Recognition of producer organisations
1. Member States may recognise as producer organisations all groups set up on the initiative of fishery or aquaculture producers which apply for such recognition, provided that they:
(a)
comply with the principles set out in Article 17 and with the rules adopted for their application;
(b)
are sufficiently economically active in the territory of the Member State concerned or a part thereof, in particular as regards the number of members or the volume of marketable production;
(c)
have legal personality under the national law of the Member State concerned, are established there and have their official headquarters in its territory;
(d)
are capable of pursuing the objectives laid down in Article 7;
(e)
comply with the competition rules referred to in Chapter V;
(f)
do not abuse a dominant position on a given market; and
(g)
provide relevant details of their membership, governance and sources of funding.
2. Producer organisations recognised before 29 December 2013 shall be considered to be producer organisations for the purposes of this Regulation, and to be bound by its provisions.
Financial support to producer organisations or associations of producer organisations
Marketing measures for fishery and aquaculture products which aim to create or restructure producer organisations or associations of producer organisations may be financially supported in accordance with a future Union legal act establishing the conditions for the financial support for maritime and fisheries policy for the period 2014–2020.
Recognition of inter-branch organisations
1. Member States may recognise as inter-branch organisations the groups of operators established on their territory which apply for such recognition, provided that they:
(a)
comply with the principles set out in Article 17 and with the rules adopted for their application;
(b)
represent a significant share of production activity and of either processing or marketing activities or of both, concerning fishery and aquaculture products or products processed from fishery and aquaculture products;
(c)
are not themselves engaged in the production, processing or marketing of fishery and aquaculture products or products processed from fishery and aquaculture products;
(d)
have legal personality under the national law of a Member State, are established there and have their official headquarters in its territory;
(e)
are capable of pursuing the objectives laid down in Article 12;
(f)
take into account the interest of consumers;
(g)
do not hinder the sound operation of the CMO; and
(h)
comply with the competition rules referred to in Chapter V.
2. Organisations established before 29 December 2013 may be recognised as inter-branch organisations for the purposes of this Regulation provided that the Member State concerned is satisfied that they comply with the provisions of this Regulation regarding inter-branch organisations.
3. Inter-branch organisations recognised before 29 décembre 2013 shall be considered to be inter-branch organisations for the purposes of this Regulation and to be bound by its provisions.
Internal functioning of producer organisations and inter-branch organisations
The internal functioning of producer organisations and inter-branch organisations referred to in Articles 14 and 16 shall be based on the following principles:
(a)
compliance by its members with the rules adopted by the organisation in terms of fisheries exploitation, production and marketing;
(b)
non-discrimination among members, particularly on grounds of nationality or place of establishment;
(c)
the levying of a financial contribution from its members in order to finance the organisation;
(d)
a democratic functioning that enables the members to scrutinise their organisation and its decisions;
(e)
the imposition of effective, dissuasive and proportionate penalties for infringement of obligations laid down in the internal rules of the organisation concerned, particularly in the case of –non payment of financial contributions;
(f)
the definition of rules on the admission of new members and the withdrawal of membership;
(g)
the definition of the accounting and budgetary rules necessary for the management of the organisation.
Checks and withdrawal of recognition by Member States
1. Member States shall carry out checks at regular intervals to verify that producer organisations and inter-branch organisations comply with the conditions for recognition laid down in Articles 14 and 16 respectively. A finding of non-compliance may result in the withdrawal of recognition.
2. The Member State hosting the official headquarters of a producer organisation or an inter-branch organisation which has members from different Member States, or of an association of producer organisations recognised in different Member States, shall set up the administrative cooperation needed to carry out checks on the activities of the organisation or the association concerned in collaboration with the other Member States concerned.
Allocation of fishing opportunities
When performing its tasks, a producer organisation whose members are nationals of different Member States or an association of producer organisations recognised in different Member States shall comply with the provisions governing the allocation of fishing opportunities among Member States in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.
Checks by the Commission
1. In order to ensure that the conditions for recognition of producer organisations or inter-branch organisations laid down in Articles 14 and 16 respectively are complied with, the Commission may carry out checks and shall, where appropriate, request that Member States withdraw the recognition of producer organisations or inter-branch organisations.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission by electronic means any decision to grant or withdraw the recognition. The Commission shall make all such information publically available.
Implementing acts
1. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning:
(a)
the time-limits and procedures and the form of applications for the recognition of producer organisations and inter-branch organisations pursuant to Articles 14 and 16 respectively, or for the withdrawal of such recognition pursuant to Article 18;
(b)
the format, time-limits and procedures to be applied by Member States for the communication to the Commission of any decision to grant or withdraw the recognition pursuant to Article 20(2).
The implementing acts adopted under point (a) shall, where appropriate, be adapted to the special characteristics of small–scale fisheries and aquaculture.
2. The implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 43(2).
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
