Commission Regulation (EC) No 1629/2006 of 31 October 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 1010/2006 on certain exceptional market support measures in the eggs and poultry sector in certain Member States

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common organisation of the market in eggs (1), and in particular point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 14(1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2777/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common organisation of the market in poultrymeat (2), and in particular point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 14(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Council Directive 93/119/EC (3) on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter or killing defines the concepts of ‘slaughter’ and ‘killing’.

(2) Articles 4 and 7 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1010/2006 (4) do not stipulate that the ‘killing’ of animals must be considered to be an exceptional market support measure in the same way as slaughter.

(3) Given that the Member States did not have time to take the concept of ‘killing’ into account in their national legislation and in view of the recent amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1010/2006, some Member States might have problems meeting the deadline laid down in Article 10 of that Regulation for making payments to the beneficiaries of exceptional market support measures, i.e. 31 December 2006. The payment deadline should therefore be extended by several months.

(4) Regulation (EC) No 1010/2006 should therefore be amended.

(5) Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 and Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 2777/75 providing for the adoption of the measures concerned have been in force since 11 May 2006. This Regulation should therefore also apply from that date.

(6) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Poultrymeat and Eggs,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1010/2006 is amended as follows:

‘Article 7

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 11 May 2006.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 31 October 2006.

For the Commission Mariann FISCHER BOEL Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 282, 1.11.1975, p. 49. Regulation last amended by Regulation (EC) No 679/2006 (OJ L 119, 4.5.2006, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 282, 1.11.1975, p. 77. Regulation last amended by Regulation (EC) No 679/2006.

(3) OJ L 340, 31.12.1993, p. 21.

(4) OJ L 180, 4.7.2006, p. 3. Regulation amended by Regulation (EC) No 1256/2006 (OJ L 228, 22.8.2006, p. 9).