PROTOCOL

adjusting trade aspects of the Europe Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the European Union and the outcome of the Uruguay Round negotiations on agriculture, including improvements to the existing preferential arrangements

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as "the Community",

of the one part, and

THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA,

of the other part,

WHEREAS the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, of the other part, hereinafter referred to as "the Europe Agreement", was signed in Brussels on 8 March 1993 and entered into force on 1 February 1995;

WHEREAS the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden acceded to the European Union on 1 January 1995;

WHEREAS, under the terms of Articles 76, 102 and 128 of the 1994 Act of Accession, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden have to apply, as from 1 January 1995, the provisions of the preferential agreements concluded by the Community with certain third countries, among them Bulgaria;

WHEREAS the Community adopted as from 1 January 1995, transitional measures in the form of autonomous tariff quotas taking into account the preferential tariff concessions applied by the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Bulgaria, and whereas Bulgaria adopted as from 1995, transitional measures in the form of autonomous tariff quotas taking into account the preferential tariff regime applied by the Republic of Bulgaria towards the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, notably with regard to basic and processed agricultural products;

WHEREAS undertakings by the Community and Bulgaria in the framework of the Uruguay Round negotiations require the amendment of the import tariff arrangements in the Community and Bulgaria, notably with regard to basic and processed agricultural products;

WHEREAS the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the European Union and the implementation of the Uruguay Round outcome are likely to affect the bilateral concessions granted under the Europe Agreement, which should, therefore, be amended by means of a Protocol adjusting the trade aspects of the Agreement;

WHEREAS the Council decided by virtue of Decision 95/131/EC(1) to apply, on a provisional basis as from 1 January 1995, the bilateral Agreement negotiated by the Commission on behalf of the Community amending the Additional Protocol to the Europe Agreement on trade in textile products between the European Community and the Republic of Bulgaria to take into account the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the European Union;

WHEREAS the Council decided, by virtue of Decision 96/225/EC(2), to apply on a provisional basis as from 1 January 1996 the bilateral Agreement which was negotiated by the Commission on behalf of the Community following the review and amendment of the Additional Protocol to the Europe Agreement on trade in textile products between the European Community and the Republic of Bulgaria,

HAVE DECIDED to determine, by mutual agreement, the adjustments to be made to the trade aspects of the Europe Agreement to take account, firstly, of the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, and, secondly, of the entry into force of the outcome of the Uruguay Round negotiations on agriculture, and to this end have designated as their plenipotentiaries:

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY:

Dietrich von KYAW

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany

Chairman of the Permanent Representatives' Committee

Günther BURGHARDT

Director-General of the Directorate-General for External Political Relations of the Commission of the European Communities

THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA:

Nikola Ivanov KARADIMOV

Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary,

Head of the Mission of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union

WHO, having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

1. The Additional Protocol to the Europe Agreement on trade in textile products shall be amended as follows:

1. The first subparagraph of Article 2(3) shall be replaced by the following:

"3. The origin of the products covered by this Protocol shall be determined in accordance with the non-preferential rules of origin in force in the Community".

2. Annex II shall be replaced by the text given in Annex A to this Protocol.

3. Article 2(3) of Appendix A shall be replaced by the following:

"3. The certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 1 is not required for the importation of goods covered by a movement certificate EUR.1 or a form EUR.2 issued in conformity with Protocol 4 of the Europe Agreement where it is clear from such documents that the Republic of Bulgaria may be deemed to be the country of origin under the non-preferential origin rules in force in the Community".

4. The second indent of the second subparagraph of Article 14(2) of Appendix A, Title IV shall be amended as follows:

"- Two letters identifying the intended Member State of customs clearance as follows:

AT= Austria

BL= Benelux

DE= Germany

DK= Denmark

EL= Greece

ES= Spain

FI= Finland

FR= France

GB= United Kingdom

IE= Ireland

IT= Italy

PT= Portugal

SE= Sweden"

5. The model of the certificate of origin attached to Appendix A shall be replaced by that given in Annex B to this Protocol.

6. The model of the export licence attached to Appendix A shall be replaced by that given in Annex C to this Protocol.

7. The model of the certificate applicable to certain cottage industry and folklore products attached to the Annex to Appendix C shall be replaced by that given in Annex D to this Protocol.

8. The Annex to Appendix B shall be replaced by the text given in Annex E to this Protocol.

2. A new Annex, the text of which appears in Annex F to this Protocol, shall be added to the Europe Agreement.

Article 2

With regard to processed agricultural products:

1. the text of Protocol 3 to the Europe Agreement shall be replaced by the text given in Annex G to this Protocol.

2. Article 9(1) of the Europe Agreement shall be replaced by the following:

"1. The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to products originating in the Community and in Bulgaria listed in Chapters 25 to 97 of the Combined Nomenclature, with the exception of the products listed in Annex I and Protocol 3".

3. Article 18 of the Europe Agreement and Annex X thereto shall be repealed.

4. Article 19(2) of the Europe Agreement shall be replaced by the following:

"2. The term 'agricultural products' means the products listed in Chapters 1 to 24 of the Combined Nomenclature and the products listed in Annex I and Protocol 3, but excluding fishery products as defined by Regulation (EEC) No 3687/91".

Article 3

With regard to basic agricultural products:

1. Annexes XIa and XIb and XIIa and XIIb to the Europe Agreement shall be replaced by the texts given in Annexes H and I to this Protocol respectively.

2. Article 21(2) and (3) of the Europe Agreement shall be replaced by the following:

"2. The preferential arrangements granted for imports into the Community of products originating in the Republic of Bulgaria are set out in Annex X.

3. The preferential arrangements granted for imports into the Republic of Bulgaria of products originating in the Community are set out in Annex XI".

3. Article 21(4) of the Europe Agreement shall be deleted.

4. Annexes XIIIa, XIIIb, XIVa and XIVb to the Europe Agreement shall be repealed.

Article 4

The Annexes to this Protocol shall form an integral part thereof. This Protocol shall form an integral part of the Europe Agreement.

Article 5

This Protocol shall be approved by the Community and Bulgaria in accordance with their own procedures. The Contracting Parties shall take the necessary measures to implement this Protocol.

Article 6

This Protocol shall enter into force on the first day of the first month following the Contracting Parties' notification that the procedures provided for in Article 5 have been carried out.

Article 7

This Protocol shall be drawn up in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Bulgarian languages, each of those texts being equally authentic.

Hecho en Bruselas, el veinticinco de marzo de mil novecientos noventa y nueve.Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den femogtyvende marts nitten hundrede og nioghalvfems.Geschehen zu Brüssel am fünfundzwanzigsten März neunzehnhundertneunundneunzig.Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις είκοσι πέντε Μαρτίου χίλια εννιακόσια ενενήντα εννέα.Done at Brussels on the twenty-fifth day of March in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.Fait à Bruxelles, le vingt-cinq mars mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.Fatto a Bruxelles, addì venticinque marzo millenovecentonovantanove.Gedaan te Brussel, vijfentwintigste maart negentienhonderd negenennegentig.Feito em Bruxelas, em vinte e cinco de Março de mil novecentos e noventa e nove.Tehty Brysselissä kahdentenakymmenentenäviidentenä päivänä maaliskuuta vuonna tuhatyhdeksänsataayhdeksänkymmentäyhdeksän.Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugofemte mars nittonhundranittionio.ΈΧΣήβΥέή ±ΰξΪαΥΫ έΠ ΤΠΤΥαΥβ Ψ ίΥβέ άΠΰβ εΨΫοΤΠ ΤΥΥβαβήβΨέ ΤΥΥβΤΥαΥβ Ψ ΤΥΥβΠ ΣήΤΨέΠ.

Por la Comunidad Europea/For Det Europæiske Fællesskab/Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft/Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα/For the European Community/Par Communauté européenne/Per la Comunità europea/Voor de Europese Gemeenschap/Pela Comunidade Europeia/Euroopan yhteisön puolesta/På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar

>PIC FILE= "L_1999112EN.000701.EPS">

·Π ΐΥίγΡΫΨΪΠ ±κΫΣΠΰΨο

>PIC FILE= "L_1999112EN.000702.EPS">

(1) OJ L 94, 26.4.1995, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 81, 30.3.1996, p. 310.

