular Article 4 (4) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas the first subparagraph of Article 3 (2) of Regula- tion (EEC) No 619/71 (3, lays down that three quarters of the aid for flax is to be granted to any natural or legal person who has concluded with the grower, before a date to be determined, a contract transferring ownership of the flax straw; whereas to ensure that the flax is actually processed, provision should be made for payment of the aid to the primary processor to be subject to an explicit commitment on his part to undertake processing and also to an approval procedure; Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 3 (2) of the said Regulation lays down that growers may under certain conditions qualify for all the aid; whereas in those cases a processing obligation and a system of approval of primary processors should be established; Whereas the checks referred to in Article 5 of the said Regulation should also cover fulfilment of the processing obligation and the conditions of approval; whereas the effectiveness of those checks can be increased by using certain elements of the integrated administration and control system and whereas, therefore, provision should be made for that possibility; Whereas Article 6 of the said Regulation lays down that the amount of the aid is to be calculated in relation to the area sown and harvested; whereas, to prevent abuse, the () OJ No L 146, 4. 7. 1970, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3290/94 (O] No L 349, 31. 12. 1994, p. 105). (3 OJ No L 72, 26. 3. 1971, p. 2. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1989/93 (O] No L 182, 24.7. 1993, p. 6). said area must have undergone normal cultivation and whereas the Commission should be able to lay down criteria on the matter; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation must be properly implemented; whereas transitional measures may therefore be required to facilitate the intro- duction of the new arrangements, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EEC) No 619/71 is hereby amended as follows: 1. Article 3 (2) shall be replaced by the following: ‘2. For the flax grown mainly for the production of fibre, one quarter of the aid shall be granted to the grower and three quarters to the primary processor approved by the competent authority of the Member State on whose territory his establishment is situated, who has concluded with the grower, before a date to be determined, a contract transferring ownership of the flax straw and who undertakes to process it. However, the entire amount of the aid shall be granted to the grower where: (a) the grower within the meaning of Article 3a (a) undertakes to process the flax straw and is approved for that purpose by the competent au- thority; or {(b) the grower within the meaning of Article 3a (a) undertakes to have the flax straw processed on his behalf by an approved primary processor; or {c) the grower within the meaning of Article 3a (b) undertakes to process the flax straw and is approved for that purpose by the competent au- thority; or