Commission Regulation (EC) No 657/2008 of 10 July 2008 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards Community aid for supplying milk and certain milk products to pupils in educational establishments
Modified by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 966/2009of 15 October 2009amending Regulation (EC) No 657/2008 laying down rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards Community aid for supplying milk and certain milk products to pupils in educational establishments, 32009R0966, October 16, 2009
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2011of 7 October 2011amending Regulations (EC) No 657/2008, (EC) No 1276/2008 and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 as regards the notification obligations within the common organisation of agricultural markets, 32011R0996, October 8, 2011
Commission Regulation (EC) No 657/2008of 10 July 2008laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards Community aid for supplying milk and certain milk products to pupils in educational establishmentsTHE 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)OJ L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 510/2008 (OJ L 149, 7.6.2008, p. 61)., and in particular Article 102 in conjunction with Article 4 thereof,Whereas:(1)Commission Regulation (EC) No 2707/2000 of 11 December 2000 laying down rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 as regards Community aid for supplying milk and certain milk products to pupils in educational establishmentsOJ L 311, 12.12.2000, p. 37. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1544/2007 (OJ L 337, 21.12.2007, p. 64). has been substantially amended several timesSee Annex IV.. Since further amendments are necessary, that Regulation should be repealed and replaced by a new Regulation in the interest of clarity and rationality.(2)The aid for supplying milk and certain milk products to pupils should be available at nurseries, other pre-school establishments, primary and secondary schools. In the light of the fight against obesity, and in order to provide children with healthy dairy products, these type of schools should be treated equally and have access to the scheme. To simplify management, consumption by pupils in residence at school holiday camps should be excluded.(3)In order to clarify the application of the aid scheme it should be stressed that pupils should benefit from the aid only during school days. Moreover, the total number of school days should be confirmed by the educational authority or by the educational establishment of each Member State, excluding holidays.(4)Experience has shown monitoring difficulties as regards the use of subsidised milk products in the preparation of meals served to pupils. Moreover, this is not an effective way of attaining the educational purpose of the scheme. Therefore the preparation of meals should be restricted accordingly.(5)To take into account the different consumption habits of milk and certain milk products in the Community and to respond to the existing health and nutritional tendencies, the list of eligible products should be extended and simplified while leaving the possibility for Member States to determine their own range of products in compliance with that list.(6)In order to ensure that the products eligible for aid offer a high level of health protection, those products should be prepared in accordance with the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffsOJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 1, corrected by OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 3., and carry the identification mark required by Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal originOJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55, corrected by OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 22. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1243/2007 (OJ L 281, 25.10.2007, p. 8)..(7)For the purposes of the management and supervision of the aid scheme an approval procedure for applicants should be established.(8)The rate of aid for the various eligible products should be determined taking into account the rate for milk as laid down in Article 102 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as well as technical relations between the products.(9)As regards the payment of the aid, the requirements to be met by applicants should be specified and rules on the lodging of applications, on the checks and sanctions to be applied by the competent authorities and on the payment procedure should be laid down.(10)Under Article 102(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, the maximum daily quantity per pupil on which aid can be granted is the equivalent of 0,25 litres of milk. Equivalences between milk and the various other products should be specified.(11)Rules on supervision of the aid scheme should be laid down by the Member States in order to guarantee that the aid is duly reflected in the price paid by beneficiaries and that subsidised products are not deflected from their intended use.(12)To protect the Community's financial interests, adequate control measures should be adopted to combat irregularities and fraud. These control measures should involve full administrative checking supplemented by on-the-spot checks. The scope, content, timing and reporting of such control measures should be specified to ensure an equitable and uniform approach between Member States, taking account of their different scheme implementation. Furthermore, unduly paid amounts should be recovered and sanctions should be determined in order to deter applicants from fraudulent behaviour.(13)In order to simplify the administrative work of the Member States, the calculation of the maximum subsidisable quantity for the aid should be made on the basis of the number of pupils in regular attendance as established in the applicant's roll.(14)Experience has shown that the beneficiaries are not sufficiently aware of the role played by the European Union in the school milk scheme. The subsidising role of the European Union in the scheme should therefore be clearly indicated in each educational establishment participating in the school milk scheme.(15)Certain information related to the school milk scheme should be forwarded to the Commission each year for monitoring purposes.(16)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: