COMMISSION DECISION
of 7 May 1999
derogating, for the 1998/1999 marketing year, from certain provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89 as regards aid applications and applications for supervised storage of unginned cotton originating in certain Greek prefectures
(notified under document number C(1999) 1179)
(Only the Greek text is authentic)
(1999/328/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Protocol No 4 on cotton annexed to the Act of Accession of Greece, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1553/95(1),
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down the general rules for the system of aid for cotton and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2169/81(2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1419/98(3), and in particular Article 11(1) thereof,
(1) Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89 of 3 May 1989 laying down rules implementing the system of aid for cotton(4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1664/98(5), lays down 31 March as the time limit for lodging applications for supervised storage of unginned cotton but allows the Member State to set a later time limit under certain conditions; whereas for the 1998/1999 marketing year Greece used that provision by setting the time limit for lodging applications for supervised storage at 31 January 1999; whereas, as a result of exceptional weather conditions, it proved impossible to harvest the unginned cotton until the beginning of March 1999 in certain Greek prefectures; whereas, therefore, the start of supervised storage and the lodging of the corresponding aid applications should be accepted without penalty for the unginned cotton originating in those prefectures up to a date allowing for the other time limits in the rules to be complied with;
(2) Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Flax and Hemp,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. Notwithstanding Article 5(3), Article 7(1), the first subparagraph of Article 9(2) and Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89, the following conditions shall apply for the 1998/1999 marketing year to unginned cotton harvested in the Greek prefectures indicated in paragraph 2:
(a) aid applications lodged by 28 April at the latest may be accepted;
(b) if the aid applications are lodged between 1 April and 28 April, the aid granted shall be that valid on the previous 31 March;
(c) applications for supervised storage lodged by 28 April at the latest may be accepted;
(d) the quantity of ginned cotton produced from the quantity of unginned cotton under supervised storage shall be notified before 5 May.
2. The Greek prefectures referred to in paragraph 1 are:
Drame, Serres and Evros.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Hellenic Republic.
Done at Brussels, 7 May 1999.