EN Official Journal of the European Communities 1.3.2001 L 60/22
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 407/2001
of 28 February 2001
opening a preferential tariff quota in respect of imports of raw cane sugar originating in the ACP
States for supply to refineries in the period 1 March to 30 June 2001
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the EuropeanCommunity,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2038/1999 of 13
September 1999 on the common organisation of the marketsin the sugar sector (
1), as amended by Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1527/2000 (2) and in particular Articles 14(2) and
44(6) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No 2038/1999 lays down
that, during the marketing years 1995/1996 to 2000/2001 and in order to ensure adequate supplies toCommunity refineries, a special reduced duty is to belevied on imports of raw cane sugar originating in Stateswith which the Community has concluded supplyarrangements on preferential terms. At present suchagreements have been concluded, by Council Decision95/284/EC (
3), only with the ACP States party to
Protocol 8 on ACP sugar annexed to the fourthACP-EEC Lomé Convention and with the Republic ofIndia.
(2) The quantities of special preferential sugar to beimported are calculated in accordance with the saidArticle 44 on the basis of a Community forecast annualsupply balance. The balance has indicated the need toimport raw sugar and to open at this stage for the2000/01 marketing year tariff quotas at the specialreduced rate of duty as provided for in the above agree-ments so that the Community refineries' supply needscan be met for part of the year. Commission Regulation(EC) No 1469/2000 (
4) opened quotas for the period 1
July 2000 to 28 February 2001. The forecasts for rawcane sugar production are now available for the 2000/2001 marketing year. The necessary quotas shouldtherefore be opened for the second part of that year. Inview of the presumed maximum refining needs fixed byMember State and the shortfall resulting from the fore-cast supply balance, provision should be made toauthorise imports for each refining Member State for the
period 1 March to 30 June 2001.
(3) The above agreements lay down that the refiners inquestion must pay a minimum purchase price equal tothe guaranteed price for raw sugar, minus the adjust-ment aid fixed for the marketing year in question. Thisminimum price must therefore be fixed by takingaccount of the factors applying in the 2000/01marketing year.
(4) In order to avoid disruption of supplies, it should be laiddown that, for the quantities to be imported underRegulation (EC) No 1469/2000 for which no licenceshave been applied for by 28 February 2001, the Memberstates concerned shall be authorised to issue thoselicences after that date in the course of the 2000/2001marketing year.
(5) The measures provided for in this Regulation are inaccordance with the opinion of the ManagementCommittee for Sugar,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
For the period 1 March to 30 June 2001, a tariff quota of
84 000 tonnes expressed as white sugar originating in the ACPStates covered by Decision 95/284/EC is opened in respect ofimports of raw cane sugar for refining falling with CN code1701 11 10.
This tariff quota shall bear the serial number 09.4097.
Article 2
1. A reduced duty of EUR 5,41 per 100 kg of standard
quality raw sugar shall apply to imports of the quantity referredto in Article 1.
2. Notwithstanding Article 7 of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1916/95 (
5), the minimum purchase price to be paid
by Community refiners shall be fixed for the period referred toin Article 1 at EUR 49,68 per 100 kg of standard-quality rawsugar.
(1) OJ L 252, 25.9.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 175, 14.7.2000, p. 59.
(3) OJ L 181, 1.8.1995, p. 22.
(4) OJ L 165, 6.7.2000, p. 14. (5) OJ L 184, 3.8.1995, p. 18.
EN Official Journal of the European Communities 1.3.2001 L 60/23
Article 3
The following Member States are authorised to issue import
licences, under the quota fixed in Article 1 and on the termslaid down in Article 2, for the following quantities expressed aswhite sugar:
(a) Finland: 15 900 tonnes;
(b) metropolitan France: 15 500 tonnes;
(c) mainland Portugal: 47 600 tonnes;
(d) United Kingdom: 5 000 tonnes.Article 4
The Member States referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EC)
No 1469/2000 shall be authorised, for the quantities listed inthat Article for which no applications for import licences havebeen submitted by 1 March 2001, to issue licences for theimport and refining of those quantities up until 30 June 2001.
Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 March 2001.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 28 February 2001.
For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission