Common organisation of agricultural markets (CMO): amendments in the sugar, fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetables, seeds, beef and milk and milk products sectors

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products -sugar, processed fruit and vegetables, seeds, beef, milk and dairy products.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EC) No 361/2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation).

CONTENT: the Council adopted this Regulation amending Regulation 1234/2007, which replaced the different regulations on common market organisations (CMO) with a single common organisation for all agricultural markets. The amending regulation incorporates recently adopted provisions for sugar, seeds, milk and milk products, beef and veal and for the fruit and vegetables sector into the single CMO and repeals an important number of obsolete regulations in the fruit and vegetables sector. By doing so, it contributes to further regulatory simplification and helps ensure legal certainty.

As regards the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables, the respective CMOs will be repealed by the present Decision and their substance be fully incorporated into the Single CMO Regulation.

In parallel to the negotiations and adoption of the Single CMO Regulation, the Council also negotiated and adopted a series of policy decisions in several sectors. This is the case of the sugar, seeds, milk and milk products sectors. Those amendments need to be incorporated into the Single CMO Regulation in order to ensure that those policy decisions are being maintained from the application of the Single CMO Regulation in the sectors concerned.

The Council also negotiated and adopted a reform in the fruit and vegetables and the processed fruit and vegetables sectors. As a consequence, these sectors should now be fully incorporated into the Single CMO Regulation by way of introducing the policy decisions taken in Regulation (EC) No 1182/2007 in respect of the common organisation of the markets for the products of these two sectors into the Single CMO Regulation.

Lastly, as regards beef and veal, it is necessary to incorporate into the Single CMO new measures introduced by Regulation No 700/2007 on the marketing of beef of bovine animals

aged 12 months or less.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 14/05/2008.

DATES OF APPLICATION: from 01/07/2008. However, the Regulation shall apply from 01/09/2008 for certain measures in the milk and milk products sector and from 01/10/2008 in respect of sugar.