L 283/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 6.11.1999 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 20 October 1999 on the granting of aid for the production of table olives in France (notified under document number C(1999) 3368) (Only the French version is authentic) (1999/715[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC of 22 September 1966 on the establishment of a common organ- isation of the market in oils and fats (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1638/98 (3), and in particular Article 5(4) thereof, Whereas: 1) Article 5(4) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC grants the Member States the possibility of allocating part of their national guaranteed quantities and of their olive oil production aid to support for table olives on conditions to be approved by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38 of the said Regu- lation; France has presented a request in respect of the 1999/ 2000 marketing year and detailed rules should be laid down for the granting of the aid; provision should be made for the aid to be granted to growers of processed table olives from olive groves in France and the conditions governing the granting of the aid should be specified; the processing period should be defined as running from 1 September 1999 to 31 August 2000. Olives which have undergone initial treatment in brine lasting at least 15 days and have been removed from the brine defin- itively or failing that have undergone treatment making () O] 172, 30.9.1966, p. 3025/66. () O] L 210, 28.7.1998, p. 32. them fit for human consumption should be deemed to be processed olives; the weight of processed table olives for which aid is payable and the equivalence between processed table olives and olive oil should be determined for the purposes of calculating the unit aid for table olives and of administering the national guaranteed quantities; undertakings processing table olives must be approved in accordance with conditions to be determined. Account should be taken of the fact that processing undertakings located within the area covered by a regis- tered designation of origin must maintain stock records, irrespective of the type of olives processed; provisions should be laid down for checks on aid for table olives. Those provisions must in particular cover crop declarations by table olive growers, notifications by processors of the quantities of olives delivered by growers and leaving the processing chain, and the ob- ligations on paying agencies regarding controls. Provi- sion should be made for penalties on table olive growers where their declarations conflict with the results of checks; the information needed for calculating the aid to be granted to growers of processed table olives should be determined. An advance on the aid may be granted on certain conditions; France must notify the Commission of the national measures adopted for the purposes of applying this Decision and of the information used for calculating the advance on the aid and the definitive aid;