# EUR-Lex - 52014PC0394 - EN

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# 52014PC0394

**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 former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part (codification) /* COM/2014/0394 final - 2014/0199 (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 153/2002 of 21 January 2002 on certain procedures for applying the Stabilisation and
Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States,
of the one part, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other
part, and for applying the Interim Agreement between the European Community and
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia[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 153/2002 and the instruments 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 153/2002
(adapted)

2014/0199 (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 former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
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 153/2002[6] has been substantially amended several times[7]. In the interests of clarity and rationality, that Regulation
should be codified.

ê 153/2002
recital 1 (adapted)

(2)       A
Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and
their Member States, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, of the other part Ö (‘SAA’), Õ was signed in
Luxembourg on 9 April 2001 Ö and
entered into force on 1 April 2004 Õ .

ê 153/2002
recital 3 (adapted)

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

ê 153/2002
recital 4 (adapted)

(4)       The
Ö SAA
stipulates Õ that certain
products originating in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia may be
imported into the Ö Union Õ , within the
limits of tariff quotas, at a reduced customs duty. It is therefore necessary
to lay down provisions for the calculation of the reduced rates of customs
duties.

ê 153/2002
recital 5 (adapted)

(5)       The
Ö SAA
specifies Õ the products
eligible for those tariff measures, the relevant volumes (and increases
thereof), the applicable duties, periods of application and any eligibility
criteria.

ê 153/2002
recital 7 (adapted)

(6)       In the interest of simplicity and of timely publication of
Regulations implementing Ö Union Õ tariff quotas,
provision should be made for the Commission, assisted by the Committee Ö established
by Õ Article 229 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council[8],
to adopt the Regulations opening up and providing for the administration of the
tariff quotas for ‘baby beef’ products.

ê 153/2002
recital 8 (adapted)

(7)       Provision
should be made for the Commission, assisted by the Committee Ö established Õ by Article 285
of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council[9], to adopt the Regulations opening and providing for the
administration of tariff quotas which might be granted as a result of
negotiations on further tariff concessions pursuant to Article 29 of the Ö SAA Õ.

ê 153/2002
recital 9

(8)       Duties
should be totally suspended where preferential treatment results in ad
valorem duties of 1 %
or less, or in specific duties of EUR 1 or less.

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

(9)       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[10].

(10)     The
Commission should adopt immediately applicable implementing acts where, in duly
justified cases relating to exceptional and critical circumstances arising
within the meaning ofArticle 37(4)(b) and Article 38(4)
of the Ö SAA Õ, imperative
grounds of urgency so require,

ê 153/2002
(adapted)

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

Ö This
Regulation lays Õ 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 former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, of the other part ( Ö ‘SAA’ Õ).

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

Article 2

Concessions on ‘baby beef’

Detailed rules for the implementation of
Article 27(2) of the Ö SAA Õ, concerning
the tariff quota for ‘baby beef’ products shall be adopted by the Commission in
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 12(4) of this Regulation.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .8(3) (adapted)

Article 3

Further concessions

If additional concessions for fishery
products are granted within tariff quotas, pursuant to Article 29 of the Ö SAA Õ, detailed
rules for the implementation of those tariff quotas shall be adopted by the
Commission in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 12(4) of this Regulation.

ê 153/2002
(adapted)

Article 4

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 case of specific duties.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .8(5)

Article 5

Technical adaptations

Amendments and technical adaptations to the
detailed rules on implementation 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 agreements, protocols,
exchanges of letters or other acts between the Union and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, shall be adopted in accordance with the examination
procedure referred to in Article 12(4).

ê 3/2003
Art. 1 (adapted)

Article 6

General safeguard clause and
shortage clause

1. Where a Member State requests the
Commission to take measures as provided for in Articles 37 and 38 of
the Ö SAA Õ, it shall
provide the Commission, in support of its request, with the information needed
to justify it.

ê 3/2003
Art. 1 (adapted)

è1 37/2014 Art. 1 and Annex .8(6)

2. Where the Commission, at the request of
a Member State or on its own initiative, finds that the conditions laid down in
Articles 37 and 38 of the Ö SAA Õ are fulfilled,
it shall:

(a)          inform the Member States
forthwith if acting on its own initiative or, if it is responding to a Member
State's request, within five working days of the date of receipt of that
request;

(b)          consult
the Committee Ö referred to in
Article 12(3) Õ on the
proposed measures;

(c)          at the same time inform the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and notify it of the opening of the
consultations within the Stabilisation and Association Committee as provided
for in Articles 37(4) and 38(3) of the Ö SAA Õ;

(d)          at the same
time provide the Stabilisation and Association
Committee with all the information necessary for Ö the Õ consultations Ö referred
to in point (c) Õ.

3. è1 On the completion of the consultations Ö referred
to in paragraph 2(c)Õ , and if no other arrangement proves possible, the Commission may
decide in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 12(4) of this Regulation either not to
act or to adopt appropriate measures provided for in Articles 37 and 38 of the Ö SAA Õ. ç

That Decision shall be notified forthwith
to the Counciland Ö to Õ the Stabilisation and Association Committee.

That Decision shall be applicable
immediately.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .8(6) (adapted)

4. The consultations within the
Stabilisation and Association Committee Ö referred to in
paragraph 2(c)Õ shall be deemed to be completed 30 days after the notification referred to in paragraph 2.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .8(7) (adapted)

Article 7

Exceptional and critical
circumstances

Where exceptional and critical
circumstances arise within the meaning of Article 37(4)(b) and Article 38(4) of theÖ SAA Õ, the
Commission may take immediate measures as provided for in Articles 38 and 39 of the Ö SAA Õ, in accordance
with the examination procedure referred to in Article 12(4) of this Regulation, or in cases of urgency, in accordance with
Article 12(5) of this
Regulation.

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 3/2003
Art. 1 (adapted)

Article 8

Safeguard clause for agricultural
and fisheries products

Notwithstanding the procedures set out in
Articles 6 and 7, necessary measures concerning
agricultural and fisheries products on the basis of Articles 30 or 37 of the Ö SAA Õ or on the
basis of provisions in the Annexes Ö to the
SAA Õ covering Ö those Õ products as well as of Protocol 3 Ö thereto Õ, Ö may Õ be taken according to procedures provided for by the relevant rules
establishing the common organisation of the agricultural markets or markets in
fishery and aquaculture products, or in specific provisions adopted pursuant to
Article Ö 352 Õ of the Treaty
and applicable to products resulting from the processing of agricultural and
fisheries products, provided that the conditions established pursuant to
Article 30 of the Ö SAA Õ or Article 37(3), (4) and (5) of the Ö SAA Õ are met.

Article 9

Dumping

In the case of a practice which is liable
to warrant application by the Ö Union Õ of the measures
provided for in Article 36(1)
of the Ö SAA Õ, the
introduction of anti-dumping measures shall be decided upon in accordance with
the provisions laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009[11] and the procedure provided for in Article 36(2) of the Ö SAA Õ.

Article 10

Competition

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

1. In the case of a practice that may
justify application by the Union of the measures provided for in Article 69 of the Ö SAA Õ, the
Commission, after examining the case, on its own initiative or at the request
of a Member State, shall decide whether such practice is compatible with the Ö SAA Õ . Where necessary it shall adopt safeguard measures in accordance
with the examination procedure referred to in Article 12(4) Ö of this
Regulation Õ, except in the
cases of aid to which Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009[12] applies, where measures
shall be taken in accordance with the procedures laid down in that Regulation.
Measures shall be taken only under the conditions set out in Article 69(5) of the Ö SAA Õ.

ê 3/2003
Art. 1 (adapted)

2. In the case of a practice that may cause
measures to be applied to the Ö Union Õ by the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the basis of Article 69 of the Ö SAA Õ, the
Commission, after examining the case, shall decide whether the practice is
compatible with the principle set out in the Ö SAA Õ. Where
necessary, it shall take appropriate decisions on the basis of criteria which
result from the application of Articles 101, 102 and 107 of the Treaty.

Article 11

Fraud
or failure to provide administrative cooperation

1. For the purpose of interpreting Article 42 of the Ö SAA Õ, failure to
provide administrative cooperation as required for the verification of evidence
of origin shall mean, inter alia:

(a)          the absence of administrative
cooperation, such as the failure to provide names and addresses of customs or
government authorities responsible for issuing and checking certificates of
origin, or specimens of stamps used to authenticate the certificates, or the
failure to update that information where appropriate;

(b)          a repeated lack or inadequacy of
action in verifying the originating status of products and the fulfilment of
the other requirements of Protocol 4 Ö to Õ the Ö SAA Õ and identifying or preventing contravention of the rules of origin;

(c)          a repeated refusal Ö to carry out Õ or undue delay Ö in carrying
Õ out, at the
request of the Commission, subsequent verification of the proof of origin and
to communicate its results in time;

(d)          a repeated refusal Ö to
obtain Õ or undue delay Ö in
obtaining Õ the
authorisation to conduct administrative and investigative cooperation missions
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in order to verify the
authenticity of documents or the accuracy of information relevant for granting
the preferential treatment granted under the Ö SAA Õ , or to carry out or arrange for appropriate inquiries to identify
or prevent contravention of the rules of origin;

(e)          a repeated failure to comply with
the provisions of Protocol 5 Ö to the
SAA Õ on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters insofar as it
is relevant to the application of the trade provisions of the Ö SAA Õ.

2. 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 42 of the Ö SAA Õ are fulfilled
it shall:

(a)          inform the Council;

(b)          enter
immediately into consultations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
to find an appropriate solution as provided for in Ö Article 42
of the SAA Õ.

In addition, Ö the
Commission Õ may:

(a)          call on
the Member States to take such precautionary measures as are necessary in order
to safeguard the Ö Union’s Õ financial
interests;

(b)          publish a notice in the Official
Journal of the European Ö Union Õ stating that
there are grounds for reasonable doubts about the application of the provisions
relevant to the application of Article 42 of the Ö SAA Õ.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .8(9) (adapted)

3. Pending a mutually satisfactory solution
having been reached in the consultations referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, the Commission may decide on other
appropriate measures it deems necessary in accordance with Article Ö 42 Õ of the Ö SAA Õ, as well as
with the examination procedure referred to in Article 12(4) of this Regulation.

ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .8(10) (adapted)

Article 12

Committee procedure

1. For the purpose of Article 2, the Commission shall be assisted by
the Committee Ö for the Common
Organisation of the Agricultural Markets Õ established by Article 229 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. That Committee shall be a
committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. For the purpose of Article 4, 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.

3. For the purpose of Articles 6, 7, 10 and 11, the Commission shall
be assisted by the Committee on Safeguards established by Article 4(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009[13]. That Committee shall be a committee within the meaning of
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

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

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

ê 3/2003
Art. 1 (adapted)

Article 13

Notification

Notification to the Stabilisation and
Association Council and the Stabilisation and Association Committee,
respectively, as required by the Ö SAA Õ shall be the
responsibility of the Commission, acting on behalf of the Ö Union Õ .

ê

Article 14

Repeal

Regulation (EC) No 153/2002 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 153/2002
(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 Ö Union Õ .

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 153/2002 of 21 January 2002 on certain procedures for
applying the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European
Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, of the other part, and for applying the Interim
Agreement between the European Community and the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (OJ L 25, 29.1.2002, p. 16).

[7]               See Annex I.

[8]               Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671).

[9]               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).

[10]             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).

[11]             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).

[12]             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).

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

é

ANNEX I

Repealed
Regulation with list of its successive amendments

Council Regulation (EC) No 153/2002 (OJ L 25, 29.1.2002, p. 16) || ||

|| Council Regulation (EC) No 3/2003 (OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 30) ||

|| Regulation (EU) No 37/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 18, 21.1.2014, p. 1) || Only point 8 of the Annex

_____________

ANNEX II

Correlation
Table

Regulation (EC) No 153/2002 || This Regulation

Article 1 || Article 1

Article 2 || Article 2

Article 4 || Article 3

Article 6 || Article 4

Article 7 || Article 5

Article 7a(1) || Article 6(1)

Article 7a(5), introductory wording || Article 6(2), introductory wording

Article 7a(5), first indent || Article 6(2)(a)

Article 7a(5), second indent || Article 6(2)(b)

Article 7a(5), third indent || Article 6(2)(c)

Article 7a(5), fourth indent || Article 6(2)(d)

Article 7a(6) || Article 6(3)

Article 7a(10) || Article 6(4)

Article 7b || Article 7

Article 7c || Article 8

Article 7d || Article 9

Article 7e || Article 10

Article 7f(1), introductory wording || Article 11(1), introductory wording

Article 7f(1), first indent || Article 11(1)(a)

Article 7f(1), second indent || Article 11(1)(b)

Article 7f(1), third indent || Article 11(1)(c)

Article 7f(1), fourth indent || Article 11(1)(d)

Article 7f(1), fifth indent || Article 11(1)(e)

Article 7f(2), first subparagraph, introductory wording || Article 11(2), first subparagraph, introductory wording

Article 7f(2), first subparagraph, first indent || Article 11(2), first subparagraph, point (a)

Article 7f(2), first subparagraph, second indent || Article 11(2), first subparagraph, point (b)

Article 7f(2), second subparagraph, introductory wording || Article 11(2), second subparagraph, introductory wording

Article 7f(2), second subparagraph, first indent || Article 11(2), second subparagraph, point (a)

Article 7f(2), second subparagraph, second indent || Article 11(2), second subparagraph, point (b)

Article 7f(3) || Article 11(3)

Article 7fa || Article 12

Article 7g || Article 13

__ || Article 14

Article 8 || Article 15

__ || Annex I

__ || Annex II

_____________