9.2.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L 38/19 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 218/2006 of 8 February 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 as regards the buying in and sale of sugar by intervention agencies 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 (1), and in particular Articles 7(5) and 9(3) thereof, Whereas: (1) () O] L 178, 30.6.2001, p. Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (O] L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 16). Commission Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001 (?) lays down detailed rules for applying the intervention arrangements in the sugar sector. Experience has shown that adjustments are needed in order to simplify the arrangements and harmonise them with current practice for other products such as cereals and milk powder. Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 guarantees prices and disposal only for sugar produced under quota. Access to intervention should therefore be restricted to manu- facturers who are holders of a quota and who, in return for the price guarantee, are required to pay the minimum price for beet, while respecting the legitimate expec- tations of specialist traders who have already been granted the necessary approval to offer sugar for inter- vention. Recent experience in sugar intervention operations has shown that the criteria for the intervention storage of sugar and the approval of warehouses and silos should be made more stringent, in particular by giving the inter- vention agencies greater discretionary powers. It is also accepted that sugar can be stored for a very long time without risk of deterioration in quality where the storage conditions are right. Therefore the rules on the final dates for removal should be amended, whilst, to take account of legitimate expectations, the rules on sugar offered for intervention before a certain date should be maintained. Intervention procedures for sugar must be brought into line with those followed in other sectors such as cereals and milk powder, in particular as regards time limits for payment from the submission of tenders for intervention. 1. Regulation as last amended by (®» OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 48. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1498/2005 (O] L 240, 16.9.2005, p. 39). ©) Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001, as amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1498/2005, lays down the requirements to be met by certain forms of packaging in which sugar bought in must be delivered. Certain clarifications are needed to ensure that this provision is properly applied. In order to facilitate the day-to-day management of inter- vention, in particular by creating uniform lots, the minimum quantity below which the intervention agency is not obliged to accept a tender should be increased. Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly. The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Sugar, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 12622001 is hereby amended as follows: 1. Article 1 is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. The intervention agency shall buy in the sugar only if it is offered by: (a) a manufacturer with a production quota: (b) a specialist sugar trader who is approved before 1 March 2006 by the Member State on whose territory they are established.; (b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. Sugar may only be taken over where it is under quota and at the time of the offer is stored separately in an approved store or silo that has not been used most recently to store products other than sugar.;