L 312/6 Official Journal of the European Union 11.11.2006 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1669/2006 of 8 November 2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 as regards the buying-in of beef (Codified version) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal (1), and in particular Article 27(4) and Article 41 thereof, Whereas: Commission Regulation (EC) No 562/2000 of 15 March 2000 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 as regards the buying-in of beef (?) has been substantially amended several times (%). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Regulation should be codified. Article 27(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 ties the opening of public intervention to the average market price in a Member State or region of a Member State. Rules must accordingly be laid down for calculating the market prices in the Member States, in particular as regards the qualities to be used and weighting, the coef- ficients to be used for converting them into the reference quality grade R3 and the mechanisms for opening and closing buying-in. The conditions for eligibility must rule out products that are not representative of national production of the Member State and that do not meet the health and veterinary rules in force and those over a weight normally sought after on the market. The eligibility of beef carcasses of grade O3, which can be bought in Ireland, should also be extended to Northern Ireland in order to prevent deflections of trade that might disturb the beef market in that part of the Community. () OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1913/2005 (O] L 307, 25.11.2005, p. 2). (® OJ L 68, 16.3.2000, p. 22. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1067/2005 (O] L 174, 7.7.2005, p. 60). (%) See Annex IX. (4) Specific rules on identifying eligible carcasses should be laid down requiring the slaughter number to be stamped on the inner side of each quarter. As regards presen- tation, carcasses should be cut in a uniform manner to facilitate the disposal of the cuts, improve monitoring of boning operations and as a result ensure that the cuts meet the same definition throughout the Community. To that end, carcasses should be straight cut and forequarters and hindquarters should be defined as five-rib and eight- rib respectively in order to reduce to the minimum the number of boneless cuts and trimmings and to make the best use of the products obtained. In order to prevent speculation that could distort the true market situation, interested parties should each be able to submit only one tender per category in response to each invitation to tender. In order to prevent the use of frontmen, ‘interested parties’ should be defined as including only the category of operators who are tradi- tionally involved in intervention by virtue of their economic activities. In view of experience gained in the area of tender submission, provision should also be made for interested parties to take part in invitations to tender, where appro- priate, on the basis of contracts concluded with the inter- vention agencies in accordance with conditions to be stipulated in the specifications. More precise rules should be laid down on the lodging of securities in cash so that intervention agencies can accept cheque guarantees. Following the ban on the use of any specified risk material and in order to take into account the resulting increase in costs and fall in income in the beef and veal sector, the increase applicable to the average market price and used to determine the maximum buying-in price should be aligned on the highest amount at the time. As far as the delivery of the products is concerned, in the light of experience the intervention agencies should be authorised, where applicable, to reduce the time limit for delivery of the products in order to prevent deliveries relating to two successive invitations to tender from overlapping.