L 176/32 Official Journal of the European Union 30.6.2006 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 968/2006 of 27 June 2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 establishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the Community THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 of 20 February 2006 establishing a temporary scheme for the restruc- turing of the sugar industry in the Community and amending Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (), and in particular Article 12 thereof, Whereas: Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 provides for a restruc- turing aid for those undertakings which decide to give up their quota production, with part of the aid reserved for beet, cane and chicory growers as well as machinery contractors, in order to compensate for losses resulting from the closure of sugar factories. It also provides for an aid for diversification to Member States for diversification measures in the regions concerned by factory closures, for a transitional aid to full-time refiners and for a transi- tional aid to certain Member States. Before submitting an application for restructuring aid, the undertakings are to consult sugar beet, cane and chicory growers, in accordance with Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006. In order to ensure that growers and other interested parties are offered a fair opportunity to give their views, detailed rules for the consultation process should be established. Restructuring aid is granted in respect of the marketing year for which the quota is renounced. Hence, in the case where sugar, isoglucose or inulin syrup is withdrawn or carried forward from the previous marketing year and becomes the first quota production of the marketing year for which an undertaking plans to renounce its quota, the undertaking should be allowed to make one single application for the renunciation of the quota in two successive marketing years, receiving for each part of the quota the amount of restructuring aid applicable to the marketing year for which the quota is renounced. () O L 58, 28.2.2006, p. 42. (4) In relation to the renunciation of quotas, Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 320/2006 sets out the options of full or partial dismantling of the production facilities, which give rise to different amounts of restructuring aid. While the conditions applicable to those two options should take into account that a higher amount of restructuring aid is granted to full dismantling, because of the higher costs involved, it is considered appropriate to allow for the possibility to keep parts of the factory which are not part of the production line, if they can be used for other purposes foreseen in the restructuring plan, especially when such use creates employment. On the other hand, installations not directly linked to sugar production should be dismantled if there is no alternative use for them within a reasonable period of time and maintaining them would be harmful to the environment. In order to protect farmers and machinery contractors’ interests, the undertakings should be required to pay them their share of the restructuring aid according to criteria established by the Member State and within a reasonable period of time after having received the first instalment of the restructuring aid. Because of the financial limits of the temporary restruc- turing fund, the granting of the aid should depend on the chronological order of the lodging of applications. It is thus necessary to establish the criteria for how this chronological order should be determined. The Member State’s decision on the eligibility of an appli- cation for restructuring aid is based on its acceptance of the restructuring plan submitted together with the appli- cation. It is thus necessary to define the criteria and procedure for the acceptance of the restructuring plan, as well as for further amendments to such plan. In cases where, due to the financial limits of the temporary restructuring fund, the resources of the fund are momentarily insufficient to grant restructuring aid to an applicant whose application has been found eligible, the applicant should be allowed to withdraw his appli- cation within a certain period. In the absence of with- drawal, the application should remain valid with its original date of lodging and become an application for the following marketing year.