No L 55/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 3. 96 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 402/96 of 5 March 1996 laying down detailed rules for the granting of private storage aid for long-keeping cheeses THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in milk and milk products (), as last amended by Comis- sion Regulation (EC) No 2931/95(), and in particular Articles 9 (3) and 28 thereof, Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 508/71 (%) provides that private storage aid may be granted for certain long-keeping cheeses where there is a serious imbalance of the market which may be eliminated or reduced by seasonal storage; Whereas the seasonal nature of Emmental and Gruyere cheese production is aggravated by the fact that the seasonal trend in consumption of such cheeses is the opposite of their production; whereas, therefore, provision should be made for recourse to such storage in respect of a quantity corresponding to the difference between summer and winter production; Whereas the detailed rules of this measure should deter- mine the maximum quantity to benefit from it as well as the duration of the contracts in relation to the real requi- rements of the market and the keeping qualities of the cheeses in question; whereas it is necessary to specify the terms of the storage contract so as to enable the identifi- cation of the cheese and to maintain checks on the stock in respect of which aid is granted; whereas the aid should be fixed taking into account storage costs and the foresee- able trend of market prices; Whereas, in view of experience in coritrols, the provisions relating thereto should be specified, in particular as regards the documents to be presented and the on-the- spot checks to be conducted; whereas these new require- ments on the subject make it necessary to stipulate that the Member States may provide that the costs of controls be fully or in part charged to the contractor; Whereas Article 1 (1) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1756/93 of 30 June 1993 fixing the operative events for the agricultural conversion rate applicable to milk and milk products (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No () OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 13. () OJ No L 307, 20. 12. 1995, p. 10. () OJ No L S8, 11. 3. 1971, p. L. () OJ No L 161, 2. 7. 1993, p. 48. 315/96 (%), fixes the conversion rate to be applied in the framework of private storage aid schemes in the milk products sector; Whereas it is appropriate to guarantee the continuation of the storage operations in question; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Milk and Milk Products, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Aid shall be granted in respect of the private storage of 21 600 tonnes of Emmental and Gruyére cheeses manu- factured in the Community which satisfy the require- ments of Articles 2 and 3 hereof. Article 2 1. The intervention agency may conclude storage contracts only if the following conditions are satisfied: (a) the batch of cheeses to which a contract relates must comprise at least five tonnes; (b) the cheeses shall be indelibly marked with an indica- tion (which may take the form of a number) of the undertaking in which they were manufactured and of the day and month of manufacture; (c) the cheeses must have been manufactured at least 10 days before the date specified in the contract as being the date of commencement of storage; (d) the cheeses must have undergone quality tests which establish that their classification after maturing could be expected to be: — ‘Premier choix’ in France, — ‘Markenkise’ or ‘Klasse fein’ in Germany, — ‘Special grade’ in Ireland, — ‘I luokkka’ in Finland, — ‘1. Giiteklasse Emmentaler / Bergkise / Alpkise’ in Austria, — ‘Visterbotten’ in Sweden; (e) the storer shall undertake: — to keep the cheese during the entire period of storage in premises where the maximum tempera- ture is as indicated under paragraph 2, () OJ No L 44, 22. 2. 1996, p. 12.