Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation)^f1, and in particular Article 43(a) and (d) in conjunction with Article 4 thereof,

Whereas:

Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides for the granting of private storage aid for butter.

Developments in prices and stocks of butter indicate an imbalance in the market which may be eliminated or reduced by the seasonal storage. In view of the current market situation it is appropriate to grant aid for private storage of butter as from 1 January 2009.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 826/2008 of 20 August 2008 laying down common rules for granting of an aid for private storage for certain agricultural products^f2 has established common rules for the implementation of private storage aid scheme.

Pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 826/2008, an aid fixed in advance is to be granted in accordance with the detailed rules and conditions provided for in Chapter III of that Regulation.

To facilitate the implementation of the present measure taking into consideration the existing practice in the Member States, Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 826/2008 should relate only to products that have been fully placed into storage. Consequently, derogation from that Article should be introduced.

In accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 the aid shall be fixed in the light of storage costs and the likely trends in prices for fresh butter and butter from stocks.

It is appropriate to fix an aid for the costs for entry and exit of products concerned and for daily costs for cold storage and financing.

For reasons of administrative efficiency and simplification, where the required information concerning storage details are already included in the application for aid, it is appropriate to waive the requirement to notify the same information after the conclusion of the contract as provided for in Article 20, first paragraph, point (a) of Regulation (EC) No 826/2008.

For reasons of simplification and logistic efficiency, the requirement to mark the contract number on each unit stored could be waived where the contracts number is entered in the stores register.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: