# EUR-Lex - 52014PC0375 - EN

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# 52014PC0375

**Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on certain procedures for applying the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part (codification) /* COM/2014/0375 final - 2014/0191 (COD) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           In the context of a people’s
Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying
the law of the Union so as to make it clearer and more accessible to citizens,
thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific
rights it gives them.

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous
provisions that have been amended several times, often quite substantially,
remain scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument
and partly in later amending ones. Considerable research work, comparing many
different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.

For this reason a codification of rules that
have frequently been amended is also essential if the law is to be clear and
transparent.

2.           On 1 April 1987 the
Commission decided[1]
to instruct its staff that all acts should be codified after no more
than ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum requirement and that
departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter intervals the texts for
which they are responsible, to ensure that their provisions are clear and
readily understandable.

3.           The Conclusions of the Presidency
of the Edinburgh European Council (December 1992) confirmed this[2], stressing the
importance of codification as it offers certainty as to the law
applicable to a given matter at a given time.

Codification must be undertaken in full
compliance with the normal procedure for the adoption of acts of the Union.

Given that no changes of substance may be made
to the instruments affected by codification, the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement
dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for
the fast-track adoption of codification instruments.

4.           The purpose of this proposal is
to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EC) No 1616/2006 of 23 October 2006 on
certain procedures for applying the Stabilisation and Association Agreement
between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and
the Republic of Albania, of the other part, and for applying the Interim
Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Albania[3]. The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in
it[4]; this proposal fully
preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than
bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by
the codification exercise itself.

5.           The codification proposal was drawn up on the
basis of a preliminary consolidation, in 22 official languages, of Regulation (EC)
No 1616/2006 and the instrument amending it, carried out by the Publications
Office of the European Union, by means of a data-processing system.
Where the Articles have been given new numbers, the correlation between the old
and the new numbers is shown in a table set out in Annex II to the
codified Regulation.

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

2014/0191 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL

on certain procedures for applying the
Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and
their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other
part (codification)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty Ö on the
Functioning of the European Union Õ , and in
particular Article Ö 207(2) Õ thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative
act to the national Parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the
European Economic and Social Committee[5],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary
legislative procedure,

Whereas:

ê

(1)       Council
Regulation (EC) No 1616/2006[6] has been substantially amended[7]. In the interests of
clarity and rationality, that Regulation should be codified.

ê 1616/2006
recital 1 (adapted)

(2)       A
Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and
their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other
part ( ‘SAA’), was signed in Luxembourg on 12 June 2006 Ö and
entered into force on 1 April 2009 Õ .

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

(3)       It
is necessary to lay down the procedures for applying certain provisions of the
SAA.

(4)       The
SAA Ö stipulates Õ that fishery
products originating in Albania may be imported into the Ö Union Õ at a reduced
customs duty, within the limits of tariff quotas. It is therefore necessary to
lay down provisions regulating the management of Ö those Õ tariff quotas.

(5)       Where
trade defence measures become necessary, they should be adopted in accordance
with the general provisions laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009[8],
Council Regulation (EC) No 1061/2009[9], Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009[10] or, as the case may be, Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009[11].

(6)       Where
a Member State provides information to the Commission on a possible fraud or
failure to provide administrative cooperation, the relevant Ö Union Õ legislation
shall apply, in particular Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97[12].

(7)       For
the purposes of implementing the relevant provisions of this Regulation the
Commission should be assisted by the Customs Code Committee established byArticle 285 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council[13].

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13 (adapted)

(8)       The implementation of the bilateral safeguard clauses of the Ö SAA Õ requires
uniform conditions for the adoption of safeguard and other measures. Those
measures should be adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council[14].

(9)       The
Commission should adopt immediately applicable implementing acts where, in duly
justified cases relating to exceptional and critical circumstances arising
within the meaning of Article 39(4) of the Ö SAA Õ, imperative
grounds of urgency so require,

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation lays down certain
procedures for the adoption of detailed rules for the implementation of certain
provisions of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European
Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of
Albania, of the other part ( ‘SAA’).

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(1) (adapted)

Article 2

Concessions for fish and fishery
products

Detailed rules for the implementation of
Article 28(1) of the SAA,
concerning the tariff quotas for fish and fishery products, shall be adopted by
the Commission in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in
Article 9(3) of this
Regulation.

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

Article 3

Tariff reductions

1. Subject to paragraph 2, rates of preferential duty shall be
rounded down to the first decimal place.

2. Where the result of calculating the rate
of preferential duty Ö pursuant
to Õ paragraph 1 is
one of the following, the preferential rate shall be considered a full
exemption:

(a)          1 % or less in the case of ad valorem duties; or

(b)          EUR 1 or less per individual amount in the Ö case
of Õ specific
duties.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(2) (adapted)

Article 4

Technical adaptations

Amendments and technical adaptations to the
provisions adopted pursuant to this Regulation which are necessary following
changes to the Combined Nomenclature codes and to the TARIC subdivisions, or
arising from the conclusion of new or modified agreements, protocols, exchanges
of letters or other acts between the Union and Albania, shall be adopted in
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 9(3).

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(3) (adapted)

Article 5

General safeguard clause

Where the Union needs to take a measure as
provided for in Article 38
of the SAA, that measure shall be adopted in accordance with the examination
procedure referred to in Article 9(3) of this Regulation, unless otherwise specified in Article 38 of the SAA.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(4) (adapted)

Article 6

Shortage clause

Where the Union needs to take a measure as
provided for in Article 39
of the SAA, that measure shall be adopted in accordance with the examination
procedure referred to in Article 9(3) of this Regulation.

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

Article 7

Exceptional and critical
circumstances

Where exceptional and critical
circumstances arise within the meaning of Article 39(4) of the SAA, the Commission may take immediate measures as
provided for in Article 39
of the SAA.

If the Commission receives a request from a
Member State, it shall take a decision thereon within five working days of
receipt of the request.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(5) (adapted)

The Commission shall take such measures in accordance with the
examination procedure referred to in Article 9(3) Öof this
Regulation Õ, or in cases
of urgency, in accordance with Article 9(4) Öof this
Regulation Õ.

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

Article 8

Safeguard clause for agricultural
and fisheries products

1. Notwithstanding the procedures referred
to in Articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation, where the Ö Union Õ needs to take
a safeguard measure as provided Ö for Õ in Article 38
of the SAA concerning agricultural and fisheries products, the Commission
shall, at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, decide upon
the necessary measures after, where applicable, having had recourse to the
referral procedure provided for in Article 38 of the SAA.

If the Commission receives a request from a
Member State, it shall take a decision thereon:

(a)          within three working days
following the receipt of a request, where the referral procedure provided for
in Article 38 of the SAA
does not apply; or

(b)          within three days of the end of
the 30-day period referred to in Article 38(5)(a) of the SAA, where the referral procedure provided for in
Article 38 of the SAA
applies.

The Commission shall notify Member States
of the measures Ö upon
which Õ it Ö has Õ decided.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(6)

2. The Commission shall take such measures
in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 9(3), or in cases of urgency, in
accordance with Article 9(4).

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(7) (adapted)

Article 9

Committee procedure

1. For the purpose of Articles 2, 4 and 11, the Commission shall be assisted by the Customs Code Committee
established by Article 285
of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.
That Committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. For the purpose of Articles 5 Ö to Õ 8, the Commission shall be assisted by the Committee Ö on
Safeguards Õ established by Ö Article 4(1)
of Õ Regulation (EC) No 260/2009. That Committee shall be a committee within the meaning of
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

3. Where reference is made to this
paragraph, Article 5 of
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

4. Where reference is made to this
paragraph, Article 8 of
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with Article 5 thereof, shall apply.

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

Article 10

Dumping and subsidy

In the event of a practice which is liable
to warrant application by the Ö Union Õ of the measures
provided for in Article 37(2)
of the SAA, the introduction of anti-dumping and/or countervailing measures
shall be decided upon in accordance with the provisions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 Ö and/ Õ or Regulation (EC)
No 597/2009, respectively.

Article 11

Competition

1. In the event of a practice that may
justify application by the Ö Union Õ of the
measures provided for in Article 71 of the SAA, the Commission shall, after examining the case, on
its own initiative or on the request of a Member State, decide whether such
practice is compatible with the Ö SAA Õ .

The measures provided for in Article 71(9) of the SAA, shall be adopted in
the cases of aid in accordance with the procedures laid down in Regulation (EC)
No 597/2009 and, in the
other cases, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article Ö 207 Õ of the Treaty.

2. In the event of a practice that may
cause measures to be applied to the Ö Union Õ by Albania on
the basis of Article 71 of
the SAA, the Commission shall, after examining the case, decide whether the
practice is compatible with the principles set out in the SAA. Where necessary,
Ö the
Commission Õ shall take appropriate decisions on the basis of criteria which
result from the application of Articles 101, 102 and 107 of the Treaty.

Article 12

Fraud or failure to provide
administrative cooperation

Where the Commission, on the basis of
information provided by a Member State or on its own initiative, finds that the
conditions laid down in Article 43 of the SAA are fulfilled, Ö it Õ shall, without undue delay:

(a)          inform the Council; and

(b)          notify the Stabilisation and
Association Committee of its finding together with the objective information,
and enter into consultations within the Stabilisation and Association
Committee.

Any publication under Article 43(5) of the SAA shall be Ö effected Õ by the
Commission in the Official Journal of the European Union.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .13(8) (adapted)

The Commission may decide, in accordance
with the examination procedure referred to in Article 9(3) of this Regulation, to suspend temporarily the relevant
preferential treatment of the products as provided for in Article 43(4) of the SAA.

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

Article 13

Notification

Ö The Commission, acting on behalf of the Union, shall be responsible
for Õ notification to the Stabilisation and Association Council and the
Stabilisation and Association Committee, as required by the SAA .

ê

Article 14

Repeal

Regulation (EC) No 1616/2006 is repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall
be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance
with the correlation table in Annex II.

ê 1616/2006
(adapted)

Article 15

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on
the Ö twentieth Õ day Ö following
that Õ of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament                        For
the Council

The President                                                 The
President

[1]               COM(87) 868 PV.

[2]               See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.

[3]               Entered in the legislative programme for 2014.

[4]               See Annex I to this proposal.

[5]               OJ C [...], [...], p. [...].

[6]               Council Regulation (EC) No 1616/2006 of 23 October 2006 on
certain procedures for applying the Stabilisation and Association Agreement
between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and
the Republic of Albania, of the other part, and for applying the Interim
Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Albania (OJ L 300, 31.10.2006, p. 1).

[7]               See Annex I.

[8]               Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the common rules for imports (OJ L 84,
31.3.2009, p. 1).

[9]               Council Regulation (EC) No 1061/2009 of 19 October 2009 establishing common rules for exports (OJ L 291, 7.11.2009, p. 1).

[10]             Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 of 30 November 2009 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 51).

[11]             Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 of 11 June 2009 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Community (OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 93).

[12]             Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 of 13 March 1997 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs and agricultural matters (OJ L 82, 22.3.1997, p. 1).

[13]             Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

[14]             Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55,
28.2.2011, p. 13).

é

ANNEX I

Repealed Regulation with the
amendment thereto

Council Regulation (EC) No 1616/2006 (OJ L 300, 31.10.2006, p. 1) || ||

|| Regulation (EU) No 37/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 18, 21.1.2014, p. 1) || Only point 13 of the Annex

_____________

ANNEX II

Correlation Table

Regulation (EC) No 1616/2006 || This Regulation

Articles 1 to 8 || Articles 1 to 8

Article 8a || Article 9

Article 9 || Article 10

Article 10 || Article 11

Article 11 || Article 12

Article 13 || Article 13

__ || Article 14

Article 14 || Article 15

__ || Annex I

__ || Annex II

_____________