Commission Regulation (EC) No 2134/1999 of 7 October 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 921/1999 as regards bearing the transport costs of fruit and vegetables withdrawn from the market and distributed to people originating in Kosovo
8. 10. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 262/3 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2134/1999 of 7 October 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 921/1999 as regards bearing the transport costs of fruit and vegetables withdrawn from the market and distributed to people originating in Kosovo THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, should consequently be added to Regulation (EC) No 921/1999; Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (2), and in particular Article 30(7) thereof, (5) (6) The Commission should closely monitor the special measures adopted by the Member States in application of Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 659/97; The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fruit and Vegetables, Whereas: HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: (1) (2) (3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 659/97 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 729/1999 (4), lays down detailed rules for applying Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 as regards intervention arrangements in the fruit and vegetables sector and especially the free distribution of products withdrawn from the market as humanitarian aid outside the Community and bearing the transport costs of these products between the point of withdrawal from the and the point of Community; exit Commission Regulation (EC) No 921/1999 (5) provides for special measures to distribute fruit and vegetables withdrawn from the market to refugees from Kosovo; Although many refugees have now returned to Kosovo, they are still in difficulty, as are many other inhabitants of the province, although not refugees. The free distribu- tion to them of products withdrawn from the market should be permitted. In order to maintain their eligibility for the special measures for refugees provided for in Regulation (EC) No 921/1999 and to extend these to the inhabitants of the words ‘refugees from Kosovo’ and ‘Kosovo refugees’ should be replaced by ‘people originating in Kosovo’; the region, (4) To facilitate aid to these people, the transport costs from the Community exit point to the place of delivery should also be borne, until further notice. This provision (1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1. (2) OJ L 160, 26. 6. 1999, p. 80. (3) OJ L 100, 17. 4. 1997, p. 22. (4) OJ L 93, 8. 4. 1999, p. 11. (5) OJ L 114, 1. 5. 1999, p. 46. Article 1 In the title and Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 921/1999, the words from Kosovo’ and ‘Kosovo refugees’ are replaced by ‘people originating in Kosovo’. ‘refugees Article 2 The following Article 1a is inserted after Article 1 of Regula- tion (EC) No 921/1999. ‘Article 1a Notwithstanding the first sentence of 1. the second subparagraph of Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 659/ 97, in the case of the operations referred to in Article 1 above, the distance to be considered for meeting the trans- port costs shall be the distance between the point of with- drawal and the point of delivery to people originating in Kosovo and their host families. The Member States 2. concerned shall notify the Commission of the special measures adopted in application of Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 659/97 in order to ensure that the operations referred to in Article 1 are carried out correctly. ’ Article 3 This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. L 262/4 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 10. 1999 This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 7 October 1999. For the Commission Franz FISCHLER Member of the Commission