10. 8. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 222/23 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 2436/91 of 7 August 1991 opening an invitation to tender for the sale of baled tobacco held by the German, Greek and Italian 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 727/70 of 21 April 1970 on the common organization of the market in raw tobacco ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1737/91 (), and in particular Article 7 (4) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1676/85 of 11 June 1985 on the value of the unit of account and " the conversion rates to be applied for the purposes of the common agricultural policy (%), as last amended by Regu- lation EEC) No 2205/90 (¥}, and in particular Article 5(3) thereof, Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3389/73 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 395/90 (%), lays down the procedure and conditions for the sale of tobacco held by intervention agencies; Whereas, on account of the problems caused by the storage of baled tobacco, and in particular the cost of storage, an invitation to tender should be opened for the sale of the tobacco in lots ; whereas this tobacco should be intended for export, without refund ; whereas, in order to ensure tenders are obtained for all tobacco varieties, provi- sion should be made to sell by groups of lots, beginning with those varieties for which there is least demand on the market ; Whereas payment for all these lots is made before the tobacco is removed ; whereas it should be provided that, at the request of the successful tenderer, the security should be released progressively as the quantities of tobacco are exported ; Whereas the sale by groups of lots should be carried out at close intervals and, as a result, it is necessary to dero- gate from Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 3389/73 as regards the time limit of 45 days between the date of publication of the notice in the Official Journal of the European Communities and the date fixed for the submission of tenders, which should be reduced to 20 days ; Whereas, for tendering procedures covering tobacco stored in several Member States, provision should be () OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 1. () OJ No L 163, 26. 6. 1991, p. 11. () OJ No L 164, 24. 6. 1985, p. 1. () OJ No L 201, 31. 7. 1990, p. 9. ) OJ No L 345, 15. 12. 1973, p. 47. (9 OJ No L 42, 16. 2. 1990, p. 46. made for tenders to be submitted in ecus; whereas the operative event for the agricultural conversion rate to be applied to tenders for which contracts are awarded is the withdrawal of the tobacco ; whereas, however, in certain cases the agricultural conversion rate applicable on the final date for submission of tenders shrould be used; 'Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are - in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Tobacco, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 Eleven lots of baled raw tobacco from the 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 harvests, held by the German, Greek and Italian intervention agencies, with a total weight of 105 486 276 kilograms, broken down. by variety as shown in the Annex hereto, shall be sold for export. The lots shall be sold successively on the principle that each new group of lots shall not be sold until the pre- ceding group of lots has been awarded. The Commission shall give notice of the sale of the lots in notices of invita- tion to tender to be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, C series. Article 2 The sale shall take place in accordance with the tendering procedure provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 3389/73. Article 3 The deadline for the submission of tenders at the head- quarters of the Commission of the European Communi- ties shall be as indicated in the notice of invitation to tender for each group of lots. Notwithstanding Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 3389/73, the notices of invitation to tender may be published in the Official Journal 20 days before the date fixed for the submission of tenders. Article 4 The closing date referred to in Article 9 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3389/73 for removal of the tobacco by the successful tenderer shall be: