30.7.92 Official Journal of the European Communities No I. 215/49 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2066/92 of 30 June 1992 amending Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 468/87 laying down general rules applying to the special premium for beef producers and Regulation (EEC) No 1357/80 introducing a system of premiums for maintaining suckler cows THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European. Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3), Whereas the beef and veal sector is persistently subject to economic factors which, given the possibilities for exports to third countries, cause structural imbalance between supply and demand on the Community market; Whereas, in order to redress the situation of agriculture in general, measures must be applied both in the farming sectors supplying raw materials for beef and veal production and in the beef and veal sector itself; whereas, as a result of these measures, the intervention price for beef is to be reduced; Whereas, given the consequences for producers, substantial compensation should be granted in the form of premiums, subject to a limit on the number of eligible male animals to that corresponding to an economically viable holding; whereas, given the variety of stockfarming enterprises, the special premium for beef producers and the premium for maintaining suckler cow herds should be continued; whereas these schemes should be adapted to the new situation by redefinition of the conditions of grant; Whereas the reorientation of the premiums should not be reflected in an increase in overall production; whereas, to that end, the number of animals eligible for premiums should be limited by applying regional and individual ceilings respectively to be determined in accordance with reference years; whereas most of-the Member States do not have the information necessary regarding the special premium arrangements to establish the individual reference ceilings for each producer; whereas, furthermore, such detailed assessments would pose a variety of administrative () OJ No C 303, 22. 11. 1991, p. 29. () OJ No C 125, 18. 5. 1992. (3) OJ No C98, 21. 4. 1992, p. 20. problems; whereas the Member States should therefore be given the choice between establishing individual or regional ceilings; Whereas slaughtering too great a number of animals during the slaughtering season could disturb the market and result in excessive buying-in for intervention; whereas to encourage the putting up for slaughter of male animals outside the annual ‘off grass’ period, an additional premium should be granted, subject to certain conditions, to the special premium for animals slaughtered out of season during the first four months of the year; Whereas, as regards the suckler cow premium, provision should be made for individual reference ceilings; whereas some increases in production become necessary because of changes in stock or production capacity of the recipients; whereas it is therefore advisable to provide for the possibility of transferring rights acquired in respect of individual ceilings to other producers, under certain conditions, either together with the holding or without retaining the link between premium rights and land farmed; Whereas new producers and existing producers whose individual ceilings do not correspond, for various reasons, to normal movement in suckler cow herds must not be excluded from right to premium; whereas provision should be made to this effect to set up a national reserve, initially by means of a flat-rate levy on the individual ceilings of all producers and subsequently to be funded and administered in accordance with Community criteria; whereas, for the same reason, it is appropriate to make the transfer of the right to premium without transfer of the holding subject to rules whereby part of these transferred rights may be withdrawn without compensatory payment and to allocate the rights withdrawn to that national reserve; Whereas, in order to support producers in the less-favoured areas, provision should me made to set up an additional reserve to be distributed exclusively between such producers; Where it is opportune to establish a link between sensitive zones or localities and the production of suckler cows so as to ensure the maintenance of this production especially in areas where there is no other alternative; Whereas, given the rising trend towards intensification of beef and veal production, premiums for stockfarming should