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I Acts whose publication is obligatory

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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2223/2004

of 22 December 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

In Article 47a(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 point (b) shall be replaced by the following:

Article 2

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

It shall apply from 1 May 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 22 December 2004.

For the Council

The President

C. VEERMAN

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(1)  Opinion of 14.12.2004 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(2)OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 (OJ L 91, 30.3.2004, p. 1).

(3)OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 70.

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2224/2004

of 23 December 2004

establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 of 21 December 1994 on detailed rules for the application of the import arrangements for fruit and vegetables (1), and in particular Article 4(1) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The standard import values referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 shall be fixed as indicated in the Annex hereto.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 24 December 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

J. M. SILVA RODRÍGUEZ

Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

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(1)OJ L 337, 24.12.1994, p. 66. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1947/2002 (OJ L 299, 1.11.2002, p. 17).

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ANNEX

to Commission Regulation of 23 December 2004 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables

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(1)  Country nomenclature as fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2081/2003 (OJ L 313, 28.11.2003, p. 11). Code ‘999’ stands for ‘of other origin’.

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2225/2004

of 23 December 2004

fixing the representative prices and the additional import duties for molasses in the sugar sector applicable from 24 December 2004

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the market in sugar (1), and in particular Article 24(4) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The representative prices and the additional duties applying to imports of the products referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1422/95 are fixed in the Annex hereto.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 24 December 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

J. M. SILVA RODRÍGUEZ

Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

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(1)OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 16).

(2)OJ L 141, 24.6.1995, p. 12. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 79/2003 (OJ L 13, 18.1.2003, p. 4).

(3)OJ L 145, 27.6.1968, p. 12. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1422/95.

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ANNEX

Representative prices and additional duties for imports of molasses in the sugar sector applicable from 24 December 2004

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(1)  This amount replaces, in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1422/95, the rate of the Common Customs Tariff duty fixed for these products.

(2)  For the standard quality as defined in Article 1 of amended Regulation (EEC) No 785/68.

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2226/2004

of 23 December 2004

fixing the export refunds on white sugar and raw sugar exported in its unaltered state

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector (1), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 27(5) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The export refunds on the products listed in Article 1(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001, undenatured and exported in the natural state, are hereby fixed to the amounts shown in the Annex hereto.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 24 December 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 16).

(2)OJ L 214, 8.9.1995, p. 16.

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ANNEX

REFUNDS ON WHITE SUGAR AND RAW SUGAR EXPORTED WITHOUT FURTHER PROCESSING APPLICABLE FROM 24 DECEMBER 2004

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(1)  This amount is applicable to raw sugar with a yield of 92 %. Where the yield for exported raw sugar differs from 92 %, the refund amount applicable shall be calculated in accordance with Article 28(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001.

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2227/2004

of 23 December 2004

fixing the export refunds on syrups and certain other sugar products exported in the natural state

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector (1), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 27(5) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The export refunds on the products listed in Article 1(1)(d), (f), (g) and (h) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001, exported in the natural state, shall be set out in the Annex hereto to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 24 December 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 6).

(2)OJ L 214, 8.9.1995, p. 16.

(3)OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 63.

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ANNEX

EXPORT REFUNDS ON SYRUPS AND CERTAIN OTHER SUGAR PRODUCTS EXPORTED WITHOUT FURTHER PROCESSING APPLICABLE FROM 24 DECEMBER 2004

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(1)  Applicable only to products referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2135/95.

(2)  Applicable only to products referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 2135/95.

(3)  The basic amount is not applicable to syrups which are less than 85 % pure (Regulation (EC) No 2135/95). Sucrose content is determined in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2135/95.

(4)  The basic amount is not applicable to the product defined under point 2 of the Annex to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3513/92 (OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 12).

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2228/2004

of 23 December 2004

fixing the maximum export refund for white sugar to certain third countries for the 15th partial invitation to tender issued within the framework of the standing invitation to tender provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1327/2004

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector (1) and in particular the second indent of Article 27(5) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

For the 15th partial invitation to tender for white sugar issued pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1327/2004 the maximum amount of the export refund shall be 45,543 EUR/100 kg.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 24 December 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 16).

(2)OJ L 246, 20.7.2004, p. 23. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1685/2004 (OJ L 303, 30.9.2004, p. 21).

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2229/2004

of 3 December 2004

laying down further detailed rules for the implementation of the fourth stage of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (1), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 8(2) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND THE DESIGNATED MEMBER STATE AUTHORITY

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

1.   This Regulation lays down:

2.   Article 6(2) and (3) and the second paragraph of Article 6(4) of Directive 91/414/EEC shall not apply to active substances listed in Annex I to this Regulation as long as the procedures provided for in this Regulation with regard to such substances have not been finalised.

3.   This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to:

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation, the definitions set out in Article 2 of Directive 91/414/EEC and Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1112/2002 shall apply.

The following definitions shall also apply:

Article 3

Designated Member State authority

1.   Each Member State shall designate an authority or authorities to carry out the obligations of the Member States as defined in this Regulation.

2.   The national authorities listed in Annex III shall coordinate and ensure all necessary contacts with notifiers, other Member States, the Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in accordance with this Regulation.

Each Member State shall give the details concerning the designated coordinating national authority to the Commission, the EFSA and the designated coordinating national authority of each other Member State and inform them of any modifications thereof.

CHAPTER II

NOTIFICATIONS BY PRODUCERS IN NEW MEMBER STATES OF ACTIVE SUBSTANCES

Article 4

Notifications by producers in new Member States

1.   Any producer in a new Member State referred to in Article 1(1)(b) of this Regulation wishing to secure the inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC of an active substance listed in Annex I to this Regulation shall notify the details set out in Annex V of this Regulation to the Commission, other notifiers for that substance and the rapporteur Member State at the latest three months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

2.   Any producer making a notification under paragraph 1 shall fulfil the obligations of producers or notifiers set out in this Regulation for the active substance notified.

3.   Where a producer in a new Member State has not submitted a notification for an active substance listed in Annex I to this Regulation, in accordance with paragraph 1, it shall only be permitted to participate in the programme of work collectively with one or more notifiers of the active substance, including a Member State which has notified in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article.

4.   Where no notification has been received for an active substance listed in Annex I to this Regulation, a new Member State may declare its interest in supporting the inclusion of that active substance in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC by notifying the Commission and the rapporteur Member State.

That notification must be submitted as soon as possible, and no later than three months from the date the Commission has informed the Member States that no notification has been submitted for that active substance.

A Member State submitting such a notification shall thereafter be treated as the producer for the purposes of the evaluation of the active substance concerned.

5.   The Commission shall decide, as provided for in the fourth subparagraph of Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC, not to include in Annex I to that Directive active substances referred to in Annex I to this Regulation for which no notification has been submitted in accordance with paragraphs 1 or 4 of this Article. The Decision shall state the reasons for the non-inclusion.

Member States shall withdraw authorisations of plant protection products containing such active substances within the period prescribed in the Decision.

CHAPTER III

CONDITIONS FOR THE SUBMISSION OF DOSSIERS OF ACTIVE SUBSTANCES AND SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION BY THIRD PARTIES

Article 5

Submission of dossiers by more than one notifier

1.   Where for any active substance listed in Annex I there is more than one notifier, the notifiers concerned shall take all reasonable steps to submit the dossier for such substance collectively.

Where the dossier is not submitted by all such notifiers, it shall contain details of the efforts made and the reasons why certain notifiers have not participated in the submission of the dossier.

2.   Where an active substance has been notified by more than one notifier, those notifiers shall, for each study involving vertebrate animals, give details of the attempts made to avoid duplication of testing and give, if applicable, the reasons for conducting a duplicate study.

Article 6

Submission of dossiers to the rapporteur Member State

1.   The notifier shall submit the dossier for the active substance (the dossier) to the rapporteur Member State.

2.   The dossier shall include the following:

3.   When requested by the rapporteur Member State as provided for in Article 20(2) to circulate the updated summary dossier or where relevant the updated complete dossier or parts thereof the notifier shall do this at the latest one month from the date of receipt of such a request.

Article 7

Dossiers for active substances submitted under Directive 98/8/EC

By derogation from Articles 5 and 6, where an active substance has been notified under Directive 98/8/EC the notifier may submit:

Article 8

Dossiers for active substances submitted under Regulation (EC) No 1490/2002

Where a dossier has been submitted under Regulation (EC) No 1490/2002, the person who submitted that dossier may submit, together with the further dossier submitted under this Regulation:

Article 9

Specific conditions for submissions of dossiers for active substances listed in Part A of Annex I

1.   Where the dossier concerns an active substance listed in Part A of Annex I, in addition to the information required under Article 5 and Article 6(2), the notifier shall submit the following information concerning the active substance and the plant protection product (where applicable):

2.   The dossier shall physically contain the individual test and study reports containing all the information referred to in paragraph 1.

3.   Each Member State shall specify the number of copies of the dossier to be submitted by the notifier when it is acting as a rapporteur and when it receives copies under Article 20(2).

The format of the dossier shall take account of the recommendations made in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

Article 10

Specific conditions for submissions of dossiers for active substances listed in Parts B to G of Annex I

1.   Where the dossier concerns an active substance listed in Part B to G of Annex I, the notifier shall submit a dossier and a summary dossier.

2.   The notifier(s) shall include in the summarydossier:

The tests and studies as referred to in paragraph 2(b) of this Article shall be those relevant to the assessment of the criteria referred to in Article 5 of Directive 91/414/EEC for one or more preparations for the uses taking into account the fact that data gaps in the dossier as regards the information required under Annex II of Directive 91/414/EEC, resulting from the proposed limited range of representative uses of the active substance, may lead to restrictions in the inclusion in Annex I of Directive 91/414/EEC.

3.   The complete dossier shall physically contain the individual test and study reports concerning all the information referred to in point (b) and the second subparagraph of paragraph 2.

4.   Each Member State shall specify the number of copies and the format of the summary and the complete dossiers to be submitted by the notifiers.

In defining the format of the complete and summary dossiers Member States shall take account of the recommendations made in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

Article 11

Submission of information by third parties

Any natural or legal person wishing to submit relevant information which may contribute to the evaluation of an active substance listed in Annex I, in particular with regard to the potentially dangerous effects of that substance or its residues on human and animal health and on the environment, shall do so by the relevant time limit set out in Article 12.

Such information shall be submitted to the rapporteur Member State and the EFSA. When requested by the rapporteur Member State such person shall also submit that information to the other Member States at the latest one month from the date of receipt of such a request.

Article 12

Time limits for submission of dossiers

The notifier(s) shall submit the dossier to the relevant rapporteur Member State by:

Article 13

Non-submission of dossiers

1.   Where the notifier does not submit the dossier or any part thereof within the relevant time limit set out in Article 12, the rapporteur Member State shall inform the Commission and the EFSA within two months of the date of expiry of the time limit, giving any justification for the delay provided by the notifiers.

2.   On the basis of the information submitted by the rapporteur Member State in accordance with paragraph 1, the Commission shall determine whether the notifier has demonstrated that the delay in the submission of the dossier was caused by force majeure.

In that case, it shall establish a new time limit for the submission of a dossier fulfilling the relevant requirements of Articles 5, 6, 9, and 10 of this Regulation in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

3.   The Commission shall decide, as provided for in the fourth subparagraph of Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC, not to include in Annex I to that Directive an active substance for which no dossier has been submitted within the time limit provided for in Article 12 of this Regulation or the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article. The Decision shall state the reasons for the non-inclusion.

Member States shall withdraw authorisations of plant protection products containing such active substances within the period prescribed in the Decision.

Article 14

Replacement or withdrawal of notifier

1.   If a notifier decides to end its participation in the programme of work for an active substance, it shall immediately inform the rapporteur Member State, the Commission, the EFSA and all other notifiers of the active substance concerned of its decision, giving the reasons.

Where a notifier ends its participation or fails to fulfil its obligations under this Regulation, the procedures provided for in Articles 15 to 24 shall be terminated as regards its dossier.

2.   If a notifier agrees with another producer that the notifier shall be replaced for the purposes of further participation in the programme of work under this Regulation, the notifier and such other producer shall inform the rapporteur Member State, the Commission and the EFSA by a common declaration agreeing that such other producer shall replace the original notifier in carrying out the notifier’s duties pursuant to the relevant provisions of Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 and 24. They shall ensure that the other notifiers for the substance concerned are informed at the same time.

The other producer in this case shall be jointly liable with the original notifier for any fees remaining payable in relation to the notifier's application under the regime established by Member States pursuant to Article 30.

3.   If all notifiers for an active substance end their participation in the programme of work a Member State may choose to act as notifier for the purposes of further participation in the programme of work.

Any Member State wishing to act as a notifier shall inform the rapporteur Member State, the Commission and the EFSA at the latest one month from the date of being informed that all notifiers have decided to end their participation and shall replace the original notifier in carrying out the notifier’s duties pursuant to the relevant provisions of Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 and 24.

4.   All information submitted shall remain available to the rapporteur Member States, the Commission and EFSA

CHAPTER IV

EVALUATIONS OF DOSSIERS

Article 15

General Conditions for evaluations of dossiers

1.   Without prejudice to Article 18 the rapporteur Member State shall evaluate all dossiers submitted to it.

2.   Without prejudice to Article 7 of Directive 91/414/EEC, the rapporteur Member State shall not accept the submission of new studies during the evaluation except as provided for in Article 9 (1)(c) of this Regulation.

However, the rapporteur Member State may request the notifier to submit further data which are necessary to clarify the dossier. When doing so the rapporteur Member State shall set a time limit within which the information shall be provided. The time limit shall not affect the time limit for the submission of the draft assessment report by the rapporteur Member State to the EFSA as provided for in Article 21(1) or Article 22(1).

3.   The rapporteur Member State may, from the start of the evaluation of the dossier:

4.   Notifiers may seek specific advice from the rapporteur Member State.

Article 16

Cooperation between Member States

1.   The rapporteur Member States shall cooperate in the evaluation within each group set out in Annex I and shall organise such cooperation in the most effective and efficient way.

2.   The rapporteur Member State identified within each group in Annex I as the ‘lead rapporteur’ shall take a lead in organising that cooperation and in organising the provision of advice to notifiers where it concerns matters of general interest to the other Member States concerned.

Article 17

Specific condition for evaluations of active substances listed in Part A of Annex I

Where possible and where it does not affect the time limit for the submission of the draft assessment report as provided for in Article 21(1), the rapporteur Member State shall evaluate further information identified under Article 9(1)(c) subsequently provided by the notifier.

Article 18

Completeness check of dossiers for substances listed in Parts B to G of Annex I

1.   The rapporteur Member State shall assess the checklists provided by the notifiers in accordance with Article 10(2)(c).

2.   The rapporteur Member State shall at the latest three months from the date of receipt of all dossiers for an active substance report to the Commission on the completeness of the dossiers.

3.   For those active substances for which one or more dossiers are considered to be complete, the rapporteur Member State shall perform the evaluation as referred to in Articles 15 and 19, unless the Commission informs the rapporteur Member State, within two months of the date of receipt of the report of the rapporteur Member State on completeness, that it does not consider the dossier to be complete.

4.   For those active substances for which a rapporteur Member State or the Commission consider that no dossier is complete within the meaning of Articles 5, 6 and 10, the Commission shall, within three months from the date of the receipt of the report of the rapporteur Member State on completeness, refer such a report to the Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health.

In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC it shall be decided whether a dossier is to be considered complete within the meaning of Articles 5, 6 and 10.

5.   The Commission shall decide, as provided for in the fourth subparagraph of Article 8 (2) of Directive 91/414/EEC, not to include in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC an active substance for which no complete dossier has been submitted within the time limit provided for in Article 12 of this Regulation or the second sub-paragraph of Article 13 (2).

Article 19

Specific conditions for evaluations of dossiers for substances listed in Parts B to G of Annex I

1.   Where active substances listed in Part D of Annex I to this Regulation have been evaluated under Directive 98/8/EC those evaluations shall be taken into account, where relevant, for the purposes of this Regulation

2.   Where active substances have been evaluated under a former stage of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC those evaluations shall be taken into account, where relevant, for the purposes of this Regulation.

3.   The rapporteur Member State shall evaluate and report only on those active substances for which at least one dossier has been determined to be complete in accordance with Articles 5, 6, and 10. For dossiers concerning the same active substance not determined to be complete, it shall check whether the identity and impurities of the active substance in those dossiers are comparable to the identity and impurities of the active substance in the dossiers considered complete. It shall record its views on this point in the draft assessment report.

The rapporteur Member State shall take into consideration the information available on potentially dangerous effects in the other dossiers submitted by any notifier or by any third party in accordance with Article 11.

Article 20

General conditions for draft Assessment Reports

1.   The draft assessment report shall be submitted as far as possible in the format recommended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

2.   The rapporteur Member State shall request the notifiers to submit an updated summary dossier to the EFSA, the other Member States and on request to the Commission at the same time as the rapporteur's draft assessment report is sent to the EFSA.

The Member States, the Commission or the EFSA may request through the rapporteur Member State that notifiers also send them an updated complete dossier or parts thereof. The notifier shall provide any such updated dossier by the date specified in the request.

Article 21

Specific conditions for draft Assessment Reports and Recommendations to the Commission for active substances listed in Part A of Annex I

1.   The rapporteur Member State shall send the draft assessment report to the EFSA as quickly as possible, and 12 months from the date of expiry of the time limit provided for in Article 12(a) at the latest.

2.   The rapporteur Member State shall include in the draft assessment report a reference to each test or study concerning each point of Annex II (Part A or Part B as appropriate) to Directive 91/414/EEC and for each point of Annex III (Part A or Part B as appropriate) to that Directive relied on for the assessment.

That reference shall be made in the form of a list of test and study reports including the title, the author(s), the date of the study or test report and the date of publication, the standard to which the test or study was conducted, the holder’s name, and if any, the claim made by the holder or notifier for data protection.

3.   At the same time as the rapporteur Member State sends its assessment report to the EFSA as provided for in paragraph 1, it shall make a recommendation to the Commission:

4.   In addition to the conditions for inclusion proposed under paragraph 2(a) of this Article, the rapporteur Member State may indicate if it has identified, for the proposed limited range of representative uses mentioned in the dossier, any information missing from the dossier which may be required by Member States as confirmatory information when they come to grant authorisations under Article 4 of Directive 91/414/EEC for plant protection products containing that active substance.

Article 22

Specific conditions for draft Assessment Reports and Recommendations to the Commission for active substances listed in Parts B to G of Annex I

1.   The rapporteur Member State shall send a draft assessment report to the EFSA as quickly as possible, and at the latest 12 months from the date the dossier was determined to be complete in accordance with Article 18(2).

2.   The rapporteur Member State shall include in the draft assessment report a reference to each test or study concerning each point of Annex II (Part A or Part B as appropriate) to Directive 91/414/EEC and for each point of Annex III (Part A or Part B as appropriate) to that Directive relied on for the assessment.

That reference shall be made in the form of a list of test and study reports including the title, the author(s), the date of the study or test report and the date of publication, the standard to which the test or study was conducted, the holder’s name and, if any, the claim made by the holder or notifier for data protection.

3.   At the same time as the rapporteur Member State sends its assessment report to the EFSA as provided for in paragraph 1, it shall make a recommendation to the Commission:

Article 23

Replacement of rapporteur Member State

1.   A rapporteur Member State shall inform the Commission and the EFSA as soon as it becomes clear that it will be unable to comply with the time limits set out in Articles 21(1) and 22(1) for the submission of the draft assessment report to the EFSA and give the reasons for the delay.

2.   It may be decided to replace a rapporteur Member State for a particular active substance by another Member State where:

Such replacement shall be decided in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

3.   Where it has been decided to replace a rapporteur Member State the original rapporteur Member State shall immediately after such a decision has been taken inform the notifiers concerned and shall transfer to the newly designated rapporteur Member State all correspondence and information which it has received as rapporteur Member State for the active substance concerned.

The original Member State shall return to the notifier the part of the fee referred to in Article 30 which has not been used. The newly designated rapporteur Member State may require the payment of a further fee in accordance with Article 30.

Article 24

Evaluation by the EFSA

1.   The EFSA shall, within 30 days of the date of receipt of the draft assessment report as provided for in Article 21(1) or Article 22(1) of this Regulation, check that it clearly complies with the format recommended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

In exceptional cases where the draft assessment report clearly does not fulfil those requirements the Commission shall agree with the EFSA and the rapporteur Member State on a period for resubmission of an amended report which shall not exceed three months.

2.   The EFSA shall circulate the draft assessment report to the other Member States and to the Commission and may organise a consultation of experts including the rapporteur Member State.

3.   The EFSA may consult some or all of the notifiers of active substances referred to in Annex I on the draft assessment report or parts thereof on the relevant active substances.

4.   Without prejudice to Article 7 of Directive 91/414/EEC, submission of new studies shall not be accepted by the EFSA after receipt of the draft assessment report referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

However, the rapporteur Member State, with the agreement of the EFSA, may request the notifiers to submit within specified time limits further data considered by the rapporteur Member State or the EFSA necessary to clarify the dossier.

5.   The EFSA shall make available at specific request or keep available for consultation by any person the following:

6.   The EFSA shall evaluate the draft assessment report and submit its evaluation to the Commission on whether the active substance may be expected to meet the requirements of Article 5(1) of Directive 91/414/EEC at the latest one year from the date on which it has received both the dossier from the notifier, under Article 15(3) of this Regulation, and also the draft assessment report checked for compliance in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.

Where appropriate, the EFSA shall give its evaluation of the available options claimed to meet the requirements of Article 5(1) of Directive 91/414/EEC and any data requirements identified.

The Commission and the EFSA shall agree on a schedule for the submission of the evaluation in order to facilitate the planning of the work. The Commission and the EFSA shall also agree on the format of the evaluation.

CHAPTER V

PRESENTATION OF A DRAFT DIRECTIVE OR DRAFT DECISION CONCERNING ACTIVE SUBSTANCES AND FINALISED REVIEW REPORT

Article 25

Presentation of a draft Directive or draft Decision

1.   The Commission shall present a draft review report at the latest four months from the date of receipt of the EFSA evaluation provided for in Article 24(6)

2.   Without prejudice to any proposal it may submit with a view to amending the Annex to Directive 79/117/EEC, and on the basis of the finalised review report provided for in Article 26 of this Regulation, the Commission shall present to the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health:

The Directive or Decision shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

3.   In addition to the conditions for inclusion proposed under paragraph 2(a), the Commission may indicate if it has identified any information missing from the dossier which may be required by Member States when they come to grant authorisations under Article 4 of Directive 91/414/EEC.

Article 26

Finalised review report

The conclusions of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, excluding any parts which refer to confidential information contained in the dossiers and determined as such in accordance with Article 14 of Directive 91/414/EEC, shall be made publicly available.

CHAPTER VI

SUSPENSION OF TIME LIMITS, MEASURES TO BE TAKEN BY MEMBER STATES AND INTERIM PROGRESS REPORTS

Article 27

Suspension of time limits

Where, in respect of an active substance listed in Annex I to this Regulation, the Commission presents a proposal for a total prohibition by way of a draft Council act based on Article 6(3) of Directive 79/117/EEC, the time limits provided for in this Regulation shall be suspended while the Council considers that proposal.

Where the Council adopts an amendment to the Annex to Directive 79/117/EEC requiring the total prohibition of that active substance, the procedure under this Regulation shall be terminated for that active substance.

Article 28

Measures taken by Member States

Any Member State which, on the basis of information contained in the dossiers referred to in Articles 5 to 10 or in the draft assessment report concerning an active substance referred to in Articles 19 to 22, intends taking action to withdraw that active substance from the market or to restrict severely the use of a plant protection product containing that active substance, shall, as soon as possible, inform the Commission, the EFSA, the other Member States and the notifiers giving the reasons for its intended action.

Article 29

Interim progress report

All Member States shall submit to the Commission and the EFSA a report of their progress on the evaluation of the active substances for which they are rapporteur. Such report shall be submitted by:

CHAPTER VII

FEES AND OTHER CHARGES

Article 30

Fees

1.   For active substances listed in Annex I Member States may establish a regime obliging the notifiers to pay a fee or charge for the administrative treatment and the evaluation of dossiers.

The income from such fees or charges shall be used to finance exclusively those costs actually incurred by the rapporteur Member State or to finance general activities of the Member States resulting from their obligations under Articles 15 to 24.

2.   Member States shall establish the amount of the fee or charge referred to in paragraph 1 in a transparent manner so that it does not exceed the real cost of the examination and administrative treatment of a dossier or the general activities of the Member States resulting from their obligations under Articles 15 to 24.

However, Member States may provide for a scale of fixed charges based on average costs for the calculation of the total fee.

3.   The fee or charge shall be paid in accordance with the procedure to be established by the authorities in each Member State as listed in Annex IV.

Article 31

Other charges, taxes, levies or fees

Article 30 shall be without prejudice to Member States' rights to maintain or introduce, to the extent permitted under Community law, charges, taxes, levies or fees with regard to authorisation, placing on the market, use and control of active substances and plant protection products other than the fee or charge provided for in that Article.

CHAPTER VIII

TEMPORARY AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 32

Temporary measures

If necessary and on a case-by-case basis, the Commission may take appropriate temporary measures as provided for by the third subparagraph of Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC for uses for which additional technical evidence has been provided demonstrating the essential need for further use of the active substance and that there is no efficient alternative.

Article 33

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following 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, 3 December 2004.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU

Member of the Commission

----

(1)OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2004/71/EC (OJ L 309, 6.10.2004, p. 6).

(2)OJ L 366, 15.12.1992, p. 10. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2266/2000 (OJ L 259, 13.10.2000, p. 27).

(3)OJ L 55, 29.2.2000, p. 25. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1044/2003 (OJ L 151, 19.6.2003, p. 32).

(4)OJ L 224, 21.8.2002, p. 23. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1744/2004 (OJ L 311, 8.10.2004, p. 23).

(5)OJ L 168, 27.6.2002, p. 14.

(6)OJ L 33, 8.2.1979, p. 36. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 (OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 7).

(7)OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1642/2003 (L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 4).

(8)  COM(2001) 444 final.

(9)OJ L 123, 24.4.1998, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

----

ANNEX I

List of active substances (column A), rapporteur Member States (column B) and notifying producers (code identification) (column C) (1)

PART A

GROUP 1

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: IRELAND

GROUP 2

Group 2.1.

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: FRANCE

Group 2.2.

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: UNITED KINGDOM

GROUP 3

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: DENMARK

GROUP 4

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: UNITED KINGDOM

GROUP 5

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: SPAIN

GROUP 6

Group 6.1.

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: BELGIUM

Group 6.2.

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: GREECE

PART B

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: AUSTRIA

RAPPORTEUR: AUSTRIA

(The Czech Republic, Poland and Italy shall be considered the rapporteur Member States in the sense of the obligation to cooperate with Austria in the evaluation, in accordance with the provisions of Article 16)

PART C

LEAD RAPPORTEURS: NETHERLANDS, SWEDEN

PART D

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: GERMANY

PART E

PART F

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: NETHERLANDS

PART G

LEAD RAPPORTEUR: POLAND

----

(1)  The active substances for which no notifier is identified in Column C are active substances as meant in Article 1(1)(b) of this Regulation.

----

ANNEX II

List of notifiers' code identification, names and addresses

----

ANNEX III

Co-ordinating authority in the Member States (more details are available at the following webside: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/ph_ps/pro/index_en.htm)

----

ANNEX IV

Organisations in the Member States to be contacted concerning further details on the payment of the fees referred to in Article 30 and to which such fees have to be paid

----

ANNEX V

Details to be notified by producers in new Member States

The notification must be made on paper and by e-mail.

The notification shall contain the following information:

----

----

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2230/2004

of 23 December 2004

laying down detailed rules for the implementation of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 with regard to the network of organisations operating in the fields within the European Food Safety Authority’s mission

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (1), and in particular Article 36(3) thereof,

Having consulted the European Food Safety Authority,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Competent organisations designated by the Member States

1.   The competent organisations designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 36(2) of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 shall meet the following criteria:

2.   Member States shall forward to the Authority, with a copy to the Commission, the names and details of the designated organisations, evidence that they comply with the criteria set out in paragraph 1, and details of their specific fields of competence. In particular, for the purposes of application of Articles 6(3)(b) and 18(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, Member States shall forward the names and details of the competent organisations in the field of safety assessment of genetically modified foods and feeds.

Where a designated organisation operates as part of a network, this shall be mentioned, and the network operating conditions shall be described.

In cases where it is a specific part of the designated organisation which has the ability and the capacity to operate in a network on scientific actions and/or perform the tasks which may be entrusted to them by the Authority, this shall be stipulated by the Member States.

3.   Where designated organisations no longer meet the criteria set out in paragraph 1, Member States shall withdraw their designation and immediately inform the authority, with a copy to the Commission, accompanied by the relevant evidence.

Member States shall review the list of organisations they have designated regularly, and at least every three (3) years.

Article 2

Establishing of the list of competent organisations

1.   The Authority shall ensure that the organisations designated by the Member States comply with the criteria set out in Article 1(1). Where necessary, the Member States shall be asked, by reasoned request, to add to the evidence referred to in Article 1(2).

2.   The Authority’s Management Board, acting on a proposal from the Executive Director, shall draw up the list of competent organisations, stating their specific fields of competence, especially in the field of safety assessment of genetically modified foods and feeds, on the basis of the procedure set out in paragraph 1.

3.   The list provided for in paragraph 2 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the list’) shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (‘C’ series).

4.   The list shall be updated regularly, on the basis of proposals from the Authority’s Executive Director, taking account of reviews or new designation proposals from the Member States.

Article 3

Networking between the Authority and the organisations on the list

1.   The Authority shall foster networking with the organisations on the list so as to promote active scientific cooperation in the fields within its mission, especially those with a direct or indirect impact on food or feed safety.

To this end the Authority, on the basis of work carried out within its Advisory Forum, shall identify scientific actions of common interest which could be undertaken within the network. The work carried out within the Advisory Forum shall take account of proposals from the organisations on the list.

In accordance with Article 27(4)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, the Advisory Forum shall contribute to networking.

2.   The Commission and the Authority shall cooperate in order to avoid overlaps with existing scientific and technical work at Community level.

Article 4

Tasks to be entrusted to organisations on the list

1.   Without prejudice to the fulfilment of its mission and performance of its tasks pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, the Authority may, with their agreement, entrust to one or more of the organisations on the list tasks which involve them providing it with scientific and technical support.

2.   The Advisory Forum shall ensure that there is a good general match between the requests for contributions which the Authority puts to the organisations on the list and the scope of those organisations to respond favourably. To this end the Executive Director shall make all the necessary information available to the Advisory Forum.

3.   The tasks which may be entrusted to the organisations on the list, either to one organisation or to several working together, are those which consist in:

Article 5

Financial support

1.   The Authority may decide to allocate financial support for tasks entrusted to the organisations on the list where they are of particular interest as regards contributing to the performance of the Authority’s tasks or addressing the priorities laid down in its work programmes, or where the Authority’s assistance is urgently needed by the Commission, particularly in order to deal with crisis situations.

2.   Financial support shall take the form of subsidies awarded in accordance with the Authority’s financial regulation and implementing rules.

Article 6

Harmonised quality criteria and implementing conditions

1.   After consulting the Commission, the Authority shall lay down harmonised quality criteria for the performance of tasks which it entrusts to the organisations on the list, in particular:

2.   The precise conditions for the performance of tasks entrusted to organisations on the list shall be laid down in specific agreements between the Authority and each organisation concerned.

Article 7

Monitoring the performance of tasks

The Authority shall ensure that the tasks it entrusts to the organisations on the list are properly carried out. It shall take all the necessary steps to ensure that the criteria and conditions laid down in Article 6 are complied with. In the event of failure to comply with those criteria and the conditions, the Authority shall take remedial action. Where necessary, it may replace the organisation.

In the case of tasks for which subsidies are awarded, the penalties provided for by the Authority’s financial regulation and implementing rules shall apply.

Article 8

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following 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, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU

Member of the Commission

----

(1)OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. Regulation amended by Regulation (EC) No 1642/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 4).

(2)OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1.

----

----

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2231/2004

of 23 December 2004

terminating the investigation concerning the possible circumvention of anti-dumping measures imposed by Council Regulation (EC) No 119/97 on imports of certain ring binder mechanisms originating in the People’s Republic of China by imports of certain ring binder mechanisms consigned from Thailand, whether declared as originating in Thailand or not, and terminating the registration of such imports imposed by Regulation (EC) No 844/2004

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (1) (‘the basic Regulation’) and in particular Article 13 thereof,

After consulting the Advisory Committee,

Whereas:

A.   PROCEDURE

B.   INVESTIGATION

C.   RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION

D.   TERMINATION OF THE INVESTIGATION

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The investigation initiated by Regulation (EC) No 844/2004 concerning the possible circumvention of the anti-dumping measures imposed by Regulation (EC) No 119/97 on imports of certain ring binder mechanisms originating in the People’s Republic of China by imports of certain ring binder mechanisms consigned from Thailand, whether declared as originating in Thailand or not, and making such imports subject to registration is hereby terminated.

Article 2

Customs authorities are hereby directed to discontinue the registration of imports established in accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 844/2004.

Article 3

Regulation (EC) No 844/2004 is hereby repealed.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that 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, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Peter MANDELSON

Member of the Commission

----

(1)OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 461/2004 (OJ L 77, 13.3.2004, p. 12).

(2)OJ L 22, 24.1.1997, p. 1. Regulation as amended by (EC) No 2100/2000 (OJ L 250, 5.10.2000, p. 1).

(3)OJ L 359, 4.12.2004, p. 11.

(4)OJ L 127, 29.4.2004, p. 67.

----

----

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2232/2004

of 23 December 2004

amending Annexes I, II and III to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin, as regards altrenogest, beclomethasone dipropionate, cloprostenol, r-cloprostenol, sorbitan sesquioleate and toltrazuril

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 of 26 June 1990 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin (1), and in particular Articles 2 and 3 and the third paragraph of Article 4 thereof,

Having regard to the opinions of the European Medicines Agency formulated by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annexes I, II and III to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 22 February 2005.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Günter VERHEUGEN

Vice-President

----

(1)OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1875/2004 (OJ L 326, 29.10.2004, p. 19).

(2)OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 3. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/74/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 262, 14.10.2003, p. 17).

(3)OJ L 61, 18.3.1995, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(4)OJ L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/28/EC (OJ L 136, 30.4.2004, p. 58).

----

ANNEX

A.   The following substance(s) is(are) inserted in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90

6.   Agents acting on the reproductive system

6.1.   Progestagens

B.   The following substance(s) is(are) inserted in Annex II to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90

2.   Organic compounds

C.   The following substance(s) is(are) inserted in Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90

2.   Antiparasitic agents

2.4.   Agents acting against protozoa

2.4.3.   Triazinetrione derivatives

----

(1)  Only for zootechnical use and in accordance with the provisions of Directive 96/22/EC.

(2)  For inhalation use only.

(3)  Provisional MRLs expire on 1 July 2006. Not for use in animals from which milk is produced for human consumption.

----

----

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2233/2004

of 22 December 2004

amending, for the second time, Regulation (EC) No 1763/2004 imposing certain restrictive measures in support of effective implementation of the mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1763/2004 imposing certain restrictive measures in support of effective implementation of the mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (1), and in particular Article 10(a) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1763/2004 is hereby amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day 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, 22 December 2004.

For the Commission

Benita FERRERO-WALDNER

Member of the Commission

----

(1)OJ L 315, 14.10.2004, p. 14. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1965/2004 (OJ L 339, 16.11.2004, p. 4).

(2)OJ L 315, 14.10.2004, p. 52.

(3)  See page 108 of this Official Journal.

----

ANNEX

The following persons shall be removed from Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1763/2004:

----

----

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2234/2004

of 23 December 2004

determining the world market price for unginned cotton

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Protocol 4 on cotton, annexed to the Act of Accession of Greece, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1050/2001 (1),

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001 of 22 May 2001 on production aid for cotton (2), and in particular Article 4 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The world price for unginned cotton as referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001 is hereby determined as equalling 16,508 EUR/100 kg.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 24 December 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

J. M. SILVA RODRÍGUEZ

Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

----

(1)OJ L 148, 1.6.2001, p. 1.

(2)OJ L 148, 1.6.2001, p. 3.

(3)OJ L 210, 3.8.2001, p. 10. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1486/2002 (OJ L 223, 20.8.2002, p. 3).

----

----

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2235/2004

of 23 December 2004

fixing the rates of refunds applicable to certain products from the sugar sector exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the market in sugar (1), and in particular Article 27(5)(a) and (15),

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The rates of the refunds applicable to the basic products listed in Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 and in Article 1(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001, and exported in the form of goods listed in Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001, are fixed as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

By way of derogation from Article 1 and with effect from 1 October 2004, the rates set out in the Annex shall not be applicable to goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty when exported to Bulgaria.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on 24 December 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Günter VERHEUGEN

Vice-President

----

(1)OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 16).

(2)OJ L 177, 15.7.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 886/2004 (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 14).

(3)OJ L 301, 28.9.2004, p. 1.

----

ANNEX

Rates of refunds applicable from 24 December 2004 to certain products from the sugar sector exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty

----

----

COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2004/116/EC

of 23 December 2004

amending the Annex to Council Directive 82/471/EEC as regards the inclusion of Candida guilliermondii

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 82/471/EEC concerning certain products used in animal nutrition (1), and in particular Article 6 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

The Annex to Directive 82/471/EC is amended as set out in the Annex to this Directive.

Article 2

1.   Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 30 June 2005 at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2.   Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU

Member of the Commission

----

(1)OJ L 213, 21.7.1982, p. 8. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2003/104/EC (OJ L 295, 13.11.2003, p. 83).

----

ANNEX

In the Annex to Directive 82/471/EEC product group 1.2.1 is replaced by the following:

----

II Acts whose publication is not obligatory

Council

----

COUNCIL DECISION

of 29 November 2004

on the signing of the Agreement between the European Community and the Principality of Liechtenstein providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments and the approval and signing of the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding

(2004/897/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 94 in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Subject to the adoption at a later date of a Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and the Principality of Liechtenstein providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments, the President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the persons empowered to sign, on behalf of the European Community, the Agreement and the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding and the Letters from the European Community which have to be exchanged in accordance with Article 21(2) of the Agreement and the last paragraph of the Memorandum of Understanding.

The Memorandum of Understanding is approved by the Council.

The texts of the Agreement and of the Memorandum of Understanding are attached to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 29 November 2004.

For the Council

The President

L. J. BRINKHORST

----

AGREEMENT

between the European Community and the Principality of Liechtenstein providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,

and

THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN, hereinafter referred to as ‘Liechtenstein’,

both hereinafter referred to as ‘Contracting Party’ or ‘Contracting Parties’,

Reaffirming the common interest in further developing the privileged relationship between the Community and Liechtenstein,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Retention by Liechtenstein Paying Agents

1.   Interest payments which are made to beneficial owners within the meaning of Article 4 who are residents of a Member State of the European Union, hereinafter referred to as ‘Member State’, by a paying agent established on the territory of Liechtenstein, shall, subject to Article 2, be subject to a retention from the amount of the interest payment. The rate of retention shall be 15 % during the first three years from the date of application of this Agreement, 20 % for the subsequent three years and 35 % thereafter.

2.   Liechtenstein shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the tasks required for the implementation of this Agreement are carried out by paying agents established within the territory of Liechtenstein and specifically provide for provisions on procedures and penalties.

Article 2

Voluntary disclosure

1.   Liechtenstein shall provide for a procedure which allows the beneficial owner as defined in Article 4 to avoid the retention specified in Article 1 by expressly authorising his paying agent in Liechtenstein to report the interest payments to the competent authority of that State. Such authorisation shall cover all interest payments made to the beneficial owner by that paying agent.

2.   The minimum amount of information to be reported by the paying agent in case of express authorisation by the beneficial owner shall consist of:

3.   The competent authority of Liechtenstein shall communicate the information referred to in paragraph 2 to the competent authority of the Member State of residence of the beneficial owner. Such communications shall be automatic and shall take place at least once a year, within 6 months following the end of the tax year in Liechtenstein, for all interest payments made during that year.

4.   Where the beneficial owner opts for this voluntary disclosure procedure or otherwise declares his interest income obtained from a Liechtenstein paying agent to the tax authorities in his Member State of residence, the interest income concerned shall be subject to taxation in that Member State at the same rates as those applied to similar income arising in that State.

Article 3

Basis of assessment for retention

1.   The paying agent shall withhold the retention in accordance with Article 1(1) as follows:

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, the retention shall be deducted on a pro rata basis for the period during which the beneficial owner holds a debt-claim. If the paying agent is unable to determine the period on the basis of the information made available to him, the paying agent shall consider the beneficial owner to have been in possession of the debt-claim for the entire period of its existence, unless the latter provides evidence of the date of acquisition.

3.   Taxes and retentions other than the retention provided for in this Agreement on the same payment of interest shall be credited against the amount of the retention calculated in accordance with this Article. This shall, in particular, include the Liechtenstein Couponsteuer at a rate of 4 %.

Article 4

Definition of beneficial owner

1.   For the purposes of this Agreement ‘beneficial owner’ shall mean any individual who receives an interest payment or any individual for whom an interest payment is secured, unless such individual can provide evidence that the interest payment was not received or secured for his or her own benefit. An individual is not deemed to be the beneficial owner when he or she:

2.   Where a paying agent has information suggesting that the individual who receives an interest payment or for whom an interest payment is secured may not be the beneficial owner, that agent shall take reasonable steps to establish the identity of the beneficial owner. If the paying agent is unable to identify the beneficial owner, that agent shall treat the individual in question as the beneficial owner.

Article 5

Identity and residence of beneficial owners

In order to establish the identity and residence of the beneficial owner as defined in Article 4, the paying agent shall keep a record of the name, first name, address and residence details in accordance with the Liechtenstein legal provisions against money laundering. For contractual relations entered into, or transactions carried out in the absence of contractual relations, on or after 1 January 2004, for individuals presenting a passport or official identity card issued by a Member State who declare themselves to be resident in a State other than a Member State or Liechtenstein, residence shall be established by means of a tax residence certificate issued by the competent authority of the State in which the individual claims to be resident. Failing the presentation of such a certificate, the Member State which issued the passport or other official identity document shall be considered the State of residence.

Article 6

Definition of paying agent

For the purposes of this Agreement, ‘paying agent’ in Liechtenstein shall mean banks under Liechtenstein banking law, securities dealers, natural and legal persons resident or established in Liechtenstein including economic operators regulated by the Liechtenstein Persons- and Companies Act (Personen- und Gesellschaftsrecht), partnerships and permanent establishments of foreign companies, which even occasionally accept, hold, invest or transfer assets of third parties or merely pay interest or secure the payment of interest in the course of their business.

Article 7

Definition of Interest Payment

1.   For the purposes of this Agreement ‘interest payment’ shall mean:

2.   As regards subparagraph 1(c), when a paying agent has no information concerning the proportion of the income which derives from interest payments, the total amount of the income shall be considered an interest payment.

3.   As regards subparagraph 1(d), when a paying agent has no information concerning the percentage of the assets invested in debt-claims or in shares or units as defined in that subparagraph, that percentage shall be considered to be above 40 %. Where that agent cannot determine the amount of income realised by the beneficial owner, the income shall be deemed to correspond to the proceeds of the sale, refund or redemption of the shares or units.

4.   Income relating to undertakings or entities which have invested up to 15 % of their assets in debt-claims within the meaning of subparagraph 1(a) shall not be considered an interest payment in accordance with subparagraph 1(c) and (d).

5.   The percentage referred to in subparagraph 1(d) and paragraph 3 shall, as from 1 January 2011, be 25 %.

6.   The percentages referred to in subparagraph 1(d) and paragraph 4 shall be determined by reference to the investment policy as laid down in the fund rules or instruments of incorporation of the undertakings or entities concerned and, failing such rules, by reference to the actual composition of the assets of the undertakings or entities concerned.

Article 8

Revenue sharing

1.   Liechtenstein shall keep 25 % of the revenue generated by the retention under this Agreement and transfer 75 % of the revenue to the Member State of residence of the beneficial owner.

2.   Such transfers shall take place for each year in one instalment per Member State at the latest within a period of 6 months following the end of the tax year in Liechtenstein.

Article 9

Elimination of double taxation

1.   If interest received by a beneficial owner has been subject to retention by a paying agent in Liechtenstein, the Member State of residence for tax purposes of the beneficial owner shall grant him a tax credit equal to the amount of the retention. Where this amount exceeds the amount of tax due on the total amount of interest subject to retention in accordance with its national law, the Member State of residence for tax purposes shall repay the excess amount of tax withheld to the beneficial owner.

2.   If interest received by a beneficial owner has been subject to taxes and retentions other than as provided for in this Agreement and the Member State of residence for tax purposes grants a tax credit for such taxes and retentions in accordance with its national law or double taxation conventions, such other taxes and retentions shall be credited before the procedure in paragraph 1 is applied. The Member State of residence for tax purposes shall accept certificates issued by Liechtenstein paying agents as proper evidence of the tax or retention on the understanding that the competent authority of the Member State of residence for tax purposes will be able to obtain from the Liechtenstein competent authority verification of the information contained in the certificates issued by Liechtenstein paying agents.

3.   The Member State of residence for tax purposes of the beneficial owner may replace the tax credit mechanism referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 by a refund of the retention referred to in Article 1.

Article 10

Exchange of information

1.   The competent authorities of Liechtenstein and any Member State shall exchange information on conduct constituting tax fraud under the laws of the requested State, or the like for income covered by this Agreement. ‘The like’ includes only offences with the same level of wrongfulness as is the case for tax fraud under the laws of the requested State. In response to a duly justified request, the requested State shall provide in accordance with its procedural laws information with respect to matters that the requesting State is investigating, or may investigate, on a civil or criminal basis. Any information received by Liechtenstein or a Member State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) concerned with assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to taxes on income covered by the Agreement. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.

2.   In determining whether information may be provided in response to a request, the requested State shall apply the statute of limitations applicable under the laws of the requesting State instead of the statute of limitations of the requested State.

3.   The requested State shall provide information where the requesting State has a reasonable suspicion that the conduct would constitute tax fraud or the like. The requesting State’s suspicion of tax fraud or the like may be based on:

4.   If requested by a Member State, Liechtenstein shall enter into bilateral negotiations with that State in order to define individual categories of cases falling under ‘the like’ in accordance with the procedure of taxation applied by that State.

Article 11

Competent Authorities

For the purposes of this Agreement the competent authorities shall mean those authorities listed in Annex I.

Article 12

Consultation

If any disagreement arises between the competent authority of Liechtenstein and one or more of the other competent authorities referred to in Article 11 as to the interpretation or application of this Agreement, they shall endeavour to resolve this by mutual agreement. They shall immediately notify the Commission of the European Communities and the competent authorities of the other Member States of the results of their consultations. In relation to issues of interpretation the Commission may take part in consultations at the request of any of the competent authorities.

Article 13

Review

1.   The Contracting Parties shall consult each other at least every three years or at the request of either Contracting Party with a view to examining and – if deemed necessary by the Contracting Parties – improving the technical functioning of this Agreement and assessing international developments. The consultations shall be held within one month of the request or as soon as possible in urgent cases.

2.   On the basis of such an assessment, the Contracting Parties may consult each other in order to examine whether changes to this Agreement are necessary taking into account international developments.

3.   As soon as sufficient experience of the full implementation of Article 1(1) is available, the Contracting Parties shall consult each other in order to examine whether changes to this Agreement are necessary taking into account international developments.

4.   For the purposes of the consultations referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 each Contracting Party shall inform the other Contracting Party of possible developments which could affect the proper functioning of this Agreement. This shall also include any relevant agreement between one of the Contracting Parties and a third State.

Article 14

Relationship to bilateral Double Taxation Conventions

The provisions of the double taxation conventions between Liechtenstein and the Member States shall not prevent the levying of the retention for which this Agreement provides.

Article 15

Transitional provisions for negotiable debt securities (1)

1.   From the date of application of this Agreement for as long as at least one Member State also applies similar provisions, and until 31 December 2010 at the latest, domestic and international bonds and other negotiable debt securities which were first issued before 1 March 2001 or for which the original issuing prospectuses were approved before that date by the competent authorities of the issuing State shall not be considered as debt-claims within the meaning of Article 7(1)(a), provided that no further issues of such negotiable debt securities are made on or after 1 March 2002.

However, for as long as at least one Member State also applies similar provisions, the provisions of this Article shall continue to apply beyond 31 December 2010 in respect of such negotiable debt securities:

If and when all Member States cease to apply similar provisions, the provisions of this Article shall continue to apply only in respect of those negotiable securities:

If a further issue is made on or after 1 March 2002 of an aforementioned negotiable debt security issued by a Government or a related entity acting as a public authority or whose role is recognised by an international Agreement (listed in Annex II to this Agreement), the entire issue of such a security, consisting of the original issue and any further issue shall be considered a debt-claim within the meaning of Article 7(1)(a).

If a further issue is made on or after 1 March 2002 of an aforementioned negotiable debt security issued by any other issuer not covered by the fourth subparagraph, such further issue shall be considered a debt-claim within the meaning of Article 7(1)(a).

2.   This Article shall not prevent Liechtenstein and the Member States from continuing to levy a tax on revenues deriving from the aforementioned negotiable debt-claims referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with their national law.

Article 16

Signing, Entry into force and Duration of Validity

1.   This Agreement requires ratification or approval by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their own procedures. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other of the completion of these procedures. The Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the last notification.

2.   Subject to the fulfilment of the constitutional requirements of Liechtenstein and the requirements of Community law concerning entering into international agreements and without prejudice to Article 17, Liechtenstein and where applicable the Community shall effectively implement and apply this Agreement by 1 July 2005 and notify each other thereof.

3.   This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting Party.

4.   Either Contracting Party may terminate this Agreement by giving notice to the other. In such a case, the Agreement shall cease to have effect twelve months after the serving of notice.

Article 17

Application and Suspension of Application

1.   The application of this Agreement shall be conditional on the adoption and implementation by the dependent or associated territories of the Member States mentioned in the report of the Council (Economic and Financial Affairs) to the European Council of Santa Maria da Feira of 19 and 20 June 2000, as well as by the United States of America, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, respectively, of measures which conform with or are equivalent to those contained in the Directive or in this Agreement and providing for the same dates of implementation.

2.   The Contracting Parties shall decide, by common accord, at least six months before the date referred to in Article 16(2), whether the condition set out in paragraph 1 will be met having regard to the dates of entry into force of the relevant measures in the third States and dependent or associated territories concerned. If the Contracting Parties do not decide that the condition will be met, they shall, by common accord, adopt a new date for the purposes of Article 16(2).

3.   The application of this Agreement or parts thereof may be suspended by either Contracting Party with immediate effect through notification to the other should the Directive or part of the Directive cease to be applicable either temporarily or permanently in accordance with Community law or in the event that a Member State should suspend the application of its implementing legislation.

4.   Either Contracting Party may suspend the application of this Agreement through notification to the other in the event that one of the third States or territories referred to in paragraph 1 should subsequently cease to apply the measures referred to in that paragraph. Suspension of application shall take place no earlier than two months after notification. Application of this Agreement shall resume as soon as the measures are reinstated.

Article 18

Claims and Final Settlement

1.   Should this Agreement be terminated or its application be suspended either in full or in part, the claims of individuals in accordance with Article 9 shall remain unaffected.

2.   Liechtenstein shall, in such case, establish a final account by the end of the period of applicability of this Agreement and make a final payment to the Member States.

Article 19

Territorial Scope

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territory of Liechtenstein.

Article 20

Annexes

1.   The Annexes shall form an integral part of this Agreement.

2.   The list of competent authorities in Annex I may be amended simply by notification of the other Contracting Party by Liechtenstein for the authority referred to in (a) therein and by the Community for the other authorities.

The list of related entities in Annex II may be amended by mutual agreement.

Article 21

Languages

1.   This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish, each of these texts being equally authentic.

2.   The Maltese language version shall be authenticated by the Contracting Parties on the basis of an Exchange of Letters. It shall also be authentic, in the same way as for the languages referred to in paragraph 1.

EN FE DE LO CUAL, los plenipotenciarios abajo firmantes suscriben el presente Acuerdo.

NA DŮKAZ ČEHOŽ připojili níže podepsaní zplnomocnění zástupci k této smlouvě své podpisy.

TIL BEKRÆFTELSE HERAF har undertegnede befuldmægtigede underskrevet denne aftale.

ZU URKUND DESSEN haben die unterzeichneten Bevollmächtigten ihre Unterschriften unter dieses Abkommen gesetzt.

SELLE KINNITUSEKS on täievolilised esindajad käesolevale lepingule alla kirjutanud.

ΣΕ ΠΙΣΤΩΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΑΝΩΤΕΡΩ, οι υπογράφοντες πληρεξούσιοι έθεσαν την υπογραφή τους κάτω από την παρούσα συμφωνία.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned plenipotentiaries have hereunto set their hands.

EN FOI DE QUOI, les plénipotentiaires soussignés ont apposé leurs signatures au bas du présent accord.

IN FEDE DI CHE, i plenipotenziari sottoscritti hanno apposto la propria firma in calce al presente accordo.

TO APLIECINOT, attiecīgi pilnvarotas personas ir parakstījušas šo nolīgumu.

TAI PALIUDYDAMI, šį Susitarimą pasirašė toliau nurodyti įgaliotieji atstovai.

FENTIEK HITELÉÜL e megállapodást az alulírott meghatalmazottak alább kézjegyükkel látták el.

B'XIEHDA TA' DAN, il-Plenipotenzjari hawn taħt iffirmati ffirmaw dan il-Ftehim.

TEN BLIJKE WAARVAN de ondergetekende gevolmachtigden hun handtekening onder deze overeenkomst hebben geplaatst.

W DOWÓD CZEGO, niżej podpisani pełnomocnicy złożyli swoje podpisy.

EM FÉ DO QUE, os plenipotenciários abaixo assinados apuserem as suas assinaturas no final do presente Acordo.

NA DÔKAZ ČOHO dolupodpísaní splnomocnení zástupcovia podpísali túto dohodu.

V POTRDITEV TEGA so spodaj podpisani pooblaščenci podpisali ta sporazum.

TÄMÄN VAKUUDEKSI allamainitut täysivaltaiset edustajat ovat allekirjoittaneet tämän sopimuksen.

TILL BEVIS HÄRPÅ har undertecknade befullmäktigade undertecknat detta avtal.

Hecho en Bruselas, el siete de diciembre del dos mil cuatro.

V Bruselu dne sedmého prosince dva tisíce čtyři.

Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den syvende december to tusind og fire.

Geschehen zu Brüssel am siebten Dezember zweitausendundvier.

Kahe tuhande neljanda aasta detsembrikuu seitsmendal päeval Brüsselis.

Eγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις εφτά Δεκεμβρίου δύο χιλιάδες τέσσερα.

Done at Brussels on the seventh day of December in the year two thousand and four.

Fait à Bruxelles, le sept décembre deux mille quatre.

Fatto a Bruxelles, addì sette dicembre duemilaquattro.

Briselē, divi tūkstoši ceturtā gada septītajā decembrī.

Pasirašyta du tūkstančiai ketvirtųjų metų gruodžio septintą dieną Briuselyje.

Kelt Brüsszelben, a kettőezer negyedik év december hetedik napján.

Magħmul fi Brussel fis-seba' jum ta' Diċembru tas-sena elfejn u erbgħa.

Gedaan te Brussel, de zevende december tweeduizendvier.

Sporządzono w Brukseli dnia siódmego grudnia roku dwutysięcznego czwartego.

Feito em Bruxelas, em sete de Dezembro de dois mil e quatro.

V Bruseli siedmeho decembra dvetisícštyri.

V Bruslju, dne sedmega decembra leta dva tisoč štiri.

Tehty Brysselissä seitsemäntenä päivänä joulukuuta vuonna kaksituhattaneljä.

Som skedde i Bryssel den sjunde december tjugohundrafyra.

Por la Comunidad Europea

Za Evropské společenství

For Det Europæiske Fællesskab

Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft

Euroopa Ühenduse nimel

Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα

For the European Community

Pour la Communauté européenne

Per la Comunità europea

Eiropas Kopienas vārdā

Europos bendrijos vardu

az Európai Közösség részéről

Għall-Komunità Ewropea

Voor de Europese Gemeenschap

W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej

Pela Comunidade Europeia

Za Európske spoločenstvo

za Evropsko skupnost

Euroopan yhteisön puolesta

På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar

Für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

----

(1)  As in the Directive, these transitional provisions also apply to negotiable debt securities held through investment funds.

ANNEX I

LIST OF COMPETENT AUTHORITIES OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES

The ‘competent authorities’ for the purposes of this Agreement are:

ANNEX II

LIST OF RELATED ENTITIES

For the purposes of Article 15 of this Agreement, the following entities will be considered to be a ‘related entity acting as a public authority or whose role is recognised by an international treaty’:

ENTITIES WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION:

Belgium

Spain

Greece

France

Italy

Latvia

Poland

Portugal

Slovakia

INTERNATIONAL ENTITIES:

The provisions of Article 15 are without prejudice to any international obligations that the Contracting Parties may have entered into with respect to the above mentioned international entities.

ENTITIES IN THIRD COUNTRIES:

The entities that meet the following criteria:

----

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

between the European Community, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Principality of Liechtenstein

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,

THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,

THE CZECH REPUBLIC,

THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK,

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY,

THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA,

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC,

THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN,

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC,

IRELAND,

THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC,

THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS,

THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA,

THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA,

THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG,

THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY,

THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA,

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS,

THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA,

THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND,

THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC,

THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA,

THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC,

THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND,

THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN,

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

and

THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN, hereinafter referred to as ‘Liechtenstein’

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

1.   INTRODUCTION

Liechtenstein and the European Community are entering into an Agreement providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 2003 on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Directive’). This Memorandum of Understanding complements that Agreement.

2.   DISCUSSIONS FOR SECURING EQUIVALENT MEASURES WITH OTHER THIRD COUNTRIES.

During the transitional period provided for in the Directive, the European Community will enter into discussions with other important financial centres with a view to promoting the adoption by those jurisdictions of measures equivalent to those to be applied by the Community.

3.   DECLARATION OF INTENT

The signatories to this Memorandum of Understanding declare that they consider the Agreement referred to in point 1 and this Memorandum to provide an acceptable and balanced arrangement that can be considered as safeguarding the interests of the parties. They will therefore implement the agreed measures in good faith and will not act unilaterally to undermine this arrangement without due cause.

If any significant difference between the coverage of the Directive as adopted on 3 June 2003 and that of the Agreement should be discovered, in particular with regard to Article 6 of the Agreement, the Contracting Parties will immediately enter into consultations in accordance with Article 13(1) of the Agreement with a view to ensuring that the equivalent nature of the measures provided for in the Agreement is maintained.

Liechtenstein undertakes to use its best endeavours to determine without delay the acceptability of a duly justified request for exchange of information under Article 10 of the Agreement, in accordance with its procedural laws.

The European Union and its Member States will take into account Liechtenstein's decision to provide for measures equivalent to those laid down in the Directive in their cooperation with Liechtenstein, including cooperation in fiscal matters. The signatories agree in this context that either party to negotiations provided for in Article 10(4) of the Agreement may raise in parallel with such negotiations other taxation issues, including issues related to the elimination or reduction of double taxation of income.

Drawn up at Brussels, on 7 December 2004 in duplicate in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages, each of these languages being equally authentic.

The Maltese language version shall be authenticated by the signatories on the basis of an Exchange of Letters. It shall also be authentic, in the same way as for the languages referred to in the preceding paragraph.

EN FE DE LO CUAL, los plenipotenciarios abajo firmantes suscriben el presente Acuerdo.

NA DŮKAZ ČEHOŽ připojili níže podepsaní zplnomocnění zástupci k této smlouvě své podpisy.

TIL BEKRÆFTELSE HERAF har undertegnede befuldmægtigede underskrevet denne aftale.

ZU URKUND DESSEN haben die unterzeichneten Bevollmächtigten ihre Unterschriften unter dieses Abkommen gesetzt.

SELLE KINNITUSEKS on täievolilised esindajad käesolevale lepingule alla kirjutanud.

ΣΕ ΠΙΣΤΩΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΑΝΩΤΕΡΩ, οι υπογράφοντες πληρεξούσιοι έθεσαν την υπογραφή τους κάτω από την παρούσα συμφωνία.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have hereunto set their hands.

EN FOI DE QUOI, les plénipotentiaires soussignés ont apposé leurs signatures au bas du présent accord.

IN FEDE DI CHE, i plenipotenziari sottoscritti hanno apposto la propria firma in calce al presente accordo.

TO APLIECINOT, attiecīgi pilnvarotas personas ir parakstījušas šo nolīgumu.

TAI PALIUDYDAMI, šį Susitarimą pasirašė toliau nurodyti įgaliotieji atstovai.

FENTIEK HITELÉÜL e megállapodást az alulírott meghatalmazottak alább kézjegyükkel látták el.

B'XIEHDA TA' DAN, il-Plenipotenzjari hawn taħt iffirmati ffirmaw dan il-Ftehim.

TEN BLIJKE WAARVAN de ondergetekende gevolmachtigden hun handtekening onder deze overeenkomst hebben geplaatst.

W DOWÓD CZEGO, niżej podpisani pełnomocnicy złożyli swoje podpisy.

EM FÉ DO QUE, os plenipotenciários abaixo assinados apuserem as suas assinaturas no final do presente Acordo.

NA DÔKAZ ČOHO dolupodpísaní splnomocnení zástupcovia podpísali túto dohodu.

V POTRDITEV TEGA so spodaj podpisani pooblaščenci podpisali ta sporazum.

TÄMÄN VAKUUDEKSI allamainitut täysivaltaiset edustajat ovat allekirjoittaneet tämän sopimuksen.

TILL BEVIS HÄRPÅ har undertecknade befullmäktigade undertecknat detta avtal.

Hecho en Bruselas, el siete de diciembre del dos mil cuatro.

V Bruselu dne sedmého prosince dva tisíce čtyři.

Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den syvende december to tusind og fire.

Geschehen zu Brüssel am siebten Dezember zweitausendundvier.

Kahe tuhande neljanda aasta detsembrikuu seitsmendal päeval Brüsselis.

Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις εφτά Δεκεμβρίου δύο χιλιάδες τέσσερα.

Done at Brussels on the seventh day of December in the year two thousand and four.

Fait à Bruxelles, le sept décembre deux mille quatre.

Fatto a Bruxelles, addì sette dicembre duemilaquattro.

Briselē, divi tūkstoši ceturtā gada septītajā decembrī.

Pasirašyta du tūkstančiai ketvirtų metų gruodžio septintą dieną Briuselyje.

Kelt Brüsszelben, a kettőezer negyedik év december hetedik napján.

Magħmul fi Brussel fis-seba' jum ta' Diċembru tas-sena elfejn u erbgħa.

Gedaan te Brussel, de zevende december tweeduizendvier.

Sporządzono w Brukseli dnia siódmego grudnia roku dwutysięcznego czwartego.

Feito em Bruxelas, em sete de Dezembro de dois mil e quatro.

V Bruseli siedmeho decembra dvetisícštyri.

V Bruslju, dne sedmega decembra leta dva tisoč štiri.

Tehty Brysselissä seitsemäntenä päivänä joulukuuta vuonna kaksituhattaneljä.

Som skedde i Bryssel den sjunde december tjugohundrafyra.

Pour le Royaume de Belgique

Voor het Koninkrijk België

Für das Königreich Belgien

Za Českou republiku

På Kongeriget Danmarks vegne

Für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Eesti Vabariigi nimel

Για την Ελληνική Δημοκρατία

Por el Reino de España

Pour la République française

Thar cheann Na hÉireann

For Ireland

Per la Repubblica italiana

Για την Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία

Latvijas Republikas vārdā

Lietuvos Respublikos vardu

Pour le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg

A Magyar Köztársaság részéről

Għar-Republikka ta' Malta

Voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

Für die Republik Österreich

W imieniu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej

Pela República Portuguesa

Za Republiko Slovenijo

Za Slovenskú republiku

Suomen tasavallan puolesta

För Republiken Finland

För Konungariket Sverige

For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Por la Comunidad Europea

Za Evropské společenství

For Det Europæiske Fællesskab

Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft

Euroopa Ühenduse nimel

Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα

For the European Community

Pour la Communauté européenne

Per la Comunità europea

Eiropas Kopienas vārdā

Europos bendrijos vardu

az Európai Közösség részéről

Għall-Komunità Ewropea

Voor de Europese Gemeenschap

W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej

Pela Comunidade Europeia

Za Európske spoločenstvo

za Evropske skupnost

Euroopan yhteisön puolesta

På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar

Für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

----

Commission

----

COMMISSION DECISION

of 23 December 2004

amending Decision 2003/828/EC as regards movements of animals from and inside a restricted zone in Spain and Portugal, in relation to outbreaks of bluetongue in Spain

(notified under document number C(2004) 5212)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2004/898/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 2000/75/EC of 20 November 2000 laying down specific provisions for the control and eradication of bluetongue (1), and in particular Articles 8(2)(d) and 9(1)(c) and Article 12 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Decision 2003/828/ EC is amended as follows:

Article 2

This Decision shall apply from 27 December 2004.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2004.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 74.

(2)OJ L 337, 13.11.2004, p. 70.

(3)OJ L 311, 27.11.2003, p. 41.

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European Central Bank

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DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 14 December 2004

on the approval of the volume of coin issuance in 2005

(ECB/2004/19)

(2004/899/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular to Article 106(2) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Approval of the volume of euro coins to be issued in 2005

The ECB hereby approves the volume of coins to be issued by the participating Member States in 2005 as described in the following table:

Article 2

Final provision

This Decision is addressed to the participating Member States.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 14 December 2004.

The President of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET

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Acts adopted under Title V of the Treaty on European Union

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COUNCIL DECISION 2004/900/CFSP

of 22 December 2004

implementing Common Position 2004/694/CFSP on further measures in support of the effective implementation of the mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to Common Position 2004/694/CFSP (1) and in particular Article 2 thereof, in conjunction with Article 23(2) of the Treaty on European Union,

Whereas:

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The list of persons set out in the Annex to Common Position 2004/694/CFSP shall be replaced by the list set out in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall take effect on the date of its adoption.

Article 3

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 2004.

For the Council

The President

C. VEERMAN

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(1)OJ L 315, 14.10.2004, p. 52.

(2)OJ L 339, 16.11.2004, p. 16.

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ANNEX

List of persons referred to in Article 1

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COUNCIL DECISION 2004/901/CFSP

of 22 December 2004

amending Decision 1999/730/CFSP implementing Joint Action 1999/34/CFSP with a view to a European Union contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons in Cambodia

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to Council Joint Action 1999/34/CFSP of 17 December 1998 on the European Union's contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons (1), and in particular Article 6 thereof, in conjunction with Article 23(2) of the Treaty on European Union,

Whereas:

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Annex to Decision 1999/730/CFSP is hereby replaced by the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall take effect on the date of its adoption.

Article 3

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 2004.

For the Council

The President

C. VEERMAN

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(1)OJ L 9, 15.1.1999, p. 1.

(2)OJ L 294, 16.11.1999, p. 5.

(3)OJ L 348, 24.11.2004, p. 47.

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ANNEX

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE PROJECT MANAGER (2005)

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COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2004/902/CFSP

of 22 December 2004

extending Common Position 2004/137/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Liberia

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 15 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:

Article 1

Article 5 of Common Position 2004/137/CFSP shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 5

This Common Position shall apply until 22 December 2005, unless the Council decides otherwise in accordance with any future relevant UN Security Council resolution.’

Article 2

This Common Position shall take effect on the date of its adoption.

It shall be applicable from 22 December 2004.

Article 3

This Common Position shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 2004.

For the Council

The President

C. VEERMAN

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(1)OJ L 40, 12.2.2004, p. 35.

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