L 331/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 7.12.2002 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2182/2002 of 6 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 with regard to the Community Tobacco Fund THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in raw tobacco ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 546/ 2002 (3, and in particular Article 14a thereof, Whereas: 1 Regulation (EC) No 546/2002 amended Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92, with regard to the estab- lishment of a Community Tobacco Fund. The amend- ments concern the areas of activity of the Fund. As a result, detailed rules for the application of that provision should be adopted. Assistance should be provided for measures to discou- rage smoking, and in particular for improving public awareness of the dangers of tobacco consumption, and funding should be provided for specific measures to encourage tobacco producers to switch production, in collaboration with the quota buy-back programme, and for studies into the possibilities for encouraging produ- cers to switch to other crops or activities. The funding should be divided appropriately between the two main objectives of the Fund, which are providing information and encouraging producers to switch production. However, if the funds earmarked for one of these objectives are not used up in full, the distri- bution of the initial allocation between the objectives should be adjusted. The Tobacco Fund is financed by a deduction from the premiums granted to tobacco producers and it is there- fore justified to propose that all public assistance for measures financed under the Fund be provided from the Community own resources in the Fund. For the information programmes, the various proposals presented under the procedures adopted should be assessed in accordance with criteria that will ensure the best possible choice. Provision should be made also for projects to be carried out on the initiative and on behalf of the Commission. To that end, a call for proposals or, as appropriate, a public invitation to tender seem the most appropriate course. Eligibility criteria should be laid down for natural or legal persons who may present proposals under the information programmes. L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 70. L 84, 28.3.2002, p. 4. ) (12) In the interests of sound administration of the informa- tion programmes, the projects approved by the Commis- sion should be carried out within a specified period. The time limit originally envisaged may prove difficult to meet in exceptional cases. Provision should be made, therefore, for the time limit to be extended under certain conditions. In order to make the best possible choice of projects financed within the context of the information programmes and ensure the proper implementation of the approved projects, provision should be made for the Commission to be assisted in the selection of the projects by a scientific and technical committee. The Commission should have access to the services of inde- pendent experts in assessing the projects. In order to guarantee the proper implementation of each project financed within the context of the information programmes, it is necessary for details of the conditions of implementation to be included in the contracts concluded with the Commission. Where an application is made for an advance, contractors must lodge a security in favour of the Commission on the conditions laid down in Title Il of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 of 22 July 1985 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of securi- ties for agricultural products (*), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1932/1999 (). Regarding the information programmes, provision should be made to prevent the unjustified cumulation of measures for the same project, and for payments to be recovered in certain cases, particularly in the event of irregularities. As regards the specific measures to promote a switch of production, individual measures should be laid down to promote a switch of production, as well as general interest measures and studies into the possibilities for tobacco producers to switch production, that are eligible for financing by the Fund. The beneficiaries of each type of measure should also be defined. To ensure that the measures to support the switch of production are sufficiently effective, the intensity of the aid to be granted for each measure and the total amount of assistance per producer should be determined for all the measures. The intensity of the aid for each measure should be set at a sufficiently attractive level to encou- rage producers to take up the opportunity to switch production, given the major changes that this entails to how production is organised on their holding. () OJ L 205, 3.8.1985, p. 5. () OJ L 240, 10.9.1999, p. 11.