The common organisation of agricultural markets in the EU

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 — common organisation of the markets in agricultural products

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It aims at stabilising markets and preventing market crises from escalating by providing a safety net to agricultural markets through the use of market intervention tools (public intervention* and private storage aid) and exceptional measures. It also provides for the necessary market transparency measures to allow agricultural producers to better make their production and investment decisions in view of market developments.
It aims at improving productivity and quality at the production level, boosting demand and helping EU agricultural sectors to better adapt to market changes and increase their competitiveness through aid to specific sectors (particularly fruit and vegetables, and wine).
It seeks to encourage cooperation within the food supply chain through producer organisations* and interbranch organisations* (organisations that represent actors of the food supply chain involved in the production of, trade in and/or processing of products in specific sectors).
It lays down minimum quality requirements (marketing standards), rules and conditions to ensure the quality of the production process and of the products. It specifies the rules for the use of optional reserved terms for value-adding product features or production processes for a number of products. It also sets out rules on trade in agricultural products and specific rules on competition.
The regulation has been amended on a number of occasions, most recently by Regulation (EU) 2020/2220, which introduces transitional rules for the common agricultural policy (CAP) covering the 2021-2022 period.

KEY POINTS

The main rules set out in the regulation are divided into several parts. The European Commission is granted the power to adopt additional delegated and implementing acts to further elaborate upon these rules.

