No L 74/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 3. 92 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 689/92 of 19 March 1992 fixing the procedure and conditions for the taking-over of cereals by intervention agencies THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common organization of the market in cereals ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3577/90 (3, and in particular Article 7 (6) thereof, Whereas intervention prices are fixed in respect of a given standard quality and provision has been made for price increases and reductions to be applied if the quality of the cereals offered does not correspond to that standard ; Whereas cereals of inadequate quality for use or storage should not be accepted for intervention; whereas, in fixing the minimum quality, the diversity of climatic conditions in the different regions of the Community should be taken into consideration ; Whereas, in order to simplify the management of inter- vention operations and, in particular, to permit the esta- blishment of homogeneous lots for each type of cereal offered to intervention, a minimum quality, below which the intervention agency is not obliged to accept the offer, should be fixed ; whereas, however, it may be necessary to provide for a greater minimum tonnage in certain Member States, so that intervention agencies may take account of pre-existing conditions and practices of the wholesale trade in those countries ; Whereas the conditions under which cereals are offered to and taken over by the intervention agencies must be as uniform as possible throughout the Community in order to avoid any discrimination between producers ; whereas minimum quality characteristics should therefore be laid down ; whereas, however, it may be appropriate for the Member States to apply, concutrently with the provisions of this Regulation, certain provisions of their own which are suited to their own climatic conditions and commer- cial practices ; Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1569/77 of 11 July 1977 fixing the procedure and conditions for the taking-over of cereals by intervention agencies (%), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2642/91 (), has been amended several times; whereas for reasons of clarity it should be replaced ; () OJ No L 281, 1. 11. 1975, p. 1. () OJ No L 353, 17. 12. 1990, p. 23. () OJ No L 174, 14. 7. 1977, p. 15. () OJ No L 247, 5. 9. 1991, p. 20. Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 During the periods referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75, any holder of a homogeneous batch of not less than 80 tonnes of common wheat, rye, barley, maize or sorghum or 10 tonnes of durum wheat, harvested within the Community, shall be entitled to offer the batch to the intervention agency. However, the intervention agencies may fix a greater minimum tonnage. Article 2 1. In order to be accepted for intervention, the cereals must be sound, fair and of marketable quality. 2. They shall be considered of sound and fair merchan- table quality if they are of the typical colour of the cereal in question, free from abnormal smell and live pests (including mites) at every stage of their development, meet the minimum quality requirements set out in the Annex hereto, and the radioactivity levels of which do not exceed the maximum levels permitted under Community regulations. The level of radioactive contamination of the product shall be monitored if the situation so requires and during the period necessary only. Where necessary, the duration and scope of the controls shall be determined in accor- dance with the procedure laid down in Article 26 of Regulation (EEC) No 2727/75. For cereals presented as being of breadmaking quality, the intervention agency shall, in case of doubt, undertake a germination test. Wherre the germinative capacity is less than 85 % for common wheat and 75 % for rye, the cereal in question shall, at the request of the supplier, be accepted by the intervention agency and paid for at the intervention price minus, in the case of common wheat, the reduction provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 4a (1) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1570/77 (°). () OJ No L 174, 14. 7. 1977, p. 18.