Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 266/2014 of 14 March 2014 on the division between deliveries and direct sales of national milk quotas fixed for 2013/2014 in Annex IX to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

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 69(1) in conjunction with Article 4 thereof,

Whereas:

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f2 has repealed and replaced Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as from 1 January 2014. However, Article 230(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides that, as regards the system of milk production limitation, Section III of Chapter III of Title I of Part II of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as well as Article 55, Article 85 thereof and Annexes IX and X thereto continue to apply until 31 March 2015.

Article 67(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that producers may have one or two individual quotas, one for deliveries and the other for direct sales and quantities may be converted from one quota to the other only by the competent authority of the Member State, at the duly justified request of the producer.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 341/2013^f3 sets out the division between deliveries and direct sales for the period from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 for all Member States.

In accordance with Article 25(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 595/2004^f4, Member States have notified to the Commission the quantities which have been definitively converted at the request of the producers between individual quotas for deliveries and for direct sales.

The total national quotas for all Member States fixed in point 1 of Annex IX to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 were increased with 1 %, effective from 1 April 2013, except for Italy whose quota was already increased with 5 %, effective from 1 April 2009. Member States, except Italy, have notified the Commission of the division between deliveries and direct sales of the additional quota.

It is therefore appropriate to establish the division between deliveries and direct sales of the national quotas applicable for the period from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 fixed in point 1 of Annex IX to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

Pursuant to Article 69(1) in conjunction with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, the Commission had to act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 195(2) of that Regulation, The corresponding procedure under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 is the examination procedure referred to in Article 229(2) of that Regulation.

Given the fact that the division between direct sales and deliveries is used as a reference basis for controls pursuant to Articles 19 to 22 of Regulation (EC) No 595/2004 and for the establishment of the annual questionnaire set out in Annex I to that Regulation, it is appropriate to determine a date of expiry of this Regulation after the last possible date for those controls.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: