COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 921/96 of 13 May 1996 amending Regulation (EC) No 2178/95 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas and ceilings for certain industrial and fishery products originating in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and establishing the detailed provisions for adapting these quotas and ceilings, and Regulation (EC) No 1798/94 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products originating in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and establishing the detailed provisions for adapting these quotas (1994 to 1997)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof,
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the existing preferential agreements between the European Community, of the one part, and Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, of the other part, (hereinafter referred to as 'third countries`) provide that certain goods originating in those countries may, within the limits of tariff quotas or ceilings, attract a reduced or zero rate of duty on import into the Community;
Whereas, following the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, these concessions should be adapted in particular to take account of trade in fishery and textile products existing between Austria, Finland and Sweden, of the one part, and Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania of the other part;
Whereas, to that end, exploratory talks are under way with these third countries with a view to concluding additional protocols to the aforementioned agreements;
Whereas, however, as the deadlines were too short, those additional protocols could not come into effect on 1 January 1995;
Whereas, therefore, and in accordance with Articles 76, 102 and 128 of the 1994 Act of Accession, the Community should adopt the necessary measures to remedy this situation; whereas the measures should take the form of autonomous Community tariff quotas and tariff ceilings which include the contractual preferential duty concessions granted by Austria, Finland and Sweden;
Whereas pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1275/95 (1), the Council introduced certain procedures for applying the Agreement on free trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Coal and Steel Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Estonia, of the other part; whereas it is necessary, therefore, pursuant to Article 13 (2) and (3) of that Agreement to open Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products as set out in Annex V;
Whereas pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2125/95 (2), the Commission opened tariff quotas for preserved mushrooms falling under CN codes 0711 90 40, 2003 10 20 and 2003 10 30 on the adjustments and transitional arrangements in the agricultural sector in order to implement the agreements concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral commercial negotiations provided for in Regulation (EC) No 3290/94 (3); whereas, to put this into effect, the tariff quotas with order numbers 09.6115 and 09.6239 (mushrooms of CN codes 0711 90 40, 2003 10 20 and 2003 10 30) opened by Regulation (EC) No 1798/94 (4) applying the preferences provided for in the Europe Agreements with Bulgaria and Romania should be eliminated;
Whereas the second additional protocols to the Europe Agreements between the European Community, of the one part, and Bulgaria and Romania, of the other part, provide that the opening of the zero-rate tariff quotas provided for in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1798/94 for the period 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 is to be brought forward to the period 1 July 1995 to 30 June 1996;
Whereas in Regulation (EC) No 2179/95 (5), the Council provided for the autonomous and transitional adjustment of certain agricultural concessions laid down by Europe Agreements; whereas these concessions must be capable of extension to the products appearing in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1798/94;
Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2178/95 (6) and (EC) No 1798/94 should therefore be amended with effect from 1 January 1995,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 2178/95 is hereby amended as follows:
1. In Article 1, the phrase 'Annexes I, II, III and IV` shall be replaced by 'Annexes I to VIII`;
2. Annex IV shall be replaced by the text appearing in Annex I to this Regulation;
3. Annexes V, VI, VII and VIII appearing in Annex II to this Regulation shall be added.
Article 2
Regulation (EC) No 1798/94 is hereby amended as follows:
1. Article 1 shall be replaced by the following:
'Article 1
Goods originating in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, listed in Annexes I, II, III and IV to this Regulation, shall benefit from the tariff preferences under the Community's tariff quotas in accordance with the provisions contained in the said Annexes, without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 2179/95.`;
2. in Annexes II and III, the quotas corresponding to order numbers 09.6115 and 09.6239 shall be deleted;
3. in Annex II, the references to Bulgaria and Romania shall be deleted;
4. in Annex III, the phrase '1996 to 30 June 1997` shall be replaced by '1995 to 30 June 1996`;
5. Annex IV appearing in Annex III to this Regulation shall be added.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply with effect from 1 January 1995.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 13 May 1996.