5.4.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 99/21 COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 302/2012 of 4 April 2012 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 in respect of the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agri- cultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agri- cultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (1), and in particular Articles 103h and 127 in conjunction with Article 4 thereof, Whereas: 1 0] 0] Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 establishes a common organisation of agricultural markets which includes the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors. Pursuant to Article 103a of Regulation (EC) No 12342007 read in conjunction with Article 125e of that Regulation, Union aid may be granted to producer groups formed in Member States that recently acceded to the European Union, in the outermost regions of the Union and in the smaller Aegean Islands. That aid is to encourage the formation of producer groups, facilitate their administrative operation and enable producer groups to meet the recognition criteria for producer organisations, which are the basic actors of the fruit and vegetables sector. Articles 36 to 49 of Commission Implementing Regu- lation (EU) No 543/2011 (%) lay down the detailed rules in respect of producer groups. In order to prevent situ- ations in which operators artificially create the conditions for obtaining payments of Union aid, with a view to obtain advantages contrary to the objectives of Regu- lation (EC) No 12342007, it is appropriate to require Member States to lay down rules in order to prevent producers from shifting from one producer group to another with the aim to benefit from Union aid for a longer period than the period referred to in Article 125¢e(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and to prevent Member States from recognising legal entities or clearly defined parts of such entities as producer groups, where such entities could already meet the recog- nition criteria for producer organisations. Article 125¢(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 requires producer groups to present a phased recognition plan to the competent Member State. Member States L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1. L 157, 15.6.2011, p. 1. ) should assess whether the duration of the proposed recognition plan is not unduly long and demand modi- fications where a producer group could meet the recog- nition criteria for producer organisations before the end of the transitional period referred to in Article 125¢(1). Article 39(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 provides that Member States shall set the conditions under which producer groups may request changes to plans during their implementation. In order to ensure a sound application of that Regulation and in the interest of financial predictability and sound budgetary management, rules should be laid down providing for a maximum percentage for a proposed increase of the expenditure under an approved recog- nition plan. However, different limits should apply to recognition plans approved before the entry into force of this Regulation and in the case of mergers of producer groups. For reasons of budgetary discipline and in order to optimise the allocation of financial resources in a sustainable and effective way, it is appropriate to provide a ceiling for the Union financing of the aid to cover part of the investments referred to in Article 103a(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. For reasons of financial security and legal certainty, a list of investments which may not be covered by recog- nition plans should be drawn up. For reasons of budgetary discipline, it is also necessary to provide for a ceiling for the expenditure to be financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in relation to the aid referred to in Article 103a(1) of Regu- lation (EC) No 1234/2007 and to set up a notification system, under which the Member States inform the Commission in respect of the financial implications of the recognition plans prior to their approval. In order to prevent any unjustified enrichment where a member leaves its producer group and benefits from investments on its own holding, rules should be laid down in order to allow the producer group to recover the investment or the residual value of the investment where the amortisation period has not yet expired. For the sake of financial predictability and budgetary forecasting, it is appropriate to provide for more detailed rules on notifications from Member States to the Commission regarding financial implications of recognition plans of producer groups.