Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops to include flax and hemp grown for fibre
29. 2. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 56 E/17 Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops to include flax and hemp grown for fibre (2000/C 56 E/06) COM(1999) 576 final - 1999/0236(CNS) (Submitted by the Commission on 15 November 1999) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 36 and 37 thereof; Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, Having regard to the opinion of Committee, the Economic and Social Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, Whereas: (1) The common agricultural policy aims to attain the objectives referred to in Article 33 of the Treaty, taking account of the market situation. (2) The flax and hemp sector has undergone profound changes since the entry into force of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1308/70 on the common organisation of the market in flax and hemp (1); in addition to the traditional production of long flax fibre for textiles, flax is now also being grown at lower cost purely for the production of short fibre. (3) The aid per hectare for short flax fibre and hemp, which is extremely high in relation to production costs and the value of itself, has prompted a certain the product the areas down to amount of speculative production; short-fibre flax and hemp have increased without any comparable increase in either output or real market demand for these products. The steps that have been taken to prevent this anomaly have not had the desired success but rather have further complicated the rules governing the sector. (4) In order to solve the problems facing the market in flax and hemp grown for fibre, the amount of aid granted to the growers concerned should be comparable to that for competitor crops. To that end, and with a view to simplifying the applicable legislation, these crops should be included in the support system for producers of certain arable crops established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 of 17 May 1999 (2) Moreover, where there is a need to ensure continued production, Council Regulation (EC) No. /. on the common organisation fibre (3) of provides for aid for processing flax and hemp straw. in flax and hemp grown for the market (5) To ensure a smooth transition to the level of support granted for cereals and to solve the current problems caused by the existence of different aid schemes for fibre flax and seed flax, the payments for flax and hemp grown for fibre should be the same as those granted for linseed, which must themselves be aligned on those for cereals by the 2002/2003 marketing year. (6) To avert the danger that the aims of Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 might be circumvented, grant of the per-hectare aid for flax and hemp grown for fibre should be made subject to certain conditions as regards cultivation. for thereby disturbing area payments, (7) Specific measures should be laid down for hemp, to ensure illegal crops cannot be hidden among the crops that eligible the common market organisation for hemp. Provision must therefore be made for area payments to be granted only for areas sown to varieties of hemp known to have a low psychotropic content. the Member States In addition, should restrict the areas sown to hemp in each production area to ensure that compliance with the maximum levels of psychotropic substances can be closely monitored on the areas covered by payment applications. A system of prior approval should therefore be introduced to ensure that the fixed by the Member States are not maximum areas exceeded. (8) In order that the quantities eligible for straw processing aid under Regulation (EC) No. /. can be checked, straw is production must be linked to the area on which it grown. to conclude sales contracts with authorised straw processors providing certain assurances, Producers therefore required should be (1) OJ L 146, 4. 7. 1970, p. 1. (2) OJ L 160, 26. 6. 1999, p. 1. (3) See page. of this OJ. C 56 E/18 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 2. 2000 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 is amended as follows: 1. Article 4(2) is replaced by the following: The calculation mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be 2. made using the average cereals yield. However, where maize is treated separately, the ômaizeö yield shall be used for maize and the ôcereals other than maizeö yield shall be used for cereals, oilseeds, linseed and flax and hemp grown for fibre. í 2. In the first subparagraph of Article 4(3), the words áfor linseedí are replaced by áfor linseed and flax and hemp grown for fibreí. 3. The following is inserted after Article 5: Article 5a 1. For flax grown for fibre, the area payment shall be made only where sales of straw are covered by contracts concluded with authorised primary processors. For hemp grown for fibre, the area payment shall be 2. made only where: - the varieties used have a tetrahydrocannabinol content not exceeding 0,2%. However, that limit shall be set at 0,3% for the 2000/2001 marketing year, - the entire crop is sold under contract to authorised primary processors for uses other than human nutrition. they can ensure verification of 3. The Member States shall fix a maximum area eligible for area payments for hemp for each production area so that the tetrahydrocan- nabinol content of the crops grown on at least 30% of the areas for which area payment applications have been made. To ensure that the maximum areas fixed are not exceeded, the Member States shall introduce a system of prior approval the cultivation of hemp restricting for sowing under this scheme to those areas. í 4. Article 9 is amended as follows: (i) the arrangements for sales contracts with auth- referred to in orised primary processors as Article 5a(3), (ii) the specific control measures and methods for determining tetrahydrocannabinol levels. í. (b) the first indent of the second paragraph is replaced by the following: á- either make the granting of payments subject to the use of: (i) specific seeds, (ii) certified seed in the case of durum wheat and flax and hemp grown for fibre, (iii) certain varieties in the cases of oilseeds, durum linseed and flax and hemp grown for wheat, fibre, - or provide for the possibility for Member States to to such subject make the grant of payments conditions,í. 5. Point IV in Annex I is replaced by the following: CN code Description IV. FLAX ex 1204 00 Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L. ) ex 5301 10 00 Flax, raw or retted, grown for fibre (Linum usitatissimum L. ) V. HEMP ex 5302 10 00 Hemp, (Cannabis sativa L. ) raw or retted, grown for fibre Article 2 In accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 3(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999, the Member States shall submit to the Commission any revisions of their regionalisation plans needed to include the data on flax and hemp for fibre by 1 May 2000 at the latest. (a) in the first paragraph, the following is inserted after the sixth indent: á- with regard to flax grown for fibre, those relating to the arrangements for sales contracts with authorised primary processors as referred to in Article 5a(1), Article 3 This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. It shall apply from the 2000/2001 marketing year. - with regard to hemp grown for fibre, those relating to: This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States