7. 10. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 284/19 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2997/87 of 22 September 1987 layihg down, in respect of hops, the amount of aid to producers for the 1986 harvest and providing for special measures for certain regions of production THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 43 thereof, Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and Portuga_l, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1656/71 of 26 July 1971 on the common organization of the ~ market in hops ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3800/85 (%), and in particular Article 12 (7) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,. Having regard to the opinion of the European Parli- ament (%), Whereas Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 provides that aid- may be granted to hop producers to enable them to achieve a fair income; whereas the amount of this aid is fixed per hectare and differs accor- ding to varieties, taking into account the average return on the areas in full production compared with the average returns for previous harvests, the current position of the market and trends in costs ; Whereas an examination of the results of the 1986 harvest shows the need to fix aid for certain groups of varieties of hops cultivated in the Community; Whereas, pursuant to Articles 105 and 299 of the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal aid for hops cultivated in Spain and Portugal is granted as from the 1986 harvest ; Whereas the Community market in bitter varieties of hops is in disequilibrium because it is not these varieties that are in demand ; whereas in certain regions produc- tion consists mainly of bitter varieties and is declining : whereas measures aimed at changing the production structures in these regions through conversion to more sought-after varieties should therefore be adopted; whereas the granting of aid to enable producers to carry out varietal conversion work seems an appropriate measure ; whereas the aid should be granted to recognized producer groups in the regions concerned whose members undertake to carry out the measures in ‘ques- () OJ No L 175, 4. 8. 1971, p. 1. () OJ No L 367, 31. 12. 1985 p. 32. () Opinion delivered on 18 September 1987 (not yet published in the Official Journal). tion ; whereas these measures should be laid down for a specified period ; whereas, for the sake of impartiality and so that the intended measure will be effective, the maximum expansion of the area which in'each Member State concerned, must be converted, should be laid down ; . - whereas, in order to achieve the desired results, it should be laid down that there may not be any expansion of the areas under hops cultivated by producer groups eligible under the intended measures ; Whereas Member States should be allowed to make-a limited financial contribution to varietal conversion plans, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 1. For the 1986 harvest, aid shall be granted to the . ‘ producers of hops cultivated in the Community for the groups of varieties set out in the Annex. © 2. The amount of the aid shall be as set out in the Annex. Article 2 1. A special aid of 2500 ECU per hectare shall be granted for areas under, essentially, bitter hop virieties, on terms to be set by the procedure indicated in paragraph 6, to producer groups recognized under Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 the members of which undertake to imple- ment before 31 December 1990 a plan for conversion to aromatic or super-alpha type varieties. This special aid shall be given for a total area of no more than 800 hectares in each Member State concerned. 2. The Member State concerned may make a financial contribution to the conversion plan referred to in para- graph 1. However, the aid granted by the Member State, plus the special aid indicated in paragraph 1, may not exceed 50 % of the actual cost of the conversion plan. This percentage may reach 75 % of the costs in the less- - favoured areas of the Community within the meaning of Directive 75/268/EEC (%), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 797/85 (°). 3. Member States shall notify the Commission of the legislative, regulatory and administrative provisions ‘that _ they intend to adopt in order to apply this Regulation. () OJ No L 128, 19. 5. 1975, p. 1. () OJ No L 93, 30. 3. 1985, p. 1.