ANNEX A

"ANNEX II

The full product descriptions of the categories listed in this Annex are to be found in Annex I to the Protocol

COMMUNITY QUANTITATIVE LIMITS

>TABLE>"

ANNEX B

"

(Annex to Appendix A, Article 2(1))

>PIC FILE= "L_1999112EN.000902.EPS">"

ANNEX C

"

(Annex referred to in Article 7(1) of Appendix A)

>PIC FILE= "L_1999112EN.001102.EPS">"

ANNEX D

"

(Annex referred to in Appendix C)

>PIC FILE= "L_1999112EN.001302.EPS">"

ANNEX E

"Annex to Appendix B

TEXTILE PRODUCTS

(The full product descriptions of the categories listed in this Annex are to be found in Annex I to the Protocol)

OUTWARD PROCESSING TRAFFIC

Community quantitative limits

>TABLE>"

ANNEX F

"ANNEX XVII

TEXTILE PRODUCTS

Bulgarian tariff commitment

The Government of the Republic of Bulgaria undertakes to implement the following tariff concessions in favour of textiles and clothing products originating within the European Community and imported into the Republic of Bulgaria, to be applied from 1 January 1996.

(a) The products listed below are transferred from Annex VI to Annex IV of the Europe Agreement:

51011100

51011900

53011000

53012100

53012900

53021000

(b) The products listed below are transferred from Annex V to Annex IV of the Europe Agreement:

51012100

51012900

51053000

53031000

53039000

54024300

54033100

56049000

63011000

(c) The products listed below are transferred from Annex VI to Annex V of the Europe Agreement:

53061000

53062000

55151100

55151300

55159900

55161100

55162300

55164300

58012200

58012400

58012500

58013400

58013500

58013600

58042900

58061000

60011000

60012100

60021000

60029290

60029390

61011000

61099020

61111000

61159100

61159200

62111290

62160090

63021000

63031100

63031900

63041100

63049100

58013300

61069000

51021000"

ANNEX G

"PROTOCOL 3

on trade between Bulgaria and the Community in processed agricultural products

Article 1

1. The Community and Bulgaria apply to processed agricultural products the duties, listed in Annex I and Annex II respectively in accordance with the conditions mentioned therein, whether limited by quota or not.

2. The Association Council shall decide on:

- extensions of the list of processed agricultural products under this Protocol,

- amendments to the duties referred to in Annexes I and II,

- increases in or the abolition of tariff quotas.

3. The Association Council may replace the duties established by this Protocol by a regime established on the basis of the respective market prices of the Community and Bulgaria of agricultural products actually used in the manufacture of processed agricultural products subject to this Protocol. It will establish the list of goods subject to these amounts and as a consequence, the list of basic products; to this end, it will decide the general rules of application.

Article 2

The duties applied pursuant to Article 1 may be reduced by decision of the Association Council:

- when in trade between the Community and Bulgaria the duties applied to the basic products are reduced, or

- in response to reductions resulting from mutual concessions relating to processed agricultural products.

The reductions provided for under the first indent shall be calculated on the part of the duty designated as the agricultural component which shall correspond to the agricultural products actually used in the manufacture of the processed agricultural products in question and deducted from the duties applied to these basic agricultural products.

Article 3

The Community and Bulgaria shall inform each other of the administrative arrangements adopted for the products covered by this Protocol.

These arrangements should ensure equal treatment for all interested parties and should be as simple and flexible as possible.

ANNEX I

Table 1: Quotas applicable on import of goods originating in Bulgaria

>TABLE>

Table 2: Duties applicable on import of goods originating in Bulgaria

>TABLE>

Table 3: Basic amounts taken into consideration in calculating the reduced agricultural components and additional duties, applicable on importation into the Community of goods listed in Table 1

>TABLE>

ANNEX II

Table 1: Preferential duties applicable upon import into Bulgaria of goods originating in the Community

>TABLE>

Table 2: List of goods originating from the Community for which Bulgaria applies preferential treatment within quantitative limits

>TABLE>

Table 3: Duties applicable to goods originating in the Community upon import into Bulgaria

>TABLE>

Table 4:List of goods originating in the Community for which Bulgaria may increase duty rates

>TABLE>

DECLARATION

I hereby confirm that Bulgaria may apply to goods originating in the Community and listed in Table 4 of Annex II to Protocol 3 the maximum duty rates specified therein provided that in such case the duty rates charged on imports from the Community are lower than those charged on imports from non-Community origins."

ANNEX H

"ANNEX X

List of EC concessions referred to in Article 21

Imports into the Community of the following products originating in Bulgaria shall be subject to the concesssions set out below

(MFN = Most Favoured Nation duty):

>TABLE>

Annex to Annex X

Minimum import price arrangement for certain soft fruit for processing

1. Minimum import prices are fixed as follows for the following products for processing originating in Bulgaria.

>TABLE>

2. The minimum import prices, as set out in point 1, will be respected on a consignment-by-consignment basis. In the case of a customs declaration value being lower than the minimum import price, a countervailing duty equal to the difference between the minimum import price and the customs declaration value will be charged.

3. If the import prices of a given product covered by this Annex show a trend suggesting that the prices could go below the level of the minimum import prices in the immediate future, the European Commission will inform the Bulgarian authorities in order to enable them to correct the situation.

4. At the request of either the Community or Bulgaria, the Association Committee shall examine the functioning of the system or the revision of the level of the minimum import prices. If appropriate, the Association Committee shall take the necessary decisions.

5. To encourage and promote the development of trade and for the mutual benefit of all parties concerned, a consultation meeting will be organised three months before the beginning of each marketing year in the European Community. This consultation meeting will take place between the European Commission and the interested European producers' organisations for the products concerned, on the one part, and the authorities', producers' and exporters' organisations of all the associated exporting countries, on the other part.

During this consultation meeting, the market situation for soft fruit including, in particular, forecasts for production, stock situation, price evolution and possible market development, as well as possibilities to adapt supply to demand, will be discussed."

ANNEX I

"ANNEX XI

List of concessions from Bulgaria referred to in Article 21

Imports into Bulgaria of the following products originating in the Community shall be subject to the concessions set out below.

The applicable reduced duty will be either that indicated in column I or that indicated in column II, whichever is the lower.

>TABLE>

Exchange of Letters between the European Community and Bulgaria regarding entry prices applied to the import of fruit and vegetables into the Community

A. Letter from the Community

Sir,

The Agreement on the adaptation of the agricultural part of the Europe Agreement following the implementation of the Uruguay Round and the enlargement of the European Community signed today between the European Community and Bulgaria does not contain any provisions regarding the entry price regime applied to the import of fruit and vegetables into the Community.

It has been agreed that the Parties will continue consultations on this sector in order to find a solution. Taking into account, inter alia, the experience of the last marketing years, the solution should allow the continuation of trade relations traditionally established between the Community and Bulgaria for the products concerned. In the meantime, Bulgaria will not be treated less favourably than other associated countries in this context.

In addition, both parties will continue talks in the framework of the relevant procedures of the Europe Agreement on any other unresolved issues in order to find as soon as possible mutually acceptable solutions.

I should be obliged if you would confirm the agreement of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria to the contents of this letter.

Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.

For the Council of the European Union

B. Letter from the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria

Sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of today's date which reads as follows:

"The Agreement on the adaptation of the agricultural part of the Europe Agreement following the implementation of the Uruguay Round and the enlargement of the European Community signed today between the European Community and Bulgaria does not contain any provisions regarding the entry price regime applied to the import of fruit and vegetables into the Community.

It has been agreed that the Parties will continue consultations on this sector in order to find a solution. Taking into account, inter alia, the experience of the last marketing years, the solution should allow the continuation of trade relations traditionally established between the Community and Bulgaria for the products concerned. In the meantime, Bulgaria will not be treated less favourably than other associated countries in this context.

In addition, both parties will continue talks in the framework of the relevant procedures of the Europe Agreement on any other unresolved issues in order to find as soon as possible mutually acceptable solutions.

I should be obliged if you would confirm the agreement of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria to the contents of this letter."

I have the honour to confirm that the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria is in agreement with the contents of this letter.

Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria"