(1)

Notifications received from Member States show that payments from the reserve mentioned in the first subparagraph of Article 14(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 of 13 July 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amount of such refunds (2), in the period from the beginning of the budget year until 1 May 2004, are taking place at a higher rate than in the previous budget year.

(2)

In order to avoid that such increased rate of use of the reserve may result in disruptions of trade liable to affect operators benefiting from that reserve, it is appropriate to increase, by way of derogation from Article 14(1) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000, the amounts set out in those provisions for the current budget year.

(3)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee on horizontal questions concerning trade in processed agricultural products not listed in Annex I to the Treaty,

1.

The limit of the total reserve mentioned in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be increased to EUR 45 million.

2.

The sum mentioned in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 shall be increased to EUR 35 million.