L 190/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 4. 7.98 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1419/98 of 22 June 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 laying down the general rules for the system of aid for cotton THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Act of Accession of Greece, and in particular paragraph 9 of Protocol 4 on cotton annexed to the Act of Accession of Greece ('), Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas paragraph 3 of Protocol 4 provides for produc- tion aid to be granted through cotton ginning under- takings; whereas, when such undertakings buy unginned cotton, they pass the aid on to producers by paying a price at least equal to the minimum price referred to in paragraph  8a  of Protocol 4; whereas these undertakings may also gin cotton for third parties; Whereas Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 (?) provides that where a ginning undertaking gins cotton on behalf of an individual producer or a producer associated with that undertaking, a statement must be submitted giving details of how the aid is passed on to the produ- cers; whereas the concept of associated producers should be replaced by that of producer groups, and the condi- tions to be met by groups in such cases should be laid down to ensure that the aid is passed on, particularly through payment of the minimum price to its members; Whereas Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 provides for the estimated production of unginned cotton to be fixed before 1 October for the purpose of calcu- lating the amount of the advance; whereas, in order to () OJ L 291, 19. 11. 1979, p. 174. Protocol as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1553/95 (O] L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 45). () OJ L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 48. Regulation as amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1584/96 (O] L 206, 16. 8. 1996, p. 16). improve initial harvest forecasts and ensure that the amount paid in advance is a close as possible to the final amount of aid due, the production estimate should be revised at a date by wich a large proportion of the unginned cotton harvest has already been placed in super- vised storage; whereas the increased reliability of such a revised estimate would require application of a percentage increase of less than 15 % when calculating the resulting advance, without this causing any risks for the budget; whereas the advances paid prior to the revised estimate should be adjusted, taking account of the administrative costs of applying the new mechanism, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 is hereby amended as follows: 1. Article 5(3) shall be replaced by the following: ‘3. Entitlemnt to the aid shall be acquired when the cotton is ginned. However, aid may be paid in advance from 16 October following the start of the marketing year when the unginned cotton enters the cotton ginning undertaking, provided that an adequate se- curity has been lodged. The amount of the advance shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph 3a. Any aid balance outstanding shall be paid once the actual quantity produced has been determined and any adjustment to the aid referred to in Article 2 of Regu- lation (EEC) No 1964/87 (*) has been made. It shall be paid before the end of the marketing year, at the latest. () OJ L 184, 3. 7. 1987, p. 14. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1553/95 (O] L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 45).