1.
Internal market
The internal market section is itself broken down into a number of titles and chapters.
Market intervention
The regulation lays down market intervention rules for a defined list of products in the following fields.
Public intervention and aid for private storage
The regulation lays down rules on market intervention concerning:
- public intervention, where products are purchased and stored by EU governments or their agencies until their disposal; and
- aid granted for the storage of products by private-sector organisations.
The regulation grants the Commission the power to adopt:
- delegated acts, to ensure that such products are suitable for long-term storage and are of sound, fair and marketable quality (see Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1238); and
- implementing acts, covering issues such as the minimum storage capacity for intervention storage places (see Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1240).
Aid schemes
The regulation includes rules on a number of aid schemes.
- For the supply of fruit and vegetables and of milk and milk products in educational establishments (so-called school schemes):
  - EU countries must draw up a strategy to implement the scheme at the national or regional level;
  - further rules are found in Regulation (EU) 2017/40, Regulation (EU) 2017/39 and Regulation (EU) 2020/600.
- In the olive oil and table olives sector:
  - 3-year work programmes drawn up by producer organisations and/or their associations to benefit producers in Greece, France and Italy;
  - further rules are found in Regulation (EU) No 615/2014, Regulation (EU) No 611/2014 and Regulation (EU) 2020/600.
- In the fruit and vegetables sector:
  - rules on operational funds and operational programmes, on national financial assistance and on a national strategy for such programmes;
  - further rules are found in Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, Regulation (EU) 2020/743, Regulation (EU) 2020/884 and Regulation (EU) 2020/600.
- In the wine sector:
  - detailed rules are set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/1149 and Regulation (EU) 2016/1150;
- In the apiculture sector:
  - detailed rules are set out in Regulation (EU) 2015/1366, Regulation (EU) 2015/1368, Decision (EU) 2019/974 and Regulation (EU) 2020/600.
- In the hop sector:
  - detailed rules are set out in Regulation (EU) No 738/2010.
- For the scheme of authorisations for vine plantings:
  - rules on the scheme are set out in Regulations (EU) 2018/273 and (EU) 2018/274.
EU rules for fixing prices and other parameters needed for market measures for various agricultural products are set out in Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013 (see summary).
Marketing and producer organisations
The regulation sets out rules for marketing and producer organisations covering the following fields.
Marketing
- Marketing standards — products that are covered in this section must conform to the standards to be marketed in the EU. Detailed rules are set out in:
  - Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 and Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 for olive oil;
  - Regulation (EU) No 1333/2011 for bananas;
  - Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 for fruit and vegetables;
  - Regulation (EU) 2019/934 and Regulation (EU) 2019/935 for wine;
  - Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 for eggs;
  - Regulation (EC) No 617/2008 for hatching eggs;
  - Regulation (EC) No 543/2008 for poultrymeat;
  - Regulation (EC) No 566/2008 for bovine meat;
  - Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006 for hops.
- There are rules on schemes to promote the unique characteristics of agricultural products and foodstuffs (Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012). These relate to aspects such as protected designations of origin, geographical indications, traditional terms, and presentation and labelling (see summary). Detailed rules for the wine sector are set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (see summary) and Regulation (EU) 2019/34.
Individual sectors (sugar, wine and milk)
- Detailed rules are set out for:
  - sugar in Regulation (EC) No 967/2006;
  - milk in Regulation (EU) No 880/2012 and Regulation (EU) No 511/2012;
  - wine in Regulation (EU) 2018/273 and Regulation (EU) 2018/274 (vineyard register, trade, documentation, declarations, controls).
Producer organisations and interbranch organisations
- These organisations are required to fulfil specific requirements and pursue specific aims to be recognised and to be exempted from certain EU competition rules.
- Rules and compulsory contributions may be extended to economic operators who are not part of such an organisation.
- Detailed rules are set out in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/232 and, for the fruit and vegetables sector, in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892.
- Specific rules for hop producer groups are set out in Regulation (EC) No 1299/2007.
2.
Trade with non-EU countries
The regulation sets out rules on import and export licences, import duties, tariff quotas, safeguards and export refunds.
Further rules are set out in:
- Regulation (EU) 2015/1538 with regard to import licence applications;
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1237 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1239;
- Regulation (EU) 2019/2163 concerning additional import duties;
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 642/2010 defining the method for calculating import duties in the cereals sector;
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/761, along with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1988 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1987, concerning the administration of import and export tariff quotas.
3.
Competition rules
The regulation sets out rules covering:
- competition and agriculture;
  - these apply to all agreements, decisions and practices referred to in Article 101(1) and Article 102 TFEU that relate to the production of, or the trade in, agricultural products
  - an exception to the application of these rules is granted to farmers and associations for the objectives of the CAP, along with agreements and concerted practices of recognised interbranch organisations;
- State aid for agriculture.
4.
General rules
Exceptional measures
- Measures against market disturbance, to allow an efficient and effective response to threats of market disturbance caused by significant price rises or falls on internal or external markets, or other events and circumstances significantly disturbing or threatening to disturb the market, where that situation, or its effect on the market, is likely to continue or deteriorate. Such measures are by essence related to a particular threat or disturbance.
- Examples of the application of exceptional measures can be found in:
  - Regulation (EU) No 1263/2014 for dairy products at the time of the Russian embargo on exports from the EU;
  - Regulation (EU) 2020/592, Regulation (EU) 2020/1275, Regulation (EU) 2020/884 and Regulation (EU) 2020/600 for the fruit and vegetables and wine sectors at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Regulations (EU) 2020/133 and 2020/419 to address the imposition of US tariffs on wine imports;
  - Regulation (EU) 2015/1853 concerning support for livestock farmers at the time of the 2015 crisis in the dairy and pigmeat sectors.
- Measures concerning animal diseases and loss of consumer confidence due to public, animal or plant health risks. These concern the following sectors:
- - beef and veal
  - milk and milk products
  - pigmeat
  - sheepmeat and goatmeat
  - eggs
  - poultrymeat.
- Measures of this kind were implemented, for example, by means of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1507 on exceptional market support measures for the egg and poultrymeat sectors in Poland (following outbreaks of avian influenza).
- Specific problems:
  - emergency measures concerning vine planting at the time of the COVID pandemic are set out in Regulation (EU) 2020/601.
- Agreements and decisions during periods of severe imbalance in markets:
  - specific rules are set out, for example, during the COVID pandemics in Regulation (EU) 2020/593, Regulation (EU) 2020/594 and Regulation (EU) 2020/599.
Communications and reporting
Rules on communications and reporting are set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/1185.
Reserve for crises in the agricultural sector
Funds from the reserve can be made available in years when additional support is required for the sector.

From when does the regulation apply?

It has applied since 1 January 2014.
It repealed Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007.

BACKGROUND

The CAP’s financing, managing and monitoring rules are set out in Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 (see summary).

The Commission has proposed a reform of the CAP that aims to foster a sustainable and competitive agricultural sector that can contribute significantly to the European Green Deal (see summary), especially with regard to the farm to fork strategy (see summary) and the biodiversity strategy (see summary). In particular, the proposals focus on:

securing a fair deal and a stable economic future for farmers;
setting higher ambitions for environmental and climate action;
strengthening the position of agricultural producers in the food supply chain.

KEY TERMS

Public intervention: where products are bought in by the competent authorities of the Member States and stored by them until disposed of.

Producer organisations: organisations of producers formed to increase collective bargaining power, in particular by pursuing specific objectives set out in Article 152 of the regulation.

Interbranch organisations: organisations of producers and processors or traders in the supply chain, in particular by pursuing specific objectives set out in Article 157 of the regulation.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 671-854)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Part Three — Union policies and internal actions — Title VII — Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws — Chapter 1 — Rules on competition — Section 1 — Rules applying to undertakings — Article 101 (ex Article 81 TEC) (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 88-89)

Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 549-607)

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