Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

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^f1, and in particular Article 48 thereof,

Whereas:

Articles 13 and 14 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1433/2003^f2 set as 15 December the final date by which the competent national authority is to take decisions on programmes and funds, and amendments thereto, respectively, following submissions by the producer organisations in accordance with Articles 11 and 14 of that Regulation. However, the Member States may, for duly justified reasons, defer the 15 December deadline to 20 January of the year following that in which the application is submitted.

In view of the administrative complexity of this task, even using the option of deferring the deadline until 20 January, some Member States have been unable to meet their obligation to take decisions on applications for the current year by that date. For 2006, therefore, provision should be made for derogations from certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1433/2003.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: