Commentary on Sections Part 2 – Support for Agriculture Etc Chapter 3 - Intervention in agricultural markets Section 23 - Power to modify retained direct EU legislation relating to public market intervention and private storage aid
149.Section 23 confers on the Welsh Ministers powers to modify retained direct EU legislation relating to public market intervention or aid for private storage, so far as it has effect in relation to Wales.
150.Subsection (2) specifies that the power under this section includes power to change the products eligible for public market intervention or aid for private storage. This could be because of market conditions for a certain product changing, so that there is no longer demand for its storage.
151.The legislation that the Welsh Ministers have the power to modify under this section is listed in subsection (3).
152.Subsection (4) makes provision that relates to the CMO Regulation (defined in section 54). The CMO Regulation relates to markets in agricultural products.
153.Part 2 of Schedule 7 to the 2020 Act disapplies certain provisions of the CMO Regulation, in relation to Wales, for the duration of existing time limited provision about exceptional market conditions in Schedule 5 to the 2020 Act. Since the Act is replacing the time limited provision in Schedule 5, Schedule 3 to the Act amends the CMO Regulation in consequence (in that the amendment made to it by Schedule 7 to the 2020 Act will cease to be appropriate). But since the amendment made by Schedule 7 to the 2020 Act to the CMO Regulation is not yet in force, Schedule 3 provides (in Part 1) alternative consequential amendments to the CMO Regulation.
154.In section 23, subsection (4) states that until either of the consequential amendments in Part 1 of Schedule 3 is in force, references in section 23 to exceptional market conditions include references to circumstances that are the subject of measures under any of Articles 219, 220, 221 and 222 of the CMO Regulation. This is a transitory provision which will no longer have any effect once either paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 has been commenced. The effect is to permit flexibility as to the commencement of section 23 and Part 1 of Schedule 3.