4. 3. 88 Official Journal of the Buropean Communities No L 59/25 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 18 December 1987 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (IV/31.735 — New potatoes) (Only the French text is authentic) (88/109/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 26 of 4 April 1962 applying certain rules of competition to production of and trade in agricultural products ('), as amended by Regulation No 49 (3, Having regard to the request for the application of Article 2 of Regulation No 26 submitted on 17 October 1985 by the French Government (%), After consulting the Member States and hearing the parties concerned, Whereas : A. THE FACTS I. Procedure On 17 October 1985 the French authorities submitted to the Commission, at the same time as a request for the extension of the scope of the rules adopted by four regi- onal agricultural economic committees in the fruit and vegetables sector to cover non-members, a request that Article 2 of Regulation No 26 be applied to decisions taken by seven economic committees in the field of the production and marketing of new potatoes. II. The French legislation governing fruit and vegetables () The French Law of 8 August 1962 aims, in the sphere of the economic organization of agricultural Y) OJ No 30, 20. 4. 1962, p. 993/62. (g OJ No $3, 1. 7. 1962, p. 1571/62. See the summary of the request published in OJ No C 159, 17. 6. 1987, p. 2 @ markets, at adjusting price levels and bringing the production and marketing of the products concerned into line with the requirements of the market. To this end, the French Government has entrusted, under its supervision, implementation of the organization of the markets in the fruit and vegeta- bles sector to producer groups recognized and economic committees authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture. Article 14 of the Law provides that these producer groups may adopt rules to organize and regulate productxon and marketing dand to adjust pnce levels, inter alia by fixing a thhdrawal price should the need arise. Article 15 states that, with a view to organizing and regulating production and marketing, recognized producer groups in a given region may merge to form an agricultural economic committee. The Decree of 22 November 1962 lays down the procedure for- recognizing producer groups and authorizing economic committees, and it also contains detailed rules on how the Ministry of Agriculture should supervise such bodies. (a) Applications from producer groups for recogni- tion must be sent to the Ministry of Agriculture via the ‘Prefect’ concerned, who is responsible for examining them. The Minister reaches a decision on such appli- cations after considering the opinion of the technical committee set up at national level by Article 14 of the Law of 8 August 1962. The recognition of a group is deemed equiva- lent to approval of its rules as notified in advance.