
Article 1 

1. Member States shall recognise producer organisations of silkworm rearers which:
(a) request recognition;
(b) fulfil the general conditions laid down in Article 122 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007;
(c) fulfil the specific conditions laid down in Article 2 of this Regulation.
2. The competent authority for the recognition of a producer organisation shall be the authority of the Member State within whose territory the producer organisation has its registered office.
Article 2 

1. In order to obtain recognition, producer organisations must:
(a) include in their activities the production and marketing of silkworm cocoons;
(b) include at least 50 producers who use or undertake to use at least 2 500 boxes during the marketing year in which recognition is granted;
(c) exclude, throughout their field of activity, any discrimination whatsoever between Community silkworm rearers in respect of inter alia their nationality or place of establishment;
(d) have legal personality or sufficient legal capacity to enjoy rights and be subject to obligations in accordance with national law;
(e) have no members other than silkworm rearers;
(f) include in their rules the following obligations for members:
((i)) to market, that is sell to the wholesale trade or to the user industries, all their production through the producer organisation, subject to the possibility of a derogation in respect of certain quantities;
((ii)) to apply, in respect of production and marketing, the rules adopted by the organisation designed to adapt the volume of supply and the quality of the product to market requirements;
((iii)) not to leave the organisation until after having been a member for at least three years since the organisation was recognised and after giving at least one year’s notice, without prejudice to any provisions of national law designed to protect the organisation or its creditors, in specified cases, against any financial consequences which might result from the withdrawal of a member or to preclude a member from withdrawing from membership in the course of the financial year;
(g) keep separate accounts for the activities in respect of which they have been recognised.
2. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 195(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, a Member State may be authorized, on request, to recognise in a region of low production an organisation which does not satisfy the condition set out in paragraph 1(b) of this Article.
Article 3 
Producer organisations shall submit with their applications for recognition the following documents and information:

((a)) the statute of the organisation;
((b)) the names of persons authorized to act in the name of and on behalf of the organisation;
((c)) a list of the activities justifying the application for recognition;
((d)) proof that the provisions of Article 2(1)(b) or Article 2(2) have been complied with;
((e)) the rules adopted pursuant to Article 2(1)(f)(ii) and in particular those relating to the drying of cocoons.
Article 4 

1. Member States shall decide on applications for recognition within two months of their receipt.
2. Member States shall inform the Commission of their decisions within two months and indicate reasons if they refuse applications.
Article 5 

1. Member States shall exercise continuous supervision to ensure that recognised organisations satisfy the conditions for recognition.
2. Member States shall withdraw recognition of an organisation if the conditions laid down for recognition are no longer satisfied or if recognition was based on incorrect information. They shall withdraw with retroactive effect recognition obtained or enjoyed fraudulently.
3. Where a Member State withdraws recognition of an organisation it shall inform the Commission thereof within two months and indicate its reasons therefore.
Article 6 
At the beginning of each year the Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union C series the list of organisations which were recognised during the previous year and the list of organisations from which recognition was withdrawn during the previous year.
Article 7 
Regulation (EEC) No 822/76 is repealed.
Article 8 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 April 2008.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 12 March 2008.
For the Commission
Